--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There's an effort to reclaim the…" description: "\"There's an effort to reclaim the unmentionable, the unsayable, the unspeakable, all those things come into being a composer, into writing music, into s..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/david-bowie-508_effort_there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmenti_2176972.jpg" --- # There's an effort to reclaim the unmentionable, the… ![“There's an effort to reclaim the unmentionable, the unsayable, the unspeakable, all those things come into being a composer, into writing music, into searching for notes and pieces of musical information that don't exist.” quote by David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/david-bowie-508_effort_there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmenti_2176972.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/david-bowie-508_effort_there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmenti_2176972.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/david-bowie-508_effort_there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmenti_2176972.jpg) > “There's an effort to reclaim the unmentionable, the unsayable, the unspeakable, all those things come into being a composer, into writing music, into searching for notes and pieces of musical information that don't exist.” [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Artists seek to give form to the ineffable, creating sounds that previously did not exist. **In simple terms:** Artists try to express the unexpressible through music. Key Takeaway Embrace the unknown in creative work. Themes creativity expression artistic pursuit Mood reflective inspired Type artistic philosophical When to use this quote - composing music - writing poetry - experimental design - innovation - research Key Concepts aesthetic theory imagination creative process Questions to Reflect On - How can you translate intangible ideas into tangible art? - What limits exist when expressing the unspeakable? A Different Perspective May become too abstract, alienating audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Writing music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing-music/) ## Related quotes > [In my next lifetime, I want to come back as a composer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-fosse/in-my-next-lifetime-i-want-to-come-back-as-a-composer/) [Bob Fosse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-fosse/) > [When you have a single composer writing his work, it shouldn't be doled out in singles based on the length of a piece.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gail-zappa/when-you-have-a-single-composer-writing-his-work-it-shouldn-t-be/) [Gail Zappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gail-zappa/) > [“We sat in the shadows, full of unspeakable things.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/we-sat-in-the-shadows-full-of-unspeakable-things/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [Cersei is a character who's done unspeakable things, and yet we also know that she's a mother who's lost her children - that she's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-podeswa/cersei-is-a-character-who-s-done-unspeakable-things-and-yet-we-also/) [Jeremy Podeswa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-podeswa/) > [We've seen some insane signs: 'Is that a loaf of bread in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?' Funny stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-hutcherson/we-ve-seen-some-insane-signs-is-that-a-loaf-of-bread-in-your-pocket/) [Josh Hutcherson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-hutcherson/) > [“She was partial to the tie. Not too long ago he did unspeakable things to her with that tie.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melissa-cutler/she-was-partial-to-the-tie-not-too-long-ago-he-did-unspeakable-things/) [Melissa Cutler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melissa-cutler/) > [“How does one go on after doing such unspeakable things? It's all rather simple, really," he continued, speaking in someone else's voice. "Say to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melika-dannese-lux/how-does-one-go-on-after-doing-such-unspeakable-things-it-s-all/) [Melika Dannese Lux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melika-dannese-lux/) > [“There's a frightful muteness that dwells at the center of all unspeakable things, and I had found my way into it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-monk-kidd/there-s-a-frightful-muteness-that-dwells-at-the-center-of-all/) [Sue Monk Kidd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-monk-kidd/) > [I've put my friends and family through the wringer over the years, I have to say, by doing unspeakable things to people, not the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-strong/i-ve-put-my-friends-and-family-through-the-wringer-over-the-years-i/) [Mark Strong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-strong/) > [I think deep down, we're all capable of unspeakable things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criminal-minds/i-think-deep-down-we-re-all-capable-of-unspeakable-things/) [Criminal Minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criminal-minds/) > [It's magical thinking to imagine that the reason unspeakable things are being perpetrated by younger and younger people is that they've fallen under the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/it-s-magical-thinking-to-imagine-that-the-reason-unspeakable-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [Each of us, face to face with other men, is clothed with some sort of dignity, but we know only too well all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luigi-pirandello/each-of-us-face-to-face-with-other-men-is-clothed-with-some-sort-of/) [Luigi Pirandello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luigi-pirandello/) > [Searching for music is like searching for God. They're very similar. There's an effort to reclaim the unmentionable, the unsayable, the unseeable, the unspeakable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/searching-for-music-is-like-searching-for-god-they-re-very-similar/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I just tried everything out - I mean, everything. Even my sexual orientation; I was just searching for what I really wanted. And I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-just-tried-everything-out-i-mean-everything-even-my-sexual/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [Anxiety and spiritual searching have been consistent themes with me, and that figures into my worldview. But I tend to make my songs sound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/anxiety-and-spiritual-searching-have-been-consistent-themes-with-me/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) ## More by David Bowie > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [No more free steps to heaven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/no-more-free-steps-to-heaven/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I'm not sure whether it is me changing my mind, or whether I lie a lot.