--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's no black and white, left and…" description: "\"There's no black and white, left and right to me anymore; there's only up and down and down is very close to the ground. And I'm trying to go up withou..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/bob-dylan-168_black_there-s-no-black-and-white-left-and-righ_2819795.jpg" --- # There's no black and white, left and right to me anymore… ![“There's no black and white, left and right to me anymore; there's only up and down and down is very close to the ground. And I'm trying to go up without thinking about anything trivial such as politics. They have got nothing to do with it. I'm thinking about the general people and when they get…” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/bob-dylan-168_black_there-s-no-black-and-white-left-and-righ_2819795.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/bob-dylan-168_black_there-s-no-black-and-white-left-and-righ_2819795.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/eaf/bob-dylan-168_black_there-s-no-black-and-white-left-and-righ_2819795.jpg) > “There's no black and white, left and right to me anymore; there's only up and down and down is very close to the ground. And I'm trying to go up without thinking about anything trivial such as politics. They have got nothing to do with it. I'm thinking about the general people and when they get hurt.” [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels ambiguous, focusing on personal growth over trivial politics. **In simple terms:** Seek upward movement, ignore petty concerns. Key Takeaway Prioritize personal progress over politics. Themes growth focus politics existence Mood contemplative determined Type philosophical motivational When to use this quote - career advancement - mental health - social activism Key Concepts existentialism personal development Questions to Reflect On - What does “up” represent for you? - How to balance personal growth with civic duty? A Different Perspective Ignoring politics may limit broader impact. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black/) [Black and white](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/black-and-white/) [Down and](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/down-and/) [Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hurt/) [Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left/) [Left and right](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/left-and-right/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Hurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-hurt/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Trivial Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trivial-politics-3580382/) [Trying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying/) [Trying Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trying-thinking-2876482/) [White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white/) [White Left](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/white-left-3580383/) ## Related quotes > [I think the more that I can find myself getting out of the way - like you said yourself - trying to get out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimbra/i-think-the-more-that-i-can-find-myself-getting-out-of-the-way-like/) [Kimbra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimbra/) > [“As poets value the sounds of words above their meanings, and images above arguments, I am trying to get thinking people to be aware…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-watts/as-poets-value-the-sounds-of-words-above-their-meanings-and-images/) [Alan W. 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What's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meek-mill/i-don-t-like-a-girl-on-social-media-when-you-have-an-open-inbox/) [Meek Mill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meek-mill/) > [In exams, we look up for inspiration, down for desperation, left and right for information.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/in-exams-we-look-up-for-inspiration-down-for-desperation-left-and/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [“There are so many priests who enter triumphantly and walk up toward the altar, greeting people left and right, so as to appear sympathetic.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-sarah/there-are-so-many-priests-who-enter-triumphantly-and-walk-up-toward/) [Robert Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-sarah/) > [When I see birches bend to left and right... I like to think some boy's been swinging them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-frost/when-i-see-birches-bend-to-left-and-right-i-like-to-think-some-boy-s/) [Robert Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-frost/) > [“I assume 'elegant gentlemen,' such as you, learn such useful skills very early in life." "Actually, no." Straight-faced, Vane reached for her pins. "Us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-laurens/i-assume-elegant-gentlemen-such-as-you-learn-such-useful-skills-very/) [Stephanie Laurens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-laurens/) ## More by Bob Dylan > [The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born is busy dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-hollow-horn-plays-wasted-words-proves-to-warn-that-he-not-busy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You don't count the dead, when god's on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-count-the-dead-when-god-s-on-your-side/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She makes love just like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-makes-love-just-like-a-woman/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift - look out out kid, they keep it all hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/twenty-years-of-schooling-and-they-put-you-on-the-day-shift-look-out/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep, and the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-drunken-politician-leaps-upon-the-street-where-mothers-weep-and/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She speaks with a stutter and she and she walks with a hop. I don't know why I love her, but I just can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-speaks-with-a-stutter-and-she-and-she-walks-with-a-hop-i-don-t/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The man in the coon skin cap in the pig pen wants eleven dollar bills, you've only got ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-man-in-the-coon-skin-cap-in-the-pig-pen-wants-eleven-dollar-bills/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-put-my-faith-in-nobody-not-even-a-scientist/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Explore all 1,018 Bob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More Black quotes > [I wanted to write about voodoo tradition that I feel has been very important to survival of black people here: people of the African…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/i-wanted-to-write-about-voodoo-tradition-that-i-feel-has-been-very/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [When you go to a club it's not about being black or white or heavy or thick. 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