--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So I wait for the day when I'll hear the…" description: "\"So I wait for the day when I'll hear the key as it turns in the lock And the guard will say to me, \"Oh my patient prisoner you waited for this day and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/conor-oberst-1535_keys_so-i-wait-for-the-day-when-i-ll-hear-the_368825.jpg" --- # So I wait for the day when I'll hear the key as it turns… ![“So I wait for the day when I'll hear the key as it turns in the lock And the guard will say to me, "Oh my patient prisoner you waited for this day and finally, you are free! You are free! You are free!” quote by Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/conor-oberst-1535_keys_so-i-wait-for-the-day-when-i-ll-hear-the_368825.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/conor-oberst-1535_keys_so-i-wait-for-the-day-when-i-ll-hear-the_368825.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e81/conor-oberst-1535_keys_so-i-wait-for-the-day-when-i-ll-hear-the_368825.jpg) > “So I wait for the day when I'll hear the key as it turns in the lock And the guard will say to me, "Oh my patient prisoner you waited for this day and finally, you are free! You are free! You are free!” [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The lyric imagines a prisoner’s hopeful anticipation of release, using a lock metaphor to symbolize freedom and redemption. **In simple terms:** A prisoner looks forward to being freed, hearing a key turn. Key Takeaway Embrace hope while awaiting change. Themes hope redemption patience freedom anticipation Mood hopeful reflective Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - prisoner narratives - motivational speeches - personal growth plans Key Concepts metaphor psychology of waiting personal liberation Questions to Reflect On - What does “key turning” represent in your life? - How can hope sustain you during long waits? A Different Perspective The metaphor may oversimplify the complexities of real incarceration and release. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Prisoner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prisoner/) ## Related quotes > [“I waited for the day I'd stop caring about you. 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But if I don't then I found out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-love-me-let-me-go-and-i-will-try-to-come-back-to-you-but-if-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [And if the Son has set us free Then we must be, free indeed Let the chains fall away, starting today. Everything has changed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nichole-nordeman/and-if-the-son-has-set-us-free-then-we-must-be-free-indeed-let-the/) [Nichole Nordeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nichole-nordeman/) > [We will only truly be free when those in bondage are finally free](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/desmond-tutu/we-will-only-truly-be-free-when-those-in-bondage-are-finally-free/) [Desmond Tutu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/desmond-tutu/) > [“Even before I became unattached, you had me thinking thoughts that no man in a relationship should have for a woman who wasn’t the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-sloan/even-before-i-became-unattached-you-had-me-thinking-thoughts-that-no/) [Harper Sloan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-sloan/) ## More by Conor Oberst > [Every time I finish a song... most of the time it's in my own head, like this sounds too much like a Townes Van…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/every-time-i-finish-a-song-most-of-the-time-it-s-in-my-own-head-like/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Because the truth is that gossip is as good as gospel in this town. You can save face but you won't ever save your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/because-the-truth-is-that-gossip-is-as-good-as-gospel-in-this-town/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [There's nothing that the road cannot heal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/there-s-nothing-that-the-road-cannot-heal/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I've given up trying to understand what people think about me. It seems like a lot of people don't like the music we make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-ve-given-up-trying-to-understand-what-people-think-about-me-it/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [You can't manufacture inspiration, so a lot of it is still a waiting game for me. There's still a lot of mystery to songwriting.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/you-can-t-manufacture-inspiration-so-a-lot-of-it-is-still-a-waiting/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Cause I swear that I'm dying, slowly but its happening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/cause-i-swear-that-i-m-dying-slowly-but-its-happening/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [In a way, to have whatever people talk about as "crossover success," I think it means you start making bad music. I mean, when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/in-a-way-to-have-whatever-people-talk-about-as-crossover-success-i/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [Men with purple hearts carry silver guns and they will kill a man for what his father has done. But what my father did,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/men-with-purple-hearts-carry-silver-guns-and-they-will-kill-a-man-for/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [There's a major underlying idea as you grow up that you need to just save your money and get that affordable housing at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/there-s-a-major-underlying-idea-as-you-grow-up-that-you-need-to-just/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [To finish a song is the best feeling in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/to-finish-a-song-is-the-best-feeling-in-the-world/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I've been part of running a label since I was a kid, so I understand how it works. 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I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/my-dad-who-plays-guitar-and-piano-and-was-in-cover-bands-along-with/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [I think there's a weird self-affirmation thing that happens in popular music in general. It seems like every song I hear on the radio…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-think-there-s-a-weird-self-affirmation-thing-that-happens-in/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) [Explore all 230 Conor Oberst quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) ## More Keys quotes > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. 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My music director, who knew…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-tesh/when-i-was-playing-piano-it-was-like-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-using/) [John Tesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-tesh/) > [At the end of the day, the key to happiness is taking ultimate responsibility for your reactions to all of your experiences - the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yehuda-berg/at-the-end-of-the-day-the-key-to-happiness-is-taking-ultimate/) [Yehuda Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yehuda-berg/) > [Closing his eyes, he sent up a prayer to anyone who was listening, asking please, for God's sake, stop sending him signals that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/closing-his-eyes-he-sent-up-a-prayer-to-anyone-who-was-listening/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Your head's like mine, like all our heads; big enough to contain every god and devil there ever was. Big enough to hold the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-morrison/your-head-s-like-mine-like-all-our-heads-big-enough-to-contain-every/) [Grant Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grant-morrison/) > [In the off-season you like to take a little time for yourself, but I'd like to say that people say I live in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-cole/in-the-off-season-you-like-to-take-a-little-time-for-yourself-but-i-d/) [Justin Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-cole/) > [the path of goodness had a name it is called Love in it we find the key to every hope and has it's root…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-john-paul-ii/the-path-of-goodness-had-a-name-it-is-called-love-in-it-we-find-the/) [Pope John Paul II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-john-paul-ii/) > [Somebody's going to hear a song that will key in a nerve or something in their experience that represents their own vision. 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That's the basic, ultimate freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/to-me-that-s-the-key-thing-the-pursuit-of-happiness-that-s-the-basic/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) Browse all 4,076 Keys quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "So I wait for the day when I'll hear the key as it turns in the lock And the guard will say to me, \"Oh my patient prisoner you waited for this day and finally, you are free! You are free! 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