--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It was a song I wrote for my wife as a…" description: "\"It was a song I wrote for my wife as a present, never intending for it to be a Styx song. 'Babe' was a demo. The demo became the hit record, including ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/dennis-deyoung-5112_done_it-was-a-song-i-wrote-for-my-wife-as-a-p_582666.jpg" --- # It was a song I wrote for my wife as a present, never… ![“It was a song I wrote for my wife as a present, never intending for it to be a Styx song. 'Babe' was a demo. The demo became the hit record, including all the background vocals, which were done by me.” quote by Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/dennis-deyoung-5112_done_it-was-a-song-i-wrote-for-my-wife-as-a-p_582666.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/dennis-deyoung-5112_done_it-was-a-song-i-wrote-for-my-wife-as-a-p_582666.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ad2/dennis-deyoung-5112_done_it-was-a-song-i-wrote-for-my-wife-as-a-p_582666.jpg) > “It was a song I wrote for my wife as a present, never intending for it to be a Styx song. 'Babe' was a demo. The demo became the hit record, including all the background vocals, which were done by me.” [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A casual demo intended for a spouse became a hit, showing how personal projects can unexpectedly achieve mass appeal. **In simple terms:** Personal songs can become popular unexpectedly. Key Takeaway Share personal work openly. Themes creativity serendipity music industry personal expression Mood reflective encouraging Type anecdotal motivational When to use this quote - home recording - songwriting workshops - music publishing - fan engagement Key Concepts Songwriting demo recordings collaboration viral success Questions to Reflect On - What personal projects could become viral? - How to balance personal intent with public reception? A Different Perspective Success may be unpredictable. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Marriage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marriage/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Vocals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vocals/) [Wife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wife/) ## Related quotes > [I don't wanna be a solo artist. I wanna be in Styx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-don-t-wanna-be-a-solo-artist-i-wanna-be-in-styx/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Styx was always a theatrical band. In fact, we played City Center in 1983 with a rock opera, 'Kilroy Was Here.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/styx-was-always-a-theatrical-band-in-fact-we-played-city-center-in/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Look, nobody is a bigger fan of Tommy Shaw than me. The day I met him in 1975 I knew he was going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/look-nobody-is-a-bigger-fan-of-tommy-shaw-than-me-the-day-i-met-him/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [We were together; we were a group; we were a team; we wanted people to love Styx.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/we-were-together-we-were-a-group-we-were-a-team-we-wanted-people-to/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I can do anything onstage. Here's the misconception: You could record an album called 'The Best of Styx.' And all you would have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-can-do-anything-onstage-here-s-the-misconception-you-could-record/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [When it came time to do 'One Hundred Years' I had been encouraged to really make a Styx album without the guys. I gave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/when-it-came-time-to-do-one-hundred-years-i-had-been-encouraged-to/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I gave my life for Styx and I'm really very proud of it and I didn't want to perform that music and screw it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-gave-my-life-for-styx-and-i-m-really-very-proud-of-it-and-i-didn-t/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [The Beatles are here, and if you could see me my hand is on the ceiling. Styx is here, and my hand is in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/the-beatles-are-here-and-if-you-could-see-me-my-hand-is-on-the/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [After being replaced in Styx, everyone around me encouraged me to try and stop them legally. I just couldn't. It would have been like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/after-being-replaced-in-styx-everyone-around-me-encouraged-me-to-try/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I made 'Desert Moon' and when I made those solo albums, I was trying not to be Styx, because I thought, 'That belongs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-made-desert-moon-and-when-i-made-those-solo-albums-i-was-trying-not/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I love Styx as much as I could love anything in my life. I started playing in the band when I was 14 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-love-styx-as-much-as-i-could-love-anything-in-my-life-i-started/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [He understood how dangerous oaths could be. But Leo didn't care. "I'm coming back for you, Calypso," he said to the night wind. "I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/he-understood-how-dangerous-oaths-could-be-but-leo-didn-t-care-i-m/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [“I swear it by the River Styx,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josephine-angelini/i-swear-it-by-the-river-styx/) [Josephine Angelini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josephine-angelini/) > [It is," I said. "And it's not even difficult. But I need your promise on the River Styx." "What?" Dionysus cried. "You don't trust…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/it-is-i-said-and-it-s-not-even-difficult-but-i-need-your-promise-on/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Ten years ago, in 94, we thought maybe nobody would ever care about Styx again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-young/ten-years-ago-in-94-we-thought-maybe-nobody-would-ever-care-about/) [James Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-young/) ## More by Dennis DeYoung > [I'm proud of the body of work I was part of and I want people to enjoy it as long as they choose to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-m-proud-of-the-body-of-work-i-was-part-of-and-i-want-people-to/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Winners are losers who got up and gave it one more try.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/winners-are-losers-who-got-up-and-gave-it-one-more-try/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Many musicals you can take and throw in the garbage can because no one took the time to write a song you can care…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/many-musicals-you-can-take-and-throw-in-the-garbage-can-because-no/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [If you're in rock 'n' roll, you're not supposed to admit to liking theatre stuff, but I'm a big theatregoer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/if-you-re-in-rock-n-roll-you-re-not-supposed-to-admit-to-liking/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I'm very proud of it. 