--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What more shall I say: born under light…" description: "\"“What more shall I say: born under light bulbs, deliberately stopped growing at age of three, given drum, sang glass to pieces, smelled vanilla, coughe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b8/gunter-grass-3046_money_what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-b_1182469.png" --- # What more shall I say: born under light bulbs… ![“What more shall I say: born under light bulbs, deliberately stopped growing at age of three, given drum, sang glass to pieces, smelled vanilla, coughed in churches, observed ants, decided to grow, buried drum, emigrated to the West, lost the East, learned stonecutter's trade, worked as model…” quote by Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b8/gunter-grass-3046_money_what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-b_1182469.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b8/gunter-grass-3046_money_what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-b_1182469.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b8/gunter-grass-3046_money_what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-b_1182469.png) > ““What more shall I say: born under light bulbs, deliberately stopped growing at age of three, given drum, sang glass to pieces, smelled vanilla, coughed in churches, observed ants, decided to grow, buried drum, emigrated to the West, lost the East, learned stonecutter's trade, worked as model, started drumming again, visited concrete, made money, kept finger, gave finger away, fled laughing, rode up escalator, arrested, convicted, sent to mental hospital, soon to be acquitted, celebrating this day my thirtieth birthday and still afraid of the Black Witch.”” [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A chaotic autobiographical list illustrating a life filled with absurd, fragmented experiences, confronting fear of an ominous force. **In simple terms:** Life is a bizarre jumble of events and fears. Key Takeaway Embrace the absurdity of existence. Themes absurdity identity memory fear Mood surreal introspective poetic Type literary autobiographical When to use this quote - artistic creation - personal history - cultural critique Key Concepts existentialism postmodern narrative Questions to Reflect On - How do you find meaning in chaos? - What does the “Black Witch” symbolize? A Different Perspective May obscure coherent meaning behind randomness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Buried Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/buried-drum-3473245/) [Drum Emigrated](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drum-emigrated-3473243/) [Given Drum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given-drum-3473244/) [Money](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) [Say Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/say-born-432140/) [Started Drumming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-drumming-705089/) ## Related quotes > [According to my parents, I just started drumming when I was two. I traveled with them from five to seven on the road, playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/questlove/according-to-my-parents-i-just-started-drumming-when-i-was-two-i/) [Questlove](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/questlove/) > [I started drumming around the same time I came across this part of American history. But there seemed to be a way forward playing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-collins/i-started-drumming-around-the-same-time-i-came-across-this-part-of/) [Phil Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-collins/) > [When I first started drumming, when I was 14 or 15, I started writing songs. I wrote for a couple of years, but when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-selway/when-i-first-started-drumming-when-i-was-14-or-15-i-started-writing/) [Philip Selway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-selway/) > [Needless to say, nobody is born an avid gamer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/satoru-iwata/needless-to-say-nobody-is-born-an-avid-gamer/) [Satoru Iwata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/satoru-iwata/) > [“My tombstone is going to say: 'Born: Yes. Died: Yes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/my-tombstone-is-going-to-say-born-yes-died-yes/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [To everyone who says this is wrong to feel like this say, 'I was born this way baby.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/to-everyone-who-says-this-is-wrong-to-feel-like-this-say-i-was-born/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [I don't care what people think or say about me, I was not born on this earth to please anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/i-don-t-care-what-people-think-or-say-about-me-i-was-not-born-on-this/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [I wouldnt say that I was a born performer, because I work very hard at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anneliese-van-der-pol/i-wouldnt-say-that-i-was-a-born-performer-because-i-work-very-hard-at/) [Anneliese van der Pol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anneliese-van-der-pol/) > [I think the best thing to say is that I was born to fight.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirko-cro-cop/i-think-the-best-thing-to-say-is-that-i-was-born-to-fight/) [Mirko Cro Cop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirko-cro-cop/) > [I always say I was born too late in the world, too old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivier-martinez/i-always-say-i-was-born-too-late-in-the-world-too-old/) [Olivier Martinez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivier-martinez/) > [This earth that we live on is full of stories in the same way that, for a fish, the ocean is full of ocean.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-okri/this-earth-that-we-live-on-is-full-of-stories-in-the-same-way-that/) [Ben Okri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-okri/) > [I wouldn't say that I was a born performer, because I work very hard at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anneliese-van-der-pol/i-wouldn-t-say-that-i-was-a-born-performer-because-i-work-very-hard/) [Anneliese van der Pol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anneliese-van-der-pol/) > [From what the doctors say, I was born with stenosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leighton-vander-esch/from-what-the-doctors-say-i-was-born-with-stenosis/) [Leighton Vander Esch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leighton-vander-esch/) > [I was born with this love for music, and I say 'born with' because I don't really remember a day waking up and deciding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-hayes/i-was-born-with-this-love-for-music-and-i-say-born-with-because-i-don/) [Hunter Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-hayes/) > [I don't care what people think or say about me, I was not born on this earth to please everybody.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharlene05/i-don-t-care-what-people-think-or-say-about-me-i-was-not-born-on-this-2/) [Sharlene05](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharlene05/) ## More by Gunter Grass > [Melancholy has ceased to be an individual phenomenon, an exception. It has become the class privilege of the wage earner, a mass state of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-has-ceased-to-be-an-individual-phenomenon-an-exception-it/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Melancholy and utopia are heads and tails of the same coin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/melancholy-and-utopia-are-heads-and-tails-of-the-same-coin/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [If work and leisure are soon to be subordinated to this one utopian principle - absolute busyness - then utopia and melancholy will come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/if-work-and-leisure-are-soon-to-be-subordinated-to-this-one-utopian/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [I have often supported Israel, I have often visited the country and want the country to exist and at last find peace with its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/i-have-often-supported-israel-i-have-often-visited-the-country-and/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Whenever there has been talk of exterminating rats, others, who were not rats, have been exterminated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/whenever-there-has-been-talk-of-exterminating-rats-others-who-were/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“You