--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Music is my mistress and she plays second…" description: "\"Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.\" — Duke Ellington" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/duke-ellington-7513_fiddle_music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-secon_70734.jpg" --- # Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one. ![“Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.” quote by Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/duke-ellington-7513_fiddle_music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-secon_70734.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/duke-ellington-7513_fiddle_music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-secon_70734.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/duke-ellington-7513_fiddle_music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-secon_70734.jpg) > “Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.” [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker prioritizes music above all relationships, treating it as a supreme, unrivaled companion. **In simple terms:** Music reigns supreme Key Takeaway Music is the ultimate devotion Themes artistic devotion personal hierarchy creative passion self-expression prioritization Mood passionate defiant reverent Type statement metaphor personal credo When to use this quote - when describing artistic commitment - in a personal manifesto - while discussing creative inspiration - in a love of art - in a motivational speech Key Concepts music relationship metaphor identity Practical Applications - defining personal values - motivating artistic pursuits Questions to Reflect On - What does it mean to place an art form above personal relationships? - How does this metaphor shape one's identity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Mistress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mistress/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) ## Related quotes > [Loyal? As loyal as anyone who plays second fiddle ever is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/willa-cather/loyal-as-loyal-as-anyone-who-plays-second-fiddle-ever-is/) [Willa Cather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/willa-cather/) > [The second fiddle. I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find someone who can play the second fiddle with enthusiasm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-bernstein/the-second-fiddle-i-can-get-plenty-of-first-violinists-but-to-find/) [Leonard Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-bernstein/) > [The most difficult instrument to play in the orchestra is second fiddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-bernstein/the-most-difficult-instrument-to-play-in-the-orchestra-is-second/) [Leonard Bernstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-bernstein/) > [Those who refuse to play second fiddle may wind up playing no fiddle at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/those-who-refuse-to-play-second-fiddle-may-wind-up-playing-no-fiddle/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [And I know I’m about to play second fiddle to another woman, as I should. But my love for you will never change, Maxon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiera-cass/and-i-know-i-m-about-to-play-second-fiddle-to-another-woman-as-i/) [Kiera Cass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiera-cass/) > [There's no way I'm going to be second fiddle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rex-ryan/there-s-no-way-i-m-going-to-be-second-fiddle/) [Rex Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rex-ryan/) > [The trick to playing second fiddle is to play it like second Stradivarius.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-trick-to-playing-second-fiddle-is-to-play-it-like-second/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [It needs more skill than I can tell To play the second fiddle well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/it-needs-more-skill-than-i-can-tell-to-play-the-second-fiddle-well/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [Music will be my mistress, loving like a whore, Lennon is a genius living in every pore.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/queen-band/music-will-be-my-mistress-loving-like-a-whore-lennon-is-a-genius/) [Queen (band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/queen-band/) > [If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/if-anybody-was-mr-jazz-it-was-louis-armstrong-he-was-the-epitome-of/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [A lot of the shows I have done, I'm often the only black guy and I have often had to play second or third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malik-yoba/a-lot-of-the-shows-i-have-done-i-m-often-the-only-black-guy-and-i/) [Malik Yoba](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malik-yoba/) > [“The mindset of the Champions is All of it or None of it; they don't play second- fiddle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaachynma-n-e-agu/the-mindset-of-the-champions-is-all-of-it-or-none-of-it-they-don-t/) [Jaachynma N.E. Agu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaachynma-n-e-agu/) > [I've always been second fiddle, man, to everything. Everything. But I never believed that I was lesser than this person, that person, anybody. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-lowry/i-ve-always-been-second-fiddle-man-to-everything-everything-but-i/) [Kyle Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-lowry/) > [“When everyone had been dispatched, he turned to Loretta, one dark eyebrow cocked, his indigo eyes twinkling with laughter. “One wife and only one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-anderson/when-everyone-had-been-dispatched-he-turned-to-loretta-one-dark/) [Catherine Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-anderson/) > [I don't mind being a second fiddle. I don't mind that. I don't care whatever happens, whatever helps my team get a championship is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-lowry/i-don-t-mind-being-a-second-fiddle-i-don-t-mind-that-i-don-t-care/) [Kyle Lowry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-lowry/) ## More by Duke Ellington > [New music? Hell, there's been no new music since Stravinsky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/new-music-hell-there-s-been-no-new-music-since-stravinsky/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Jazz today, as always in the past, is a matter of thoughtful creation, not mere unaided instinct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/jazz-today-as-always-in-the-past-is-a-matter-of-thoughtful-creation/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [The most important thing I look for in a musician is whether he knows how to listen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/the-most-important-thing-i-look-for-in-a-musician-is-whether-he-knows/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [The common root, of course, comes out of Africa. That's the pulse.The African pulse. It's all the way back from . . . the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/the-common-root-of-course-comes-out-of-africa-that-s-the-pulse-the/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Love is supreme and unconditional; like is nice but limited.