--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whether I'm on for a day or whether I'm…" description: "\"Whether I'm on for a day or whether I'm on for a year, at the end of the day, I sing for my dinner.\" — David Lee Roth" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/david-lee-roth-6560_dinner_whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m_761146.jpg" --- # Whether I'm on for a day or whether I'm on for a year, at… ![“Whether I'm on for a day or whether I'm on for a year, at the end of the day, I sing for my dinner.” quote by David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/david-lee-roth-6560_dinner_whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m_761146.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/david-lee-roth-6560_dinner_whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m_761146.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/david-lee-roth-6560_dinner_whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m_761146.jpg) > “Whether I'm on for a day or whether I'm on for a year, at the end of the day, I sing for my dinner.” [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He performs music to earn his livelihood, regardless of duration **In simple terms:** He sings for his living Key Takeaway Work hard, stay creative Themes music livelihood performance Mood determined playful Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - touring - recording - busking - daily gigs Key Concepts Artistic expression sustenance Questions to Reflect On - How does performance shape identity? - What drives you to create? A Different Perspective May overlook artistic fulfillment beyond income ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Day Sing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-sing-3824106/) [Day Year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/day-year-804330/) [Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) [End of the day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-the-day/) [Ends](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ends/) [Sing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sing/) [Sing Dinner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sing-dinner-5901919/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [The end of the day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/the-end-of-the-day/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [While the sun God will may your day, sing as a song in search of a voice that is silent, and the one God…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-diamond/while-the-sun-god-will-may-your-day-sing-as-a-song-in-search-of-a/) [Neil Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-diamond/) > [I miss singing every day. I can't sing anymore. My voice doesn't work. I have Parkinson's disease, and it sometimes takes my words away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-miss-singing-every-day-i-can-t-sing-anymore-my-voice-doesn-t-work-i/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [I'm a fan of the Strokes, so my big fantasy was that one day I would get to sing with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sia-furler/i-m-a-fan-of-the-strokes-so-my-big-fantasy-was-that-one-day-i-would/) [Sia Furler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sia-furler/) > [It was what I did after school. I'd learn a song in choir that day and I'd sing it, all the parts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-collier/it-was-what-i-did-after-school-i-d-learn-a-song-in-choir-that-day-and/) [Jacob Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-collier/) > [I write my lyrics the day I sing the song, so even when I have the basic things, I'm thinking what can I change,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kirk-windstein/i-write-my-lyrics-the-day-i-sing-the-song-so-even-when-i-have-the/) [Kirk Windstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kirk-windstein/) > [I want to play every day. This year will be absolutely no different.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/derek-jeter/i-want-to-play-every-day-this-year-will-be-absolutely-no-different/) [Derek Jeter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/derek-jeter/) > [Welcome to We Day! Since last year, WE have volunteered over 1.7 million hours of our time!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-kielburger/welcome-to-we-day-since-last-year-we-have-volunteered-over-1-7/) [Craig Kielburger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-kielburger/) > [You must be excited for the one day of the year when your behavior makes sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-must-be-excited-for-the-one-day-of-the-year-when-your-behavior/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I try and do 2,500 words a day, every day of the year](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holt/i-try-and-do-2-500-words-a-day-every-day-of-the-year/) [Tom Holt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holt/) > [“Quotations every day of the year.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/quotations-every-day-of-the-year/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“not just during the remainder of the day but also a full one year later.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-pink/not-just-during-the-remainder-of-the-day-but-also-a-full-one-year/) [Daniel H. Pink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-pink/) > [Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/write-it-on-your-heart-that-every-day-is-the-best-day-in-the-year/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [For me, life is starting every day, every year. There's a lot to be done!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manoj-bajpayee/for-me-life-is-starting-every-day-every-year-there-s-a-lot-to-be-done/) [Manoj Bajpayee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manoj-bajpayee/) > [Tax Day is the one day of the year I disappoint the government as much as it disappoints me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tax-day-is-the-one-day-of-the-year-i-disappoint-the-government-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Perhaps one day in a year or even in a century you'll turn up at my door and let me show you what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-morgan/perhaps-one-day-in-a-year-or-even-in-a-century-you-ll-turn-up-at-my/) [Joseph Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-morgan/) ## More by David Lee Roth > [Music journalists love Elvis Costello and hate me because they look like Elvis Costello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/music-journalists-love-elvis-costello-and-hate-me-because-they-look/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [Many of the critics have kids of their own. It scares the hell out of them to think that their kids could be anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/many-of-the-critics-have-kids-of-their-own-it-scares-the-hell-out-of/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [I'm gonna abandon my spirit to them, which is actually what I attempt to do. You work yourself up into that state and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/i-m-gonna-abandon-my-spirit-to-them-which-is-actually-what-i-attempt/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [If you put a Van Halen album in your record collection, it will melt all the rest of your records.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/if-you-put-a-van-halen-album-in-your-record-collection-it-will-melt/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [Somebody asked me the question not too long ago: 'Dave, do you think the music business has turned corrupt.' I said: 'Absolutely not -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/somebody-asked-me-the-question-not-too-long-ago-dave-do-you-think-the/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [“Money can't buy happiness but it can buy a huge yacht that sails right next to it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/money-can-t-buy-happiness-but-it-can-buy-a-huge-yacht-that-sails/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [I am a one-trick pony. If you tell most people to draw a picture of a tree, they'd draw 35 branches and 10,000 leaves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/i-am-a-one-trick-pony-if-you-tell-most-people-to-draw-a-picture-of-a/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [If you want to split a bottle with a friend, then Sammy Hagar is your guy. If you want to split your friend with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/if-you-want-to-split-a-bottle-with-a-friend-then-sammy-hagar-is-your/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [An ounce of image is worth a pound of performance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/an-ounce-of-image-is-worth-a-pound-of-performance/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [I'm a natural behind the camera... My attentions are more toward behind the scenes, more toward creating, producing, and directing what's going on here...