--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Elvis is my religion. But for him, I'd be…" description: "\"Elvis is my religion. But for him, I'd be selling encyclopedias right now.\" — Bruce Springsteen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/bruce-springsteen-546_elvis_elvis-is-my-religion-but-for-him-i-d-be_2651883.jpg" --- # Elvis is my religion. But for him, I'd be selling… ![“Elvis is my religion. But for him, I'd be selling encyclopedias right now.” quote by Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/bruce-springsteen-546_elvis_elvis-is-my-religion-but-for-him-i-d-be_2651883.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/bruce-springsteen-546_elvis_elvis-is-my-religion-but-for-him-i-d-be_2651883.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/319/bruce-springsteen-546_elvis_elvis-is-my-religion-but-for-him-i-d-be_2651883.jpg) > “Elvis is my religion. But for him, I'd be selling encyclopedias right now.” [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expresses deep admiration for Elvis, equating it to a personal faith while acknowledging commercial pressures. **In simple terms:** Elvis feels like a religion. Key Takeaway Channel admiration into purpose. Themes idolization faith commercialism Mood nostalgic reflective Type musical personal When to use this quote - concerts - merchandising - fan communities Key Concepts cultural icons personal belief Questions to Reflect On - What does idol worship mean to you? - How to balance passion with profit? A Different Perspective Commercialization can dilute meaning. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Encyclopedias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encyclopedias/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) ## Related quotes > [He found a set of encyclopedias—like Wikipedia, but paper and very bulky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-grant/he-found-a-set-of-encyclopedias-like-wikipedia-but-paper-and-very/) [Michael Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-grant/) > [Wholly new forms of encyclopedias will appear, ready made with a mesh of associative trails running through them, ready to be dropped into the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vannevar-bush/wholly-new-forms-of-encyclopedias-will-appear-ready-made-with-a-mesh/) [Vannevar Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vannevar-bush/) > [When you know too much information and you acquire it too easily, you tend to either use it in disagreeable ways, out of vanity,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-mailer/when-you-know-too-much-information-and-you-acquire-it-too-easily-you/) [Norman Mailer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-mailer/) > [I keep my self updated by reading different books and encyclopedias.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arfa-karim/i-keep-my-self-updated-by-reading-different-books-and-encyclopedias/) [Arfa Karim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arfa-karim/) > [The Internet gives us everything and forces us to filter it not by the workings of culture, but with our own brains. This risks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/the-internet-gives-us-everything-and-forces-us-to-filter-it-not-by/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [I think "God" is an off-putting word. I don't think there's a name for this. I think it's a presence that is best for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/i-think-god-is-an-off-putting-word-i-don-t-think-there-s-a-name-for/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) > [I had a job once selling encyclopedias, and that was an interesting job because I learned a lot about people's vulnerabilities and how salesmen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-voight/i-had-a-job-once-selling-encyclopedias-and-that-was-an-interesting/) [Jon Voight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-voight/) > [I once spent a spent a summer selling encyclopedias door to door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-liss/i-once-spent-a-spent-a-summer-selling-encyclopedias-door-to-door/) [David Liss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-liss/) > [That Elvis, man, he is all there is. There ain't no more. Everything starts and ends with him. He wrote the book. But for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/that-elvis-man-he-is-all-there-is-there-ain-t-no-more-everything/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I'm a book guy first, and my education came from two encyclopedias. One was an encyclopedia of health, so I became morbidly obsessed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-m-a-book-guy-first-and-my-education-came-from-two-encyclopedias-one/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [Encyclopedias are finished. All encyclopedias combined, including the redoubtable Britannica, have already been surpassed by the exercise in groupthink known as Wikipedia.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-gleick/encyclopedias-are-finished-all-encyclopedias-combined-including-the/) [James Gleick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-gleick/) > [Open-source encyclopedias such as Wikipedia and search engines such as Google and Bing, which people can tap into anytime and anywhere via computers and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naveen-jain/open-source-encyclopedias-such-as-wikipedia-and-search-engines-such/) [Naveen Jain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naveen-jain/) > [Facts in books, statistics in encyclopedias, the ability to use them in men's heads.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/facts-in-books-statistics-in-encyclopedias-the-ability-to-use-them-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I somehow graduated 90s pre-Internet high school and got into college with just a set of flea market 50s encyclopedias at home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damon-thomas/i-somehow-graduated-90s-pre-internet-high-school-and-got-into-college/) [Damon Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damon-thomas/) > [“Cos if it's encyclopedias we've got enough, like, information... and if it's God, you've got the wrong house.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/cos-if-it-s-encyclopedias-we-ve-got-enough-like-information-and-if-it/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) ## More by Bruce Springsteen > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [When I die throw my body in the back and drive me to the junk yard in my Cadillac.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/when-i-die-throw-my-body-in-the-back-and-drive-me-to-the-junk-yard-in/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [When you start talking about elections being rigged, you're pushing people beyond democratic governance. And it's a very, very dangerous thing to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/when-you-start-talking-about-elections-being-rigged-you-re-pushing/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I got Mary pregnant and man that's all she wrote. And for my 19th birthday, I got a union card and a factory coat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-got-mary-pregnant-and-man-that-s-all-she-wrote-and-for-my-19th/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [ I don't know if I know anyone, with the exception of the early inventors of rock music \[who wasn't influenced by something\]. