---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A song isn't a newspaper. It might feel…"
description: "\"A song isn't a newspaper. It might feel direct, but it's not.\" — David Longstreth"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/david-longstreth-8561_direct_a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-d_851393.jpg"
---

#  A song isn't a newspaper. It might feel direct, but it's…

![“A song isn't a newspaper. It might feel direct, but it's not.” quote by David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/david-longstreth-8561_direct_a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-d_851393.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/david-longstreth-8561_direct_a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-d_851393.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/david-longstreth-8561_direct_a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-d_851393.jpg)

> “A song isn't a newspaper. It might feel direct, but it's not.”

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

## About This Quote

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

Songs convey emotions and stories, not factual reports; they are artistic expressions, not journalism.

**In simple terms:** Songs are art, not news.

Key Takeaway

Treat songs as expressive narratives.

Themes

art communication interpretation

Mood

analytical creative

Type

artistic critical

When to use this quote

- music criticism
- creative writing
- media analysis

Key Concepts

music theory media studies poetics

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you interpret lyrical meaning?
- What distinguishes art from news?

A Different Perspective

It may overlook songs that document events.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/) [Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel/) [Feel Direct](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feel-direct-754997/) [Might](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/might/) [Newspaper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspaper/) [Newspaper Feel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/newspaper-feel-754996/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Song Isn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song-isn-754995/)

## Related quotes

> [The happiness you feel is in direct proportion to the love you give.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oprah-winfrey/the-happiness-you-feel-is-in-direct-proportion-to-the-love-you-give/)

[Oprah Winfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oprah-winfrey/)

> [Direct your attention inward. Have a look inside yourself. What kind of thoughts is your mind producing? What do you feel? Direct your attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/direct-your-attention-inward-have-a-look-inside-yourself-what-kind-of/)

[Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/)

> [The way we feel is the direct result of what we think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-a-cohen/the-way-we-feel-is-the-direct-result-of-what-we-think/)

[Peter A. Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-a-cohen/)

> [I can't do pieces I only admire technically. I have to feel some direct contact with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tilson-thomas/i-can-t-do-pieces-i-only-admire-technically-i-have-to-feel-some/)

[Michael Tilson Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tilson-thomas/)

> [We have the possibility of being far removed from what we are, of beginning to taste it and feel it. That is direct knowledge.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-have-the-possibility-of-being-far-removed-from-what-we-are-of/)

[Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/)

> [If anything, the way that you feel is a direct indicator of how far we've come from our symbiotic relationship with nature. In that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-yeun/if-anything-the-way-that-you-feel-is-a-direct-indicator-of-how-far-we/)

[Steven Yeun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-yeun/)

> [I'd like to dedicate this song real quick, and I'm not going to say anything offensive so that we can make it on TV.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slash/i-d-like-to-dedicate-this-song-real-quick-and-i-m-not-going-to-say/)

[Slash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slash/)

> [I guess this song isn't about anything necessarily sad, but it makes me sad just because it makes me think about how inaccessible the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caroline-polachek/i-guess-this-song-isn-t-about-anything-necessarily-sad-but-it-makes/)

[Caroline Polachek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caroline-polachek/)

> [When people ask what 'American Pie' is about, they're missing the point. The song isn't about the lines themselves - it's about what is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/when-people-ask-what-american-pie-is-about-they-re-missing-the-point/)

[Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/)

> [I think when I was younger I was quite adamant not to write love songs. One, probably because I had never been in love,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-rowsell/i-think-when-i-was-younger-i-was-quite-adamant-not-to-write-love/)

[Ellie Rowsell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-rowsell/)

> [I think every time I play, every show is different, and I think that at a certain point a song isn't about you anymore.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-e-clark/i-think-every-time-i-play-every-show-is-different-and-i-think-that-at/)

[Annie E. Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-e-clark/)

> [Sometimes people mishear my lyrics and think a song's about something it isn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/sometimes-people-mishear-my-lyrics-and-think-a-song-s-about-something/)

[Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/)

> [I wanted to make 'Mexicana Hermosa.' It's a love song, but it isn't. It's more like a song as if Mexico was the Maria,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalia-lafourcade/i-wanted-to-make-mexicana-hermosa-it-s-a-love-song-but-it-isn-t-it-s/)

[Natalia Lafourcade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalia-lafourcade/)

> [You can tell if something feels special. But there are so many moving parts involved in making the song a hit. The radio has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/justin-tranter/you-can-tell-if-something-feels-special-but-there-are-so-many-moving/)

[Justin Tranter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/justin-tranter/)

> [“The music in a song isn’t just simply the musical notes. It’s the space in between them. A song without strategically placed rests, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-travis/the-music-in-a-song-isn-t-just-simply-the-musical-notes-it-s-the/)

[Todd Travis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-travis/)

