--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I work as often as I want and yet I'm…" description: "\"I work as often as I want and yet I'm free as a bird\" — Ethel Merman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/ethel-merman-11612_bird_i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-fr_1700933.png" --- # I work as often as I want and yet I'm free as a bird ![“I work as often as I want and yet I'm free as a bird” quote by Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/ethel-merman-11612_bird_i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-fr_1700933.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/ethel-merman-11612_bird_i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-fr_1700933.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/ethel-merman-11612_bird_i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-fr_1700933.png) > “I work as often as I want and yet I'm free as a bird” [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Working on one's own terms brings freedom, likened to a bird. **In simple terms:** Self‑directed work feels liberating. Key Takeaway Design a schedule that respects your rhythm. Themes freedom work autonomy Mood empowering determined Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - freelance work - entrepreneurship - flexible jobs Key Concepts self‑management creative independence balance Questions to Reflect On - Can you sustain this freedom? - What safety nets are needed? A Different Perspective Financial instability can follow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Free As A Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-as-a-bird/) [Free bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/free-bird/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [“Free as a bird It's the next best thing to be Free as a bird. Home, home and dry Like a homing bird I'll…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lennon/free-as-a-bird-it-s-the-next-best-thing-to-be-free-as-a-bird-home/) [John Lennon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lennon/) > [I'm free as a bird flying over the sea. Just can't find the summer. If there's a God in the sky or a devil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-jackson/i-m-free-as-a-bird-flying-over-the-sea-just-can-t-find-the-summer-if/) [Andrew Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-jackson/) > [I wake up every morning new, free as a bird.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashley-cole/i-wake-up-every-morning-new-free-as-a-bird/) [Ashley Cole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashley-cole/) > [Free as a bird to settle where I will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-wordsworth/free-as-a-bird-to-settle-where-i-will/) [William Wordsworth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-wordsworth/) > [If I leave here tomorrow Would you still remember me For I must be travelin' on now There's too many places I got to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/she-s-gone/if-i-leave-here-tomorrow-would-you-still-remember-me-for-i-must-be/) She's\_gone > [“Free as a bird' was the expression, and yet they weren't free at all, not as far as Saffy could tell: they were bound…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-morton/free-as-a-bird-was-the-expression-and-yet-they-weren-t-free-at-all/) [Kate Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-morton/) > [If you went to a home, kicked down the front door, chased the people who lived there out into the street and said, Go!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/if-you-went-to-a-home-kicked-down-the-front-door-chased-the-people-2/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [“I'm as light as a cloud, as free as a bird. I'm part of the sky and I can fly.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-as-light-as-a-cloud-as-free-as-a-bird-i-m-part-of-the-sky-and-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm not sure I'm the marrying type...I love being free as a bird - sorry to disappoint you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-sure-i-m-the-marrying-type-i-love-being-free-as-a-bird-sorry/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Guilty as hell. Free as a bird. America is a great country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-ayers/guilty-as-hell-free-as-a-bird-america-is-a-great-country/) [Bill Ayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-ayers/) > [“That so many of the well fed young television-watchers in the world's most powerful democracy should be so completely indifferent to the idea of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/that-so-many-of-the-well-fed-young-television-watchers-in-the-world-s/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [“A soul can finally fly free as a bird only after its energy is lighter and has been purified.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilchi-lee/a-soul-can-finally-fly-free-as-a-bird-only-after-its-energy-is/) [Ilchi Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilchi-lee/) > [I'm as free as a bird now, and this bird you cannot change.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lynyrd-skynyrd/i-m-as-free-as-a-bird-now-and-this-bird-you-cannot-change/) [Lynyrd Skynyrd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lynyrd-skynyrd/) > [“If you went to a home, kicked down the front door, chased the people who lived there out into the street and said, “Go!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yann-martel/if-you-went-to-a-home-kicked-down-the-front-door-chased-the-people/) [Yann Martel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yann-martel/) > [Artists talk a lot about freedom. So, recalling the expression "free as a bird," Morton Feldman went to a park one day and spent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cage/artists-talk-a-lot-about-freedom-so-recalling-the-expression-free-as/) [John Cage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cage/) ## More by Ethel Merman > [You'll never prove you're too good for a job by not doing your best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/you-ll-never-prove-you-re-too-good-for-a-job-by-not-doing-your-best/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I attend surprisingly few shows. The type of theater that is popular today just doesn't appeal to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-attend-surprisingly-few-shows-the-type-of-theater-that-is-popular/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [At a flea market I always head for the junk jewelry table first.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/at-a-flea-market-i-always-head-for-the-junk-jewelry-table-first/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [The only things I read are gossip columns. If I read three pages of a book, I'm out like a light. When I pick…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/the-only-things-i-read-are-gossip-columns-if-i-read-three-pages-of-a/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I've never suffered stage fright. That fascinates people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-ve-never-suffered-stage-fright-that-fascinates-people/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [You gotta have a gimmick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/you-gotta-have-a-gimmick/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I'll admit - I was honored to be on the cover of Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-ll-admit-i-was-honored-to-be-on-the-cover-of-time/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [My father taught me to read music and play the piano-but not well, even though people have said that I'm a natural musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/my-father-taught-me-to-read-music-and-play-the-piano-but-not-well/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I've