--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I want the fact that I existed to mean…" description: "\"I want the fact that I existed to mean something.\" — Harry Chapin" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/034/harry-chapin-8482_existed_i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-s_2695197.png" --- # I want the fact that I existed to mean something. ![“I want the fact that I existed to mean something.” quote by Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/034/harry-chapin-8482_existed_i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-s_2695197.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/034/harry-chapin-8482_existed_i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-s_2695197.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/034/harry-chapin-8482_existed_i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-s_2695197.png) > “I want the fact that I existed to mean something.” [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The lyric expresses a yearning for one's existence to have purpose and significance beyond mere survival. **In simple terms:** Want life to matter. Key Takeaway Seek meaning in everyday actions. Themes purpose existence meaning legacy personal fulfillment Mood reflective hopeful determined Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - career planning - volunteering - artistic creation - personal journaling - family relationships Key Concepts Existentialism humanistic psychology value creation Questions to Reflect On - What does “meaning” look like for you? - How can you turn existence into purpose? A Different Perspective Desire for meaning can lead to frustration if not paired with concrete goals. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existed/) [Existed Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existed-mean-2690228/) [Fact Existed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fact-existed-1497787/) [Facts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/facts/) [Mean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mean/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Fact](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-fact-637516/) ## Related quotes > [We are all humiliated by the sudden discovery of a fact which has existed very comfortably and perhaps been staring at us in private…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/we-are-all-humiliated-by-the-sudden-discovery-of-a-fact-which-has/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [Politicians were like talking dogs in a circus: the fact that they existed was uncommonly interesting, but no sane person would actually believe what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-furst/politicians-were-like-talking-dogs-in-a-circus-the-fact-that-they/) [Alan Furst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-furst/) > [“The crux of the second noble truth is not what you want, but the very fact that you want.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-olendzki/the-crux-of-the-second-noble-truth-is-not-what-you-want-but-the-very/) [Andrew Olendzki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-olendzki/) > [I want some fact-based evidence about where we came from. Things we consider mysterious need not be attributed to a deity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/greg-graffin/i-want-some-fact-based-evidence-about-where-we-came-from-things-we/) [Greg Graffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/greg-graffin/) > [“I don't want anything from you but the fact of you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/i-don-t-want-anything-from-you-but-the-fact-of-you/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [“We have heard talk enough. We have listened to all the drowsy, idealess, vapid sermons that we wish to hear. We have read your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-g-ingersoll/we-have-heard-talk-enough-we-have-listened-to-all-the-drowsy-idealess/) [Robert G. Ingersoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-g-ingersoll/) > [The people can say what they want, but fact remains that Neymar has been booked more often than me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pepe/the-people-can-say-what-they-want-but-fact-remains-that-neymar-has/) [Pepe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pepe/) > [“If we want less and less, we may in fact receive more and more of what we need. It may work like that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-hochberg/if-we-want-less-and-less-we-may-in-fact-receive-more-and-more-of-what/) [Art Hochberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-hochberg/) > [I am a greedy, selfish bastard. I want the fact that I existed to mean something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/i-am-a-greedy-selfish-bastard-i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [“If Erik existed and lived life in despair, We wish him to know we are here and we care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/if-erik-existed-and-lived-life-in-despair-we-wish-him-to-know-we-are/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Above all else, it is about leaving a mark that I existed: I was here. I was hungry. I was defeated. I was happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gonzalez-torres/above-all-else-it-is-about-leaving-a-mark-that-i-existed-i-was-here-i/) [Felix Gonzalez-Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-gonzalez-torres/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [“Perfect happiness existed, but perhaps only in small increments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elin-hilderbrand/perfect-happiness-existed-but-perhaps-only-in-small-increments/) [Elin Hilderbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elin-hilderbrand/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“For a long while I have lived with the notion that I was the most normal being that ever existed. This notion gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/for-a-long-while-i-have-lived-with-the-notion-that-i-was-the-most/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) ## More by Harry Chapin > [All my life's a circle; But I can't tell you why; Season's spinning round again; The years keep rollin' by.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/all-my-life-s-a-circle-but-i-can-t-tell-you-why-season-s-spinning/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [When I started this song I was still thirty-three The age that Mozart died and sweet Jesus was set free Keats and Shelley too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/when-i-started-this-song-i-was-still-thirty-three-the-age-that-mozart/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [You see, she was gonna be an actress and I was gonna learn to fly. She took off to find the footlights, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/you-see-she-was-gonna-be-an-actress-and-i-was-gonna-learn-to-fly-she/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [And the look on her face as she opened the door Was like an old joke told by a friend. It'd taken ten more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/and-the-look-on-her-face-as-she-opened-the-door-was-like-an-old-joke/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [She knows more of love than the poets can say, and her eyes offer something that won't go away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/she-knows-more-of-love-than-the-poets-can-say-and-her-eyes-offer/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [All of us should be involved in our own futures to create a world that our children will want to live in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/all-of-us-should-be-involved-in-our-own-futures-to-create-a-world/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [No straight lines make up my life; And all my roads have bends; There's no clear-cut beginnings; And so far no dead-ends.