## More by David Longstreth

> [I think, for Solange, it was important to make a super-strong direct statement with 'A Seat at the Table,' and she thought 'Cool Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/i-think-for-solange-it-was-important-to-make-a-super-strong-direct/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [Ninety percent of touring is a logistical maneuver, moving your body and everyone else's from one city to the next. You're like a piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/ninety-percent-of-touring-is-a-logistical-maneuver-moving-your-body/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [I used to feel that musical knowledge and emotional truth-telling were antagonistic. But I was too curious about chords and instruments and recording to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/i-used-to-feel-that-musical-knowledge-and-emotional-truth-telling/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [You have to figure out as a band how a band becomes a business, and then you have to keep that business mentality separate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/you-have-to-figure-out-as-a-band-how-a-band-becomes-a-business-and/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [One of the things I really like about West African guitar playing is the way it makes harmony linear. They're really spelling things out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/one-of-the-things-i-really-like-about-west-african-guitar-playing-is/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [What genres are good for is being like, 'Here are the parameters. Here's something about the way it's going to make you feel. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/what-genres-are-good-for-is-being-like-here-are-the-parameters-here-s/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [Clearly, things are definitely changing in big ways as far as the way we consume music, listen to music, and what we expect from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/clearly-things-are-definitely-changing-in-big-ways-as-far-as-the-way/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [I do feel like the hardest thing is to do something simple and tap into whatever remains of our common language rather than cultivating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/i-do-feel-like-the-hardest-thing-is-to-do-something-simple-and-tap/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [Just like any songwriter, the songs come out of where I am in my life and what I'm doing and who I'm hanging out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/just-like-any-songwriter-the-songs-come-out-of-where-i-am-in-my-life/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [Making a movie really frees up the way you think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/making-a-movie-really-frees-up-the-way-you-think/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [At the end of the touring on Bitte, looking back on all that stuff, I feel really proud of having written that music and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/at-the-end-of-the-touring-on-bitte-looking-back-on-all-that-stuff-i/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [You don't write songs, really, when you're on tour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/you-don-t-write-songs-really-when-you-re-on-tour/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [What appeals to me about 'Blind Willie' is just how sparse that music is. Just this idea - the grain of it, the rawness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/what-appeals-to-me-about-blind-willie-is-just-how-sparse-that-music/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [The thing that transforms something from being an idea to being a physical reality is work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/the-thing-that-transforms-something-from-being-an-idea-to-being-a/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

> [The idea of letting a recording be a moment in time appealed to me. With digital recording, it's easy to create a perfect text…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/the-idea-of-letting-a-recording-be-a-moment-in-time-appealed-to-me/)

[David Longstreth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

[Explore all 80 David Longstreth quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/)

## More Direct quotes

> [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/)

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

> [Anybody can direct a picture once they know the fundamentals. Directing is not a mystery, it's not an art. The main thing about directing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ford/anybody-can-direct-a-picture-once-they-know-the-fundamentals/)

[John Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ford/)

> [The method of magnitude estimation provided a direct measure of sensation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-smith-stevens/the-method-of-magnitude-estimation-provided-a-direct-measure-of/)

[Stanley Smith Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-smith-stevens/)

> [A place has almost the shyness of a person, with strangers; and its secret is not to be surprised by a too direct interrogation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-symons/a-place-has-almost-the-shyness-of-a-person-with-strangers-and-its/)

[Arthur Symons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-symons/)

> [The prediction of nuclear winter is drawn not, of course, from any direct experience with the consequences of global nuclear war, but rather from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/the-prediction-of-nuclear-winter-is-drawn-not-of-course-from-any/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [I'm currently trying to direct my own material.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-skerritt/i-m-currently-trying-to-direct-my-own-material/)

[Tom Skerritt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-skerritt/)

> [By the time you get into other kinds of music - R&amp;B, country, or whatever - it becomes something that's romantic. It becomes something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talib-kweli/by-the-time-you-get-into-other-kinds-of-music-r-b-country-or-whatever/)

[Talib Kweli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talib-kweli/)

> [There's little in taking or giving, There's little in water or wine: This living, this living, this living, Was never a project of mine.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-parker/there-s-little-in-taking-or-giving-there-s-little-in-water-or-wine/)

[Dorothy Parker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-parker/)

> [If you take all the food aid, America is by far the most generous country. If you take the direct aid, we're very generous.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/if-you-take-all-the-food-aid-america-is-by-far-the-most-generous/)

[George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/)

> [I understand the formula that producers hire directors and directors are hired to direct and actors are hired to act. I don't have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danny-trejo/i-understand-the-formula-that-producers-hire-directors-and-directors/)

[Danny Trejo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danny-trejo/)

> [They are the gateway for our modern esthetic development, the prophets of the new time. They are most of all, the primitives of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsden-hartley/they-are-the-gateway-for-our-modern-esthetic-development-the-prophets/)

[Marsden Hartley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsden-hartley/)

> [I'm too direct and too unsparingly impatient.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-maclaine/i-m-too-direct-and-too-unsparingly-impatient/)

[Shirley MacLaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-maclaine/)

> [Steven Spielberg seems to have wanted to be a director from 13. He put his dog in a certain position and made him eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-brooks/steven-spielberg-seems-to-have-wanted-to-be-a-director-from-13-he-put/)

[Albert Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-brooks/)

> [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/)

[Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/)

> [Violence is what people do when they run out of good ideas. It's attractive because it's simple, it's direct, it's almost always available as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-s-a-corey/violence-is-what-people-do-when-they-run-out-of-good-ideas-it-s/)

[James S.A. Corey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-s-a-corey/)

[Browse all 3,391 Direct quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/direct/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "A song isn't a newspaper. It might feel direct, but it's not.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "David Longstreth"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-direct-but-it-s-not/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Direct"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-direct-but-it-s-not/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/david-longstreth-8561_direct_a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-d_851393.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/david-longstreth-8561_direct_a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-d_851393.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc4/david-longstreth-8561_direct_a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-d_851393.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“A song isn't a newspaper. It might feel direct, but it's not.” — David Longstreth",
                "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 Longstreth",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-longstreth/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "A song isn't a newspaper. It...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-direct-but-it-s-not/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-longstreth/a-song-isn-t-a-newspaper-it-might-feel-direct-but-it-s-not/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