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-don-t-know-if-i-know-anyone-with-the-exception-of-the-early/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [People see you onstage and, yeah, I'd want to be that guy.I want to be that guy myself very often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/people-see-you-onstage-and-yeah-i-d-want-to-be-that-guy-i-want-to-be/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [You know, my music utilizes things from the past, because that's what the past is for. It's to learn from. It's not to limit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/you-know-my-music-utilizes-things-from-the-past-because-that-s-what/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [From the town of Lincoln Nebraska with a sawed off .410 on my lap, through the Badlands of Wyoming I killed everything in my path.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/from-the-town-of-lincoln-nebraska-with-a-sawed-off-410-on-my-lap/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I want a thousand guitars . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-want-a-thousand-guitars/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [In America everything's about who's number one today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/in-america-everything-s-about-who-s-number-one-today/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [A pop song is a condensed version of a life in three minutes, whereas, when you go to write your prose, you have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/a-pop-song-is-a-condensed-version-of-a-life-in-three-minutes-whereas/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I walked a thousand miles just to slip this skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-walked-a-thousand-miles-just-to-slip-this-skin/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The moment you begin to depend on audience reaction, you're doing the wrong thing. You're doin' it wrong, it's a mistake, it's not right.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/the-moment-you-begin-to-depend-on-audience-reaction-you-re-doing-the/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The name 'Boss' started with people that worked for me... It was not meant like Boss, capital B, it was meant like 'Boss, where's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/the-name-boss-started-with-people-that-worked-for-me-it-was-not-meant/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [The country we carry in our hearts is waiting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/the-country-we-carry-in-our-hearts-is-waiting/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) [Explore all 484 Bruce Springsteen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) ## More Elvis quotes > [Elvis was sincere, and he was - he was so loyal. And he was so homespun. He loved his mother, he loved America. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-thompson/elvis-was-sincere-and-he-was-he-was-so-loyal-and-he-was-so-homespun/) [Linda Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-thompson/) > [I can guarantee you one thing, we will never agree on anything as we agreed on Elvis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lester-bangs/i-can-guarantee-you-one-thing-we-will-never-agree-on-anything-as-we/) [Lester Bangs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lester-bangs/) > [Elvis deserves a lot of credit for bringing the blues to middle America, not the Vegas stuff. The early stuff, The Sun records, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-tork/elvis-deserves-a-lot-of-credit-for-bringing-the-blues-to-middle/) [Peter Tork](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-tork/) > [“If you threw Elvis and a scarecrow in a blender, topped the whole thing off with Seagram's 7 and pressed dice, you would make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-portes/if-you-threw-elvis-and-a-scarecrow-in-a-blender-topped-the-whole/) [Andrea Portes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-portes/) > [Oh, I think country has changed tremendously. I think country has totally changed. Country music when I was a kid was Hank Williams. If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mellencamp/oh-i-think-country-has-changed-tremendously-i-think-country-has/) [John Mellencamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mellencamp/) > [Elvis Presley wore a Star of David and a cross around his neck and, when someone asked him about it, he said, "It makes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cass-mccombs/elvis-presley-wore-a-star-of-david-and-a-cross-around-his-neck-and/) [Cass McCombs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cass-mccombs/) > [Elvis a fight the dying light, Johnny Ray he's always crying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-idol/elvis-a-fight-the-dying-light-johnny-ray-he-s-always-crying/) [Billy Idol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-idol/) > [Elvis was the firstest with the mostest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-orbison/elvis-was-the-firstest-with-the-mostest/) [Roy Orbison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-orbison/) > [Elvis' early music has drama because as he sang he was escaping limits.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greil-marcus/elvis-early-music-has-drama-because-as-he-sang-he-was-escaping-limits/) [Greil Marcus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greil-marcus/) > [I was very keen on people like Elvis, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Gene Vincent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-trower/i-was-very-keen-on-people-like-elvis-carl-perkins-jerry-lee-lewis-and/) [Robin Trower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-trower/) > [When I was a little kid, I was very impressed with Elvis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-trower/when-i-was-a-little-kid-i-was-very-impressed-with-elvis/) [Robin Trower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-trower/) > [ Elvis \[Presley\] had a stepstool, if you will, to success because he came from the dominant culture. They identified with him. Michael Jackson had… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-eric-dyson/elvis-presley-had-a-stepstool-if-you-will-to-success-because-he-came/) [Michael Eric Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-eric-dyson/) > [Elvis helps Santa Clause make toys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honey-boo-boo-child/elvis-helps-santa-clause-make-toys/) [Honey Boo Boo Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honey-boo-boo-child/) > [It was very nerve-wracking for me. I had to be drunk and have a threesome. I'm not that guy. Bobby Cannavale is that guy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-romano/it-was-very-nerve-wracking-for-me-i-had-to-be-drunk-and-have-a/) [Ray Romano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-romano/) > [“His body walks out onto the darkened stage , and a roar goes up from the crowd. He stands in front of the mic,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-garraty/his-body-walks-out-onto-the-darkened-stage-and-a-roar-goes-up-from/) Joseph Garraty Browse all 508 Elvis quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Elvis is my religion. 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