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-m-not-sure-whether-it-is-me-changing-my-mind-or-whether-i-lie-a-lot/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I do some kind of work, whether writing or painting or recording, on a daily basis. And it's so essential that when I'm involved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-do-some-kind-of-work-whether-writing-or-painting-or-recording-on-a/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [To not be modest about it, you'll find that with only a couple of exceptions, most of the musicians that I've worked with have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/to-not-be-modest-about-it-you-ll-find-that-with-only-a-couple-of/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I went mainstream in a major way with the song "Let's Dance." And what I found I had done was put a box around…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-went-mainstream-in-a-major-way-with-the-song-let-s-dance-and-what-i/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [“Keep your 'lectric eye on me babe Put your ray gun to my head Press your space face close to mine, love Freak out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/keep-your-lectric-eye-on-me-babe-put-your-ray-gun-to-my-head-press/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I'm in awe of the universe, but I don't necessarily believe there's an intelligence or agent behind it. I do have a passion for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-m-in-awe-of-the-universe-but-i-don-t-necessarily-believe-there-s-an/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [TV has eaten up everything else, and Warhol films are all that are left, which is fabulous. Pork could become the next I Love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/tv-has-eaten-up-everything-else-and-warhol-films-are-all-that-are/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [“My brain hurt like a warehouse It had no room to spare I had to cram so many things to store everything in there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/my-brain-hurt-like-a-warehouse-it-had-no-room-to-spare-i-had-to-cram/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I suppose for me as an artist it wasn't always just about expressing my work; I really wanted, more than anything else, to contribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-suppose-for-me-as-an-artist-it-wasn-t-always-just-about-expressing/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [... And these children that you spit on as they try to change their worlds are immune to your consultations. They're quite aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/and-these-children-that-you-spit-on-as-they-try-to-change-their/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I think the first song I ever wrote ... was called "Can't Help Thinking About Me." That's an illuminating little piece, isn't it?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-think-the-first-song-i-ever-wrote-was-called-can-t-help-thinking/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I've come to the realizations that I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing half the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-ve-come-to-the-realizations-that-i-have-absolutely-no-idea-what-i-m/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [I never really felt like a rock singer or a rock star or whatever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-never-really-felt-like-a-rock-singer-or-a-rock-star-or-whatever/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) [Explore all 508 David Bowie quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) ## More Effort quotes > [I value the experiences that come with life too much to sit by and not put my full effort into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-miller/i-value-the-experiences-that-come-with-life-too-much-to-sit-by-and/) [Jim Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-miller/) > [An enlightened awareness is within each one of us, right at this moment. This enlightened awareness is truly unborn and marvellously illuminating; and everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bankei-yotaku/an-enlightened-awareness-is-within-each-one-of-us-right-at-this/) [Bankei Yotaku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bankei-yotaku/) > [Now I try to make efforts, you know, I'm just, the best effort I can do is just stay sober myself. I can at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-dick/now-i-try-to-make-efforts-you-know-i-m-just-the-best-effort-i-can-do/) [Andy Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-dick/) > [Reading counts as partying, even if you're not enjoying it! Even if someone's forcing you to read, you can find a way to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-w-k/reading-counts-as-partying-even-if-you-re-not-enjoying-it-even-if/) [Andrew W.K](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-w-k/) > [ Bernie \[Ecclestone\] is the commercial rights holder so the more outgoing the champion is, the better. Of course. I also do think about our… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-ecclestone/bernie-ecclestone-is-the-commercial-rights-holder-so-the-more/) [Bernie Ecclestone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-ecclestone/) > [All efforts to render politics aesthetic culminate in one thing: war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-benjamin/all-efforts-to-render-politics-aesthetic-culminate-in-one-thing-war/) [Walter Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-benjamin/) > [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/) > [It is for the superfluous we sweat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/it-is-for-the-superfluous-we-sweat/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [Only alone can you go into eternity. Only alone can you feel the transcendental light. It is not a shared experience because if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/only-alone-can-you-go-into-eternity-only-alone-can-you-feel-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [I love a pocket. I'm about helping women look as good as possible on the least amount of effort. I want versatility and comfort.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-mccartney/i-love-a-pocket-i-m-about-helping-women-look-as-good-as-possible-on/) [Stella McCartney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-mccartney/) > [I have often spoken of integrity as the most important of these values, realizing that integrity – and personal integrity, at that – is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/verghese-kurien/i-have-often-spoken-of-integrity-as-the-most-important-of-these/) [Verghese Kurien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/verghese-kurien/) > [Grace is the power of the Holy Spirit coming to us free of charge to enable you to do with ease what you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/grace-is-the-power-of-the-holy-spirit-coming-to-us-free-of-charge-to/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [ No wonder that Churchill described this effort \[the British codebreakers working at Bletchley Park\] as "Britian"s secret weapon," a weapon far more effective than… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-hilton/no-wonder-that-churchill-described-this-effort-the-british/) [Peter Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-hilton/) > [“Dreams will come true as long as you give some effort towards your goal”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dayana/dreams-will-come-true-as-long-as-you-give-some-effort-towards-your/) Dayana > [I should have liked to get married, but over many decades I have lived essentially alone. I go to sleep when I'm tired, get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-dennis/i-should-have-liked-to-get-married-but-over-many-decades-i-have-lived/) [Felix Dennis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-dennis/) [Browse all 8,602 Effort quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/effort/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There's an effort to reclaim the unmentionable, the unsayable, the unspeakable, all those things come into being a composer, into writing music, into searching for notes and pieces of musical information that don't exist.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Bowie" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmentionable-the-unsayable-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Effort" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmentionable-the-unsayable-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/david-bowie-508_effort_there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmenti_2176972.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/david-bowie-508_effort_there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmenti_2176972.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/81d/david-bowie-508_effort_there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmenti_2176972.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“There's an effort to reclaim the unmentionable, the unsayable, the unspeakable, all those things come into…” — David Bowie", "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": "David Bowie", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "There's an effort to reclaim the...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmentionable-the-unsayable-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/there-s-an-effort-to-reclaim-the-unmentionable-the-unsayable-the/#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 } } ] } ```