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/love-is-supreme-and-unconditional-like-is-nice-but-limited/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [The problem of expressing the contributions that Benny Carter has made to popular music is so tremendous it completely fazes me, so extraordinary a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/the-problem-of-expressing-the-contributions-that-benny-carter-has/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [If anybody was Mr. Jazz it was Louis Armstrong. He was the epitome of jazz and always will be. He is what I call…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/if-anybody-was-mr-jazz-it-was-louis-armstrong-he-was-the-epitome-of/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Jazz is a good barometer of freedom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/jazz-is-a-good-barometer-of-freedom/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/i-merely-took-the-energy-it-takes-to-pout-and-wrote-some-blues/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [The artist must say it without saying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/the-artist-must-say-it-without-saying-it/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Problems are chances for us to do our best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/problems-are-chances-for-us-to-do-our-best/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [“New York is a place where the rich walk, the poor drive Cadillac's, and the beggars die of malnutrition with thousands of dollars hidden…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/new-york-is-a-place-where-the-rich-walk-the-poor-drive-cadillac-s-and/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Hurry, get on board, it's comin', listen to those rails a-thrumming all aboard. Get on the "A" train, soon you will be on Sugar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/hurry-get-on-board-it-s-comin-listen-to-those-rails-a-thrumming-all/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Everybody in Canada seemed to listen to what they enjoyed, and nobody could tell them what to like, or what was the popular, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/everybody-in-canada-seemed-to-listen-to-what-they-enjoyed-and-nobody/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) > [Simplicity is a most complex form](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/simplicity-is-a-most-complex-form/) [Duke Ellington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) [Explore all 90 Duke Ellington quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/) ## More Fiddle quotes > [ In the house of a Fidler, all fiddle. \[In the house of the fiddler all fiddle.\] ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-the-house-of-a-fidler-all-fiddle-in-the-house-of-the-fiddler-all/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [The earth keeps some vibration going There in your heart, and that is you. And if the people find you can fiddle, why fiddle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-lee-masters/the-earth-keeps-some-vibration-going-there-in-your-heart-and-that-is/) [Edgar Lee Masters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-lee-masters/) > [Friends are like fiddle strings; they must not be screwed too tight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-george-bohn/friends-are-like-fiddle-strings-they-must-not-be-screwed-too-tight/) [Henry George Bohn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-george-bohn/) > [Had I learned to fiddle, I should have done nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/had-i-learned-to-fiddle-i-should-have-done-nothing-else/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [When I was very young my mother sang to me at bedtime and my dad would often play the banjo or fiddle in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rory-block/when-i-was-very-young-my-mother-sang-to-me-at-bedtime-and-my-dad/) Rory Block > [Oh, I'm being eaten By a boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, A boa constrictor, I'm being eaten by a boa constrictor, And I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shel-silverstein/oh-i-m-being-eaten-by-a-boa-constrictor-a-boa-constrictor-a-boa/) [Shel Silverstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shel-silverstein/) > [Greece is a sort of American vassal; the Netherlands is the country of American bases that grow like tulip bulbs; Cuba is the main…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/greece-is-a-sort-of-american-vassal-the-netherlands-is-the-country-of/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've been hearing fiddle music since I was in the womb, I'm sure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-macmaster/i-ve-been-hearing-fiddle-music-since-i-was-in-the-womb-i-m-sure/) [Natalie MacMaster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-macmaster/) > [A fiddler on the roof. Sounds crazy, no? But here, in our little village of Anatevka, you might say every one of us is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheldon-harnick/a-fiddler-on-the-roof-sounds-crazy-no-but-here-in-our-little-village/) [Sheldon Harnick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheldon-harnick/) > [And I also think it's a violin when you're selling it and a fiddle when you're buying it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-shires/and-i-also-think-it-s-a-violin-when-you-re-selling-it-and-a-fiddle/) [Amanda Shires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-shires/) > [“A leaf of all colors plays a golden-string fiddle To a double-e waterfall over my back”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-garcia/a-leaf-of-all-colors-plays-a-golden-string-fiddle-to-a-double-e/) [Jerry Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-garcia/) > [He liked to think that Heaven was what each person wanted it to be. He could see no future in lying around on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmer-kelton/he-liked-to-think-that-heaven-was-what-each-person-wanted-it-to-be-he/) [Elmer Kelton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmer-kelton/) > [There's an easy method for finding someone when you hear them scream. First get a clean sheet of paper and a sharp pencil. Then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-s-an-easy-method-for-finding-someone-when-you-hear-them-scream/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [For 'Singin' in the Rain,' I bought most of the costumes - the 'Fit as a Fiddle' costumes and the 'Make Them Laugh' Donald…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debbie-reynolds/for-singin-in-the-rain-i-bought-most-of-the-costumes-the-fit-as-a/) [Debbie Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debbie-reynolds/) > [I think many of the boundaries that convention has placed upon us are arbitrary, so we can fiddle with them if we fancy. Gravity's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-brand/i-think-many-of-the-boundaries-that-convention-has-placed-upon-us-are/) [Russell Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-brand/) Browse all 166 Fiddle quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Duke Ellington" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-second-fiddle-to-no-one/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Fiddle" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-second-fiddle-to-no-one/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/duke-ellington-7513_fiddle_music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-secon_70734.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/duke-ellington-7513_fiddle_music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-secon_70734.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/680/duke-ellington-7513_fiddle_music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-secon_70734.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Music is my mistress and she plays second fiddle to no one.” — Duke Ellington", "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": "Duke Ellington", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duke-ellington/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Music is my mistress and she...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-second-fiddle-to-no-one/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duke-ellington/music-is-my-mistress-and-she-plays-second-fiddle-to-no-one/#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 } } ] } ```