'Hunchback' contains some of my favorite music I've ever written in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-m-very-proud-of-it-hunchback-contains-some-of-my-favorite-music-i/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I was damn lucky to choose this profession. I had no idea when I started out that I was really an illusionist and a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-was-damn-lucky-to-choose-this-profession-i-had-no-idea-when-i/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [If you think marriage is gonna be easy, don't do it because when there are children involved, you screw up the rest of society.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/if-you-think-marriage-is-gonna-be-easy-don-t-do-it-because-when-there/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I just believed in 1979 that prog rock was finished. I just saw the handwriting on the wall. And I believed that if we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-just-believed-in-1979-that-prog-rock-was-finished-i-just-saw-the/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [To be successful in your life, you have to be convinced in your own mind that you have the ability to accomplish your goals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/to-be-successful-in-your-life-you-have-to-be-convinced-in-your-own/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [How lucky am I? I'll go to Naperville and people will come up to me and thank me for coming to Naperville. That's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/how-lucky-am-i-i-ll-go-to-naperville-and-people-will-come-up-to-me/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Technology has made music ultimately more democratic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/technology-has-made-music-ultimately-more-democratic/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [If you pretend to be somebody that you're not when you write songs - and I did that on some of the early Styx…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/if-you-pretend-to-be-somebody-that-you-re-not-when-you-write-songs/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [Nobody can figure out why it does what it does to human beings. But there is no other art form greater than music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/nobody-can-figure-out-why-it-does-what-it-does-to-human-beings-but/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I love Styx as much as I could love anything in my life. I started playing in the band when I was 14 years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-love-styx-as-much-as-i-could-love-anything-in-my-life-i-started/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) > [I think the music business is as crass and as unrewarding as it has ever been.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dennis-deyoung/i-think-the-music-business-is-as-crass-and-as-unrewarding-as-it-has/) [Dennis DeYoung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) [Explore all 103 Dennis DeYoung quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dennis-deyoung/) ## More Done quotes > [Entertainment is a sacred pursuit when done well. When done well, it raises the quality of human life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-chabon/entertainment-is-a-sacred-pursuit-when-done-well-when-done-well-it/) [Michael Chabon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-chabon/) > [Usually male directors have to use foul language to get the job done. But I never came down to that level as being a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-khosla-kumar/usually-male-directors-have-to-use-foul-language-to-get-the-job-done/) [Divya Khosla Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-khosla-kumar/) > [You'll seldom experience regret for anything that you've done. It is what you haven't done that will torment you. The message, therefore, is clear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-ll-seldom-experience-regret-for-anything-that-you-ve-done-it-is/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Forcing modern speakers of English to not - whoops, not to split an infinitive because it isn't done in Latin makes about as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/forcing-modern-speakers-of-english-to-not-whoops-not-to-split-an/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [When you step out and do a song in a musical, the easier thing to do is make it funny. But when those transitions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelli-o-hara/when-you-step-out-and-do-a-song-in-a-musical-the-easier-thing-to-do/) [Kelli O'Hara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kelli-o-hara/) > [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [Failures happen. You can't cry over them. You just take it in your stride because you know that you have done your best... Sometimes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/divya-dutta/failures-happen-you-can-t-cry-over-them-you-just-take-it-in-your/) [Divya Dutta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/divya-dutta/) > [If the members of parliament no longer consider themselves mandatories of the taxpayers but deputies of those receiving salaries, wages, subsidies, doles, and other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ludwig-von-mises/if-the-members-of-parliament-no-longer-consider-themselves/) [Ludwig von Mises](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ludwig-von-mises/) > [I'm a business first and foremost so whatever my business is, it's separate from my personal. It's like whatever I do business wise, it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/i-m-a-business-first-and-foremost-so-whatever-my-business-is-it-s/) [Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/) > [It's like the query letter problem that I just mentioned, magnified a hundredfold. You might be good at telling a story, but that doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/it-s-like-the-query-letter-problem-that-i-just-mentioned-magnified-a/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I've used the Phoenix Centrifuge to replicate what the body's going to go through on the flight up. I've also done some gravity tests…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-branson/i-ve-used-the-phoenix-centrifuge-to-replicate-what-the-body-s-going/) [Richard Branson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-branson/) > [I always watch my matches back 100 times afterwards because that's how I improve. This is something I've always done, even in NXT.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-rose/i-always-watch-my-matches-back-100-times-afterwards-because-that-s/) [Mandy Rose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-rose/) > [In the future, I would like to do more films with contemporary themes. Perhaps comedy, which is something I have done in theater but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-evans/in-the-future-i-would-like-to-do-more-films-with-contemporary-themes/) [Luke Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-evans/) > [I don't enjoy killing, but when done righteously, it's just a chore, like any other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua/i-don-t-enjoy-killing-but-when-done-righteously-it-s-just-a-chore/) [Joshua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua/) > [Of everything I have done, 'The Archers' always gets the most excitement; there's a sort of uncontrollable joy from fans of the program.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/of-everything-i-have-done-the-archers-always-gets-the-most-excitement/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) Browse all 25,653 Done quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It was a song I wrote for my wife as a present, never intending for it to be a Styx song. 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