---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It must be quite mysterious to some…"
description: "\"It must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to carry on. Because, you know, I don't sell that many records.\" — Brian Eno"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/brian-eno-776_bother_it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-peop_2025037.jpg"
---

#  It must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to…

![“It must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to carry on. Because, you know, I don't sell that many records.” quote by Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/brian-eno-776_bother_it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-peop_2025037.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/brian-eno-776_bother_it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-peop_2025037.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/brian-eno-776_bother_it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-peop_2025037.jpg)

> “It must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to carry on. Because, you know, I don't sell that many records.”

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

The speaker acknowledges that others may not understand his persistence, but he continues despite modest commercial success.

**In simple terms:** He keeps going even though few understand why.

Key Takeaway

Persist regardless of external validation.

Themes

creativity perseverance artistic integrity

Mood

reflective determined

Type

philosophical inspirational

When to use this quote

- musician life
- artist’s block
- career longevity
- personal fulfillment

Key Concepts

existential motivation self-determination

Questions to Reflect On

- What drives you when external rewards are scarce?
- How do you define success beyond sales?

A Different Perspective

Commercial success is not the sole measure of artistic worth.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/) [Bother Carry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother-carry-3689280/) [Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mysterious/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [People Bother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people-bother-463561/) [Quite Mysterious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/quite-mysterious-1134545/) [Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/records/) [Sell Records](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sell-records/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/)

## Related quotes

> [When people bother you in any way, it is because their souls are trying to get your divine attention and your blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-ponder/when-people-bother-you-in-any-way-it-is-because-their-souls-are/)

[Catherine Ponder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-ponder/)

> [The people I've met -- obviously, the people I'm going to meet after concerts are people that bother to hang around and there's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-dean-bradfield/the-people-i-ve-met-obviously-the-people-i-m-going-to-meet-after/)

[James Dean Bradfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-dean-bradfield/)

> [My thesis project was to identify quasars, which are very distant, very energetic objects and still quite mysterious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jocelyn-bell-burnell/my-thesis-project-was-to-identify-quasars-which-are-very-distant-very/)

[Jocelyn Bell Burnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jocelyn-bell-burnell/)

> [The performances I enjoy are the ones that are hard to read or ambiguous or left-of-centre because it makes you look closer and that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-blunt/the-performances-i-enjoy-are-the-ones-that-are-hard-to-read-or/)

[Emily Blunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-blunt/)

> [If you are gonna act like you dont know me when you're with a certain group of people you might as well not even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-are-gonna-act-like-you-dont-know-me-when-you-re-with-a-certain/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Telling people her name was always a bother. As soon as the name left her lips, the other person looked puzzled or confused.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/telling-people-her-name-was-always-a-bother-as-soon-as-the-name-left/)

[Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/)

> [Very few people ever bother to find out what other people really think. They are willing to accept whatever they are told about anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/very-few-people-ever-bother-to-find-out-what-other-people-really/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Most people who bother with the matter at all would admit that the English language is in a bad way, but it is generally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/most-people-who-bother-with-the-matter-at-all-would-admit-that-the/)

[George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/)

> [I don't rely on my figure to sell records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adele/i-don-t-rely-on-my-figure-to-sell-records/)

[Adele](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adele/)

> [That's a good thing for me. I own everything, I have 100% creative control, I own all my masters, everything. I'm blessed to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/that-s-a-good-thing-for-me-i-own-everything-i-have-100-creative/)

[Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/)

> [It's harder and harder to sell records now. You've got to give extra value. You've got to give people a reason to go out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-static/it-s-harder-and-harder-to-sell-records-now-you-ve-got-to-give-extra/)

[Wayne Static](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-static/)

> [MTV is cool. Hell, yes, they helped us sell records!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mc-ren/mtv-is-cool-hell-yes-they-helped-us-sell-records/)

[MC Ren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mc-ren/)

> [I need to reach a lot of people to sell records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-crosby/i-need-to-reach-a-lot-of-people-to-sell-records/)

[Jon Crosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-crosby/)

> [I love to sell records, but that's not what I'm into.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-ervin-beam/i-love-to-sell-records-but-that-s-not-what-i-m-into/)

[Samuel Ervin Beam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-ervin-beam/)

> [I think I've had the longest career of strength, focus, and still being able to sell records. I think I'm that guy. I'm still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nas/i-think-i-ve-had-the-longest-career-of-strength-focus-and-still-being/)

[Nas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nas/)