made a wonderful living playing that theatrical character - the professional brassy dame](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-ve-made-a-wonderful-living-playing-that-theatrical-character-the/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Cole Porter had a worldwide reputation as a sophisticate and hedonist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/cole-porter-had-a-worldwide-reputation-as-a-sophisticate-and-hedonist/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Broadway has been very good to me. But then, I've been very good to broadway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/broadway-has-been-very-good-to-me-but-then-i-ve-been-very-good-to/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I've never cooked. I can't do much more in the kitchen than make a cup of tea and some toast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-ve-never-cooked-i-can-t-do-much-more-in-the-kitchen-than-make-a-cup/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [As far as dramas are concerned, it's considered passe for playwrights to turn out anything the average person can understand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/as-far-as-dramas-are-concerned-it-s-considered-passe-for-playwrights/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I don't like to read. The only things I read are gossip columns. If someone gives me a book, it had better have lots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-don-t-like-to-read-the-only-things-i-read-are-gossip-columns-if/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [I told her that there was something about Christmas carols that always brought tears to my eyes. I added that I also cry at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-told-her-that-there-was-something-about-christmas-carols-that/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) [Explore all 59 Ethel Merman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) ## More Bird quotes > [And I have been very blessed, having coached some of the greatest that have ever played the game. But if I had to start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/red-auerbach/and-i-have-been-very-blessed-having-coached-some-of-the-greatest-that/) [Red Auerbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/red-auerbach/) > [Some minds corrode and grow inactive under the loss of personal liberty; others grow morbid and irritable; but it is the nature of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/some-minds-corrode-and-grow-inactive-under-the-loss-of-personal/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Set the bird's wings with gold and it will never again soar in thesky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/set-the-bird-s-wings-with-gold-and-it-will-never-again-soar-in-thesky/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“He unfixes the metal notch and slips his hand around the body of the bird. Feels its heat, its small heart beating. He stares…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-schuyler/he-unfixes-the-metal-notch-and-slips-his-hand-around-the-body-of-the/) Nina Schuyler > [I would rather learn from one bird how to sing than to teach 10,000 stars how not to dance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-e-cummings/i-would-rather-learn-from-one-bird-how-to-sing-than-to-teach-10-000/) [e. e. cummings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-e-cummings/) > [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/) [Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/) > [Surely, God could have caused birds to fly with their bones made of solid gold, with their veins full of quicksilver, with their flesh…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/galileo-galilei/surely-god-could-have-caused-birds-to-fly-with-their-bones-made-of/) [Galileo Galilei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/galileo-galilei/) > [And wheresoever, in his rich creation, Sweet music breathes--in wave, or bird, or soul-- 'Tis but the faint and far reverberation Of that great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frances-sargent-osgood/and-wheresoever-in-his-rich-creation-sweet-music-breathes-in-wave-or/) [Frances Sargent Osgood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frances-sargent-osgood/) > [A clock struck out the hour of twelve, and the bird in the hedgerow was still singing as we marched out to the roadway,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-macgill/a-clock-struck-out-the-hour-of-twelve-and-the-bird-in-the-hedgerow/) [Patrick MacGill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-macgill/) > [Every wife ought to answer for her man. If the husband be engaged in a seditious club, or drinks mysterious healths, or be frugal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/every-wife-ought-to-answer-for-her-man-if-the-husband-be-engaged-in-a/) [Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/) > [Meanwhile, the trees were just as green as before; the birds sang and the sun shone as clearly now as ever. The familiar surroundings…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hardy/meanwhile-the-trees-were-just-as-green-as-before-the-birds-sang-and/) [Thomas Hardy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hardy/) > [When they started to drain a swamp where birds and fish had lived, for a new housing development down the road from his apartment,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maile-meloy/when-they-started-to-drain-a-swamp-where-birds-and-fish-had-lived-for/) [Maile Meloy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maile-meloy/) > [The bird with the thorn in its breast, it follows an immutable law; it is driven by it knows not what to impale itself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-mccullough/the-bird-with-the-thorn-in-its-breast-it-follows-an-immutable-law-it/) [Colleen McCullough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-mccullough/) > [Real like sucks the life out of losers. if you want to fuck with the eagles, you must learn how to fly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/real-like-sucks-the-life-out-of-losers-if-you-want-to-fuck-with-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“If we studied birds ,maybe we could learn to be free.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-alire-s-enz/if-we-studied-birds-maybe-we-could-learn-to-be-free/) [Benjamin Alire Sáenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-alire-s-enz/) [Browse all 4,802 Bird quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I work as often as I want and yet I'm free as a bird", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ethel Merman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-free-as-a-bird/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bird" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-free-as-a-bird/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/ethel-merman-11612_bird_i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-fr_1700933.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/ethel-merman-11612_bird_i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-fr_1700933.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2cb/ethel-merman-11612_bird_i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-fr_1700933.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I work as often as I want and yet I'm free as a bird” — Ethel Merman", "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": "Ethel Merman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I work as often as I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-free-as-a-bird/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/i-work-as-often-as-i-want-and-yet-i-m-free-as-a-bird/#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 } } ] } ```