---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)"
description: "\"To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)\" — David Rawlings"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/david-rawlings-110354_be-young_to-be-young-is-to-be-sad-is-to-be-high-1_1453440.jpg"
---

#  To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)

![“To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)” quote by David Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/david-rawlings-110354_be-young_to-be-young-is-to-be-sad-is-to-be-high-1_1453440.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/david-rawlings-110354_be-young_to-be-young-is-to-be-sad-is-to-be-high-1_1453440.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/791/david-rawlings-110354_be-young_to-be-young-is-to-be-sad-is-to-be-high-1_1453440.jpg)

> “To Be Young (is to be sad, is to be high)”

[David Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rawlings/)

## About This Quote

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

Youth brings both joy and melancholy, mixing exhilaration with sorrow.

**In simple terms:** Being young feels both high and sad.

Key Takeaway

Embrace the highs, accept the lows.

Themes

Youth Emotion Contradiction Sadness Joy

Mood

melancholic reflective

Type

ly ly c Be :, 1 Funny:1 High:1 Inspirational:0 Love:0 Young:1 Youth:1 Young Sad:1 Sad High:1

When to use this quote

- College life
- First love
- Creative pursuits

Key Concepts

Existential duality Emotional volatility

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you balance youthful exuberance with inevitable sadness?
- What makes sadness feel like a high?

A Different Perspective

The line may romanticize sadness without acknowledging coping strategies.

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[Be young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-young/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/high/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Sad High](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sad-high-5233129/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young Sad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-sad-5233128/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/)

## Related quotes

> [When You're young, you get sad, and you get high.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-adams/when-you-re-young-you-get-sad-and-you-get-high/)

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> [The old know what they want; the young are sad and bewildered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/logan-pearsall-smith/the-old-know-what-they-want-the-young-are-sad-and-bewildered/)

[Logan Pearsall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/logan-pearsall-smith/)

> [Youth is not an essential, but rather an accidental property. Nobody is in essence young. One either ceases to be or ceases to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/youth-is-not-an-essential-but-rather-an-accidental-property-nobody-is/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

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[Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/)

> [It's great to be young and insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-keaton/it-s-great-to-be-young-and-insane/)

[Michael Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-keaton/)

> [If the church is what it should be, young people will be there. But they will not just 'be there' - they will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/if-the-church-is-what-it-should-be-young-people-will-be-there-but/)

[Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/)

> [usta be young usta be gifted - still black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-coleman/usta-be-young-usta-be-gifted-still-black/)

[Wanda Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-coleman/)

> [When we are young we believe to be adults; when we are adults we believe to be young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-bittencourt-de-oliveira/when-we-are-young-we-believe-to-be-adults-when-we-are-adults-we/)

[Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-bittencourt-de-oliveira/)

> [It is socialism. It moves the country in a direction which is not good for anyone, whether they be young or old. It charts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-curtis/it-is-socialism-it-moves-the-country-in-a-direction-which-is-not-good/)

[Carl Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-curtis/)

> [To be young, gifted and black!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/to-be-young-gifted-and-black/)

[Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/)

> [All these teenagers tell us how much they want to grow up and then when they do they want to be young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-sykes/all-these-teenagers-tell-us-how-much-they-want-to-grow-up-and-then/)

[Wanda Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-sykes/)

> [When I've taught writing to five, six, and seven year olds, it's not very different than talking to an adult writer. They're writers then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/when-i-ve-taught-writing-to-five-six-and-seven-year-olds-it-s-not/)

[Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/)

> [With an ear open to your musical dialectic, one can be young and become old, can work and rest, be content and sad: in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/with-an-ear-open-to-your-musical-dialectic-one-can-be-young-and/)

[Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/)

> [Be young. Keep yourself young by having a good, sporty car like a Corvette. It keeps you on your toes. It keeps you young.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/be-young-keep-yourself-young-by-having-a-good-sporty-car-like-a/)

[Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/)

> [I want to be young for the longest time possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/onew/i-want-to-be-young-for-the-longest-time-possible/)

[Onew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/onew/)

## More by David Rawlings

> [As soon as I had a guitar I loved it, and I started playing in every spare moment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rawlings/as-soon-as-i-had-a-guitar-i-loved-it-and-i-started-playing-in-every/)

[David Rawlings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rawlings/)

[Explore all 2 David Rawlings quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rawlings/)

## More Be young quotes

> [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/)

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> [Youth is not an essential, but rather an accidental property. Nobody is in essence young. One either ceases to be or ceases to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-goldstein/youth-is-not-an-essential-but-rather-an-accidental-property-nobody-is/)

[Rebecca Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-goldstein/)

> [If the church is what it should be, young people will be there. But they will not just 'be there' - they will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-schaeffer/if-the-church-is-what-it-should-be-young-people-will-be-there-but/)

[Francis Schaeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-schaeffer/)

> [When I've taught writing to five, six, and seven year olds, it's not very different than talking to an adult writer. They're writers then,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-mattison/when-i-ve-taught-writing-to-five-six-and-seven-year-olds-it-s-not/)

[Alice Mattison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-mattison/)

> [It's great to be young and insane.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-keaton/it-s-great-to-be-young-and-insane/)

[Michael Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-keaton/)

> [Be young. Keep yourself young by having a good, sporty car like a Corvette. It keeps you on your toes. It keeps you young.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-lalanne/be-young-keep-yourself-young-by-having-a-good-sporty-car-like-a/)

[Jack LaLanne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-lalanne/)

> [With an ear open to your musical dialectic, one can be young and become old, can work and rest, be content and sad: in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/with-an-ear-open-to-your-musical-dialectic-one-can-be-young-and/)

[Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/)

> [I want to be young for the longest time possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/onew/i-want-to-be-young-for-the-longest-time-possible/)

[Onew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/onew/)

> [All these teenagers tell us how much they want to grow up and then when they do they want to be young again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-sykes/all-these-teenagers-tell-us-how-much-they-want-to-grow-up-and-then/)

[Wanda Sykes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-sykes/)

> [To be young, gifted and black!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/to-be-young-gifted-and-black/)

[Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/)

> [It is socialism. It moves the country in a direction which is not good for anyone, whether they be young or old. It charts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-curtis/it-is-socialism-it-moves-the-country-in-a-direction-which-is-not-good/)

[Carl Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-curtis/)

> [When we are young we believe to be adults; when we are adults we believe to be young.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-bittencourt-de-oliveira/when-we-are-young-we-believe-to-be-adults-when-we-are-adults-we/)

[Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-bittencourt-de-oliveira/)

> [usta be young usta be gifted - still black.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wanda-coleman/usta-be-young-usta-be-gifted-still-black/)

[Wanda Coleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wanda-coleman/)

> [To be young was very heaven!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/to-be-young-was-very-heaven/)

[William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/)

> [It's daring and challenging to be young and poor, but never to be old and poor. Whatever resources of good health, character, and fortitude…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-bryant-quinn/it-s-daring-and-challenging-to-be-young-and-poor-but-never-to-be-old/)

[Jane Bryant Quinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-bryant-quinn/)

[Browse all 91 Be young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/be-young/)

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