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/i-m-a-natural-behind-the-camera-my-attentions-are-more-toward-behind/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [I always wanted to be an outrage to public decency and a threat to women. And this is one of the few occupations where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/i-always-wanted-to-be-an-outrage-to-public-decency-and-a-threat-to/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [Stick your head above the crowd and eventually somebody will throw a rock at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/stick-your-head-above-the-crowd-and-eventually-somebody-will-throw-a/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [We've all got out self-destructive bad habits, the trick is to find four or five you personally like the best and just do those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/we-ve-all-got-out-self-destructive-bad-habits-the-trick-is-to-find/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [Give me a glazed doughnut, and a bottle of anything... to go!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/give-me-a-glazed-doughnut-and-a-bottle-of-anything-to-go/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) > [Music is like girlfriends to me; I'm continually astonished by the choices other people make.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/music-is-like-girlfriends-to-me-i-m-continually-astonished-by-the/) [David Lee Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) [Explore all 98 David Lee Roth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/) ## More Dinner quotes > [The language we share is at the core of our identity as citizens, and our ticket to full participation in American political life. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-i-hayakawa/the-language-we-share-is-at-the-core-of-our-identity-as-citizens-and/) [S. I. Hayakawa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-i-hayakawa/) > [My dinners have never interfered with my business. They have been my recreation. . . A public banquet, if eaten with thought and care,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chauncey-depew/my-dinners-have-never-interfered-with-my-business-they-have-been-my/) [Chauncey Depew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chauncey-depew/) > [Anybody can be Prince Charming one day a year, with the dinner and the flowers and all that. But you know what impresses me?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-howard/anybody-can-be-prince-charming-one-day-a-year-with-the-dinner-and-the/) [Ryan Howard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-howard/) > [“We just went out for dinner. We didn't participate in a Roman orgy, I swear.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-dahl/we-just-went-out-for-dinner-we-didn-t-participate-in-a-roman-orgy-i/) [Victoria Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-dahl/) > [Back in the really olden days, dinner was seldom a ceremonial event for U.S. families. Only the very wealthy had a separate dining room.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-gibbs/back-in-the-really-olden-days-dinner-was-seldom-a-ceremonial-event/) [Nancy Gibbs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-gibbs/) > [ Music \[is\] the third rail of life. You grabbed it to shock yourself out of the dull drag of hours. To feel something. To… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-hill/music-is-the-third-rail-of-life-you-grabbed-it-to-shock-yourself-out/) [Joe Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-hill/) > [Sonny Von Bulow, who said to her husband Claus on their honeymoon, Stop needling me. Never got a dinner!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-buttons/sonny-von-bulow-who-said-to-her-husband-claus-on-their-honeymoon-stop/) [Red Buttons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-buttons/) > [Remember, sex is like a Chinese dinner. It ain't over 'til you both get your cookie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alec-baldwin/remember-sex-is-like-a-chinese-dinner-it-ain-t-over-til-you-both-get/) [Alec Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alec-baldwin/) > [I have no social life. There is no time for one. Once in a while I may go to dinner with a friend but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liz-halliday/i-have-no-social-life-there-is-no-time-for-one-once-in-a-while-i-may/) [Liz Halliday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liz-halliday/) > [I'm not a person who would get up at 5 A.M. to write, but I could sacrifice my Friday night and just order in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-weisberger/i-m-not-a-person-who-would-get-up-at-5-a-m-to-write-but-i-could/) [Lauren Weisberger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-weisberger/) > [Challenging is good, like good conversation, yes? Who wants to have dinner with the same old easy listening music sounding friends all the time?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilton-als/challenging-is-good-like-good-conversation-yes-who-wants-to-have/) [Hilton Als](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilton-als/) > [Once, as an experiment, I travelled around the world with a single suit. Before I left, I went to a tailor in Savile Row…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-hamilton/once-as-an-experiment-i-travelled-around-the-world-with-a-single-suit/) [George Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-hamilton/) > [I like to be bought flowers and taken out for dinner. I like a man to be a gentleman. I don't like to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-stone/i-like-to-be-bought-flowers-and-taken-out-for-dinner-i-like-a-man-to/) [Sharon Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-stone/) > [Why should the Marquis de Cussy wage war on soup? I cannot understand a dinner without it. I hold soup to be the well…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marie-antoine-careme/why-should-the-marquis-de-cussy-wage-war-on-soup-i-cannot-understand/) [Marie-Antoine Careme](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marie-antoine-careme/) > [Helvetica is the jeans, and Univers the dinner jacket. Helvetica is here to stay.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrian-frutiger/helvetica-is-the-jeans-and-univers-the-dinner-jacket-helvetica-is/) [Adrian Frutiger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrian-frutiger/) [Browse all 2,901 Dinner quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dinner/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Whether I'm on for a day or whether I'm on for a year, at the end of the day, I sing for my dinner.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Lee Roth" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m-on-for-a-year-at-the-end-of/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Dinner" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m-on-for-a-year-at-the-end-of/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/david-lee-roth-6560_dinner_whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m_761146.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/david-lee-roth-6560_dinner_whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m_761146.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/caa/david-lee-roth-6560_dinner_whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m_761146.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Whether I'm on for a day or whether I'm on for a year, at the end of the day, I sing for my dinner.” — David Lee Roth", "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 Lee Roth", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lee-roth/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Whether I'm on for a day...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m-on-for-a-year-at-the-end-of/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lee-roth/whether-i-m-on-for-a-day-or-whether-i-m-on-for-a-year-at-the-end-of/#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 } } ] } ```