## More by Brian Eno

> [I have lived in countries that were coming out of conflict: Ireland, South Africa, the Czech republic. People there are overflowing with energy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-have-lived-in-countries-that-were-coming-out-of-conflict-ireland/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [The lyrics are constructed as empirically as the music. I don't set out to say anything very important.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-lyrics-are-constructed-as-empirically-as-the-music-i-don-t-set/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [Admirers can be a tremendous force for conservatism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/admirers-can-be-a-tremendous-force-for-conservatism/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [The whole history of pop music had rested on the first person singular, with occasional intrusions of the second person singular.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/the-whole-history-of-pop-music-had-rested-on-the-first-person/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [You can't really imagine music without technology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/you-can-t-really-imagine-music-without-technology/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [Robert Fripp and I will be recording another LP very soon. It should be even more monotonous than the first one!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/robert-fripp-and-i-will-be-recording-another-lp-very-soon-it-should/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [I despise computers in many ways. I think they’re hopelessly underevolved and overrated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-despise-computers-in-many-ways-i-think-they-re-hopelessly/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [I think very often producers are really trying to repeat things. When they hear something in the new songs that they recognize as being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-think-very-often-producers-are-really-trying-to-repeat-things-when/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [I think that's very significant that we're so attached to the idea now of - it was something I advocated for years, that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-think-that-s-very-significant-that-we-re-so-attached-to-the-idea/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [If you watch any good player, they're using different parts of their body and working with instruments that respond to those movements. They're moving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/if-you-watch-any-good-player-they-re-using-different-parts-of-their/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [Songs that don't depend on composition depend instead on performance - so the fire has to be there in the playing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/songs-that-don-t-depend-on-composition-depend-instead-on-performance/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [I can see the use and value of religion, just as I can see the use of mud wrestling, yoga, astronomy and sadomasochism. but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-can-see-the-use-and-value-of-religion-just-as-i-can-see-the-use-of/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [I wanted to get rid of the element that had been considered essential in pop music: the voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-wanted-to-get-rid-of-the-element-that-had-been-considered-essential/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [At the beginning of the 20th century, the ambition of the great painters was to make paintings that were like music, which was then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/at-the-beginning-of-the-20th-century-the-ambition-of-the-great/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [I had an interesting day. I was in the studio with a group of musicians, who shall remain nameless, and I said to them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/i-had-an-interesting-day-i-was-in-the-studio-with-a-group-of/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

[Explore all 373 Brian Eno quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

## More Bother quotes

> [ Brad \[Dourif\] would tell himself that he was not intentionally trying to mimic Jack Nicholson in any way. I think that actually bothers him… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-kirschner/brad-dourif-would-tell-himself-that-he-was-not-intentionally-trying/)

[David Kirschner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-kirschner/)

> [One day I decided I would like to put a record into my system. So I picked up a record that was lying on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pauline-oliveros/one-day-i-decided-i-would-like-to-put-a-record-into-my-system-so-i/)

[Pauline Oliveros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pauline-oliveros/)

> [Im tired, tired of putting more effort than you do. Im tired of always having to start the conversation and if I dont, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-tired-tired-of-putting-more-effort-than-you-do-im-tired-of-always/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I think what bothers us about fighting sports isn't the damage to the athlete but the fact that you win by doing more harm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-gottschall/i-think-what-bothers-us-about-fighting-sports-isn-t-the-damage-to-the/)

[Jonathan Gottschall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-gottschall/)

> [There is an idea that you can take the spiritual teachings of a religion outside of a religion and practice them; these ideas are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seyyed-hossein-nasr/there-is-an-idea-that-you-can-take-the-spiritual-teachings-of-a/)

[Seyyed Hossein Nasr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seyyed-hossein-nasr/)

> ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/)

[Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/)

> [I've always been a late bloomer in some ways, and extremely precocious in other ways. When I was twenty I was living in New…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meghan-daum/i-ve-always-been-a-late-bloomer-in-some-ways-and-extremely-precocious/)

[Meghan Daum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meghan-daum/)

> [“Shut up. Stand up. Put this on. That’s right . . . if you were the kind of man who found it easy to do that kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-stross/shut-up-stand-up-put-this-on-that-s-right-if-you-were-the-kind-of-man/)

[Charles Stross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-stross/)

> [We have reached the point where we can lose a game or two and not drop out of sight in the rankings. I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lavell-edwards/we-have-reached-the-point-where-we-can-lose-a-game-or-two-and-not/)

[LaVell Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lavell-edwards/)

> [I've said I want the meanest, toughest SOB I can find to protect America. And so that's why Trump's tone doesn't bother me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-jeffress/i-ve-said-i-want-the-meanest-toughest-sob-i-can-find-to-protect/)

[Robert Jeffress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-jeffress/)

> [I was a loner as a child. I had an imaginary friend - I didn't bother with him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/i-was-a-loner-as-a-child-i-had-an-imaginary-friend-i-didn-t-bother/)

[George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/)

> [This hype word bothers me though It always sounds like an accusation, what does it mean, advertising, column inches in the press? Bands themselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-johnson/this-hype-word-bothers-me-though-it-always-sounds-like-an-accusation/)

[Holly Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-johnson/)

> [Our students wanted to know everything: but only the newest theory seemed to them worth bothering with. Knowing nothing of the intellectual achievements of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-levi-strauss/our-students-wanted-to-know-everything-but-only-the-newest-theory/)

[Claude Levi-Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-levi-strauss/)

> [Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-dale-bell/show-me-a-man-who-cannot-bother-to-do-little-things-and-i-ll-show-you/)

[Lawrence Dale Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-dale-bell/)

> [People are people. All that celebrity tagging doesn't bother me at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-price/people-are-people-all-that-celebrity-tagging-doesn-t-bother-me-at-all/)

[Katie Price](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-price/)

[Browse all 1,604 Bother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bother/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "It must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to carry on. Because, you know, I don't sell that many records.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Brian Eno"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-people-why-i-bother-to-carry-on/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bother"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-people-why-i-bother-to-carry-on/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/brian-eno-776_bother_it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-peop_2025037.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/brian-eno-776_bother_it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-peop_2025037.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/107/brian-eno-776_bother_it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-peop_2025037.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“It must be quite mysterious to some people why I bother to carry on. Because, you know, I don't sell that…” — Brian Eno",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Brian Eno",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "It must be quite mysterious to...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-people-why-i-bother-to-carry-on/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/it-must-be-quite-mysterious-to-some-people-why-i-bother-to-carry-on/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