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/no-straight-lines-make-up-my-life-and-all-my-roads-have-bends-there-s/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [Good dreams don't come cheap You've got to pay for them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/good-dreams-don-t-come-cheap-you-ve-got-to-pay-for-them/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [Why did the little girls grow crippled While the little boys grow strong The boys allowed to come of age The girls just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/why-did-the-little-girls-grow-crippled-while-the-little-boys-grow/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [The reason nobody else in my business has any impact is because they're all comatose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/the-reason-nobody-else-in-my-business-has-any-impact-is-because-they/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [When you're going nowhere, anywhere's a better place to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/when-you-re-going-nowhere-anywhere-s-a-better-place-to-be/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [What I'd really like, Dad, is to borrow the car keys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/what-i-d-really-like-dad-is-to-borrow-the-car-keys/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [Strum your guitar sing it kid Just write about your feelings not the things you never did Inexperience, it once had cursed me But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/strum-your-guitar-sing-it-kid-just-write-about-your-feelings-not-the/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [There are lessons to life That the lovers got to learn There are corners out there You know they're waitin' somewhere And you've got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/there-are-lessons-to-life-that-the-lovers-got-to-learn-there-are/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) > [Remember when the music Came from wooden boxes strung with silver wire And as we sang the words, it would set our minds on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/remember-when-the-music-came-from-wooden-boxes-strung-with-silver/) [Harry Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) [Explore all 80 Harry Chapin quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/) ## More Existed quotes > [“For a long while I have lived with the notion that I was the most normal being that ever existed. This notion gave me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-cioran/for-a-long-while-i-have-lived-with-the-notion-that-i-was-the-most/) [Emil Cioran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-cioran/) > [“The air felt different in my lungs. The world no longer looked the same. You change and then you change again. You become a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/the-air-felt-different-in-my-lungs-the-world-no-longer-looked-the/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) > [“Perfect happiness existed, but perhaps only in small increments.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elin-hilderbrand/perfect-happiness-existed-but-perhaps-only-in-small-increments/) [Elin Hilderbrand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elin-hilderbrand/) > [Geometry existed before creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/geometry-existed-before-creation/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [Above all else, it is about leaving a mark that I existed: I was here. I was hungry. I was defeated. I was happy.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-gonzalez-torres/above-all-else-it-is-about-leaving-a-mark-that-i-existed-i-was-here-i/) [Felix Gonzalez-Torres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-gonzalez-torres/) > [“If Erik existed and lived life in despair, We wish him to know we are here and we care.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-a-bucchianeri/if-erik-existed-and-lived-life-in-despair-we-wish-him-to-know-we-are/) [E.A. Bucchianeri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-a-bucchianeri/) > [Karma has always existed, as have you, I, and all things in this wonderful universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/karma-has-always-existed-as-have-you-i-and-all-things-in-this/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [For me, Mexploitation seemed like something that should have existed, but didn't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rodriguez/for-me-mexploitation-seemed-like-something-that-should-have-existed/) [Robert Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rodriguez/) > [“Sometimes, when I was looking out for my own happiness, I almost forgot you existed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-gibbons/sometimes-when-i-was-looking-out-for-my-own-happiness-i-almost-forgot/) [Alan Gibbons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-gibbons/) > [I was progressive before the term progressive actually existed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-adams/i-was-progressive-before-the-term-progressive-actually-existed/) [Eric Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-adams/) > [“(We) consist of everything the world consists of, each of us, and just as our body contains the genealogical table of evolution as far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/we-consist-of-everything-the-world-consists-of-each-of-us-and-just-as/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“The only thing she could be certain of was that she existed. All else was suspect, even her own thoughts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/the-only-thing-she-could-be-certain-of-was-that-she-existed-all-else/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) > [We've decided what we are. That's the dream. When the dream fades, it's not that we don't exist. How could we not exist since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/we-ve-decided-what-we-are-that-s-the-dream-when-the-dream-fades-it-s/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [If I find out that you stopped caring for no reason.. I am going to stop believing you ever existed!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-find-out-that-you-stopped-caring-for-no-reason-i-am-going-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At a lot of companies founded on principles, the notion of making money is almost antithetical to the ethos of the place. From the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mackey/at-a-lot-of-companies-founded-on-principles-the-notion-of-making/) [John Mackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mackey/) [Browse all 439 Existed quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existed/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I want the fact that I existed to mean something.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harry Chapin" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-something/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Existed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-something/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/034/harry-chapin-8482_existed_i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-s_2695197.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/034/harry-chapin-8482_existed_i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-s_2695197.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/034/harry-chapin-8482_existed_i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-s_2695197.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I want the fact that I existed to mean something.” — Harry Chapin", "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": "Harry Chapin", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-chapin/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I want the fact that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-something/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-chapin/i-want-the-fact-that-i-existed-to-mean-something/#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 } } ] } ```