can begin a story in the middle and create confusion by striking out boldly, backward and forward. You can be modern, put aside…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/you-can-begin-a-story-in-the-middle-and-create-confusion-by-striking/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [There must be reasons why we men are so hipped on breasts as if we'd all been weaned too soon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/there-must-be-reasons-why-we-men-are-so-hipped-on-breasts-as-if-we-d/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Often I had to imagine the things I needed. I learned very early to read amidst noise. And so I started writing and drawing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/often-i-had-to-imagine-the-things-i-needed-i-learned-very-early-to/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Art is hard for a puritan to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/art-is-hard-for-a-puritan-to-understand/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [What does a river like the Vistula carry away with it? Everything that goes to pieces: wood, glass, pencils, pacts ... chairs, bones, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/what-does-a-river-like-the-vistula-carry-away-with-it-everything-that/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [Love That’s it: The cashless commerce. The blanket always too short. The loose connexion. To search behind the horizon. To brush fallen leaves with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/love-that-s-it-the-cashless-commerce-the-blanket-always-too-short-the/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“They had tried doing it by themselves in her room with a cheap onion, but it wasn't the same. You needed an audience. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/they-had-tried-doing-it-by-themselves-in-her-room-with-a-cheap-onion/) [Günter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [ \[To be an artist,\] this desire to conquer all with images. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/to-be-an-artist-this-desire-to-conquer-all-with-images/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [After the collapse of socialism, capitalism remained without a rival. This unusual situation unleashed its greedy and - above all - its suicidal power.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/after-the-collapse-of-socialism-capitalism-remained-without-a-rival/) [Gunter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) > [“Suppose you're teaching math. You assume that parallel lines meet at infinity. You'll admit that adds up to something like transcendence.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/suppose-you-re-teaching-math-you-assume-that-parallel-lines-meet-at/) [Günter Grass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) [Explore all 128 Gunter Grass quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/) ## More Money quotes > [You've got to tell your money what to do or it will leave.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/you-ve-got-to-tell-your-money-what-to-do-or-it-will-leave/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [Don't let's lose sight of what creates wealth. It is open markets, it is capitalism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/don-t-let-s-lose-sight-of-what-creates-wealth-it-is-open-markets-it/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [Money is the kind of instrument which is very speedily produced.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatoly-chubais/money-is-the-kind-of-instrument-which-is-very-speedily-produced/) [Anatoly Chubais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatoly-chubais/) > [I would borrow money all day long, if the cost of borrowing is less than the expected return.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-schneider/i-would-borrow-money-all-day-long-if-the-cost-of-borrowing-is-less/) [Brad Schneider](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-schneider/) > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [Maybe you can,t buy a big house.. A new car.. A huge diamond ring.. But if you have just one true friend who loves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cathy/maybe-you-can-t-buy-a-big-house-a-new-car-a-huge-diamond-ring-but-if/) [Cathy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cathy/) > [“Don't allow money to become the yardstick by which you measure the worth of the world around you!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-james-pritchard/don-t-allow-money-to-become-the-yardstick-by-which-you-measure-the/) [Andrew James Pritchard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-james-pritchard/) > [Academically, I was never that interested. I skipped classes. My biggest dream was to have a coffee shop, but I had no idea how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-espinosa/academically-i-was-never-that-interested-i-skipped-classes-my-biggest/) [Daniel Espinosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-espinosa/) > [Amongst the financial Twitterati, the term 'muppets' has come to describe any client used and abused by some financial predator. I've adopted the term…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-ritholtz/amongst-the-financial-twitterati-the-term-muppets-has-come-to/) [Barry Ritholtz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-ritholtz/) > [I doubt that we Americans can come to terms with our money neuroses without understanding the more florid pathology of the very rich for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-slater/i-doubt-that-we-americans-can-come-to-terms-with-our-money-neuroses/) [Philip Slater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-slater/) > [“The writer must earn money in order to be able to live and to write, but he must by no means live and write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-goins/the-writer-must-earn-money-in-order-to-be-able-to-live-and-to-write/) [Jeff Goins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-goins/) > [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/) [Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [The man who works for the gold in the job rather than for the money in the pay envelope, is the fellow who gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-french-johnson/the-man-who-works-for-the-gold-in-the-job-rather-than-for-the-money/) [Joseph French Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-french-johnson/) [Browse all 45,172 Money quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/money/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“What more shall I say: born under light bulbs, deliberately stopped growing at age of three, given drum, sang glass to pieces, smelled vanilla, coughed in churches, observed ants, decided to grow, buried drum, emigrated to the West, lost the East, learned stonecutter's trade, worked as model, started drumming again, visited concrete, made money, kept finger, gave finger away, fled laughing, rode up escalator, arrested, convicted, sent to mental hospital, soon to be acquitted, celebrating this day my thirtieth birthday and still afraid of the Black Witch.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Gunter Grass" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-bulbs-deliberately-stopped/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Money" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-bulbs-deliberately-stopped/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b8/gunter-grass-3046_money_what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-b_1182469.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b8/gunter-grass-3046_money_what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-b_1182469.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5b8/gunter-grass-3046_money_what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-b_1182469.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What more shall I say: born under light bulbs, deliberately stopped growing at age of three, given drum…” — Gunter Grass", "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": "Gunter Grass", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gunter-grass/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“What more shall I say: born...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-bulbs-deliberately-stopped/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gunter-grass/what-more-shall-i-say-born-under-light-bulbs-deliberately-stopped/#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 } } ] } ```