--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: From college to those bleak…" description: "\"“From college to those bleak textbook-company years, come evening I’d listen to the Such Sweet Thunder album, the “Star-Crossed Lovers” track over and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/haruki-murakami-21_music_from-college-to-those-bleak-textbook-com_2623929.jpg" --- # From college to those bleak textbook-company years, come… ![“From college to those bleak textbook-company years, come evening I’d listen to the Such Sweet Thunder album, the “Star-Crossed Lovers” track over and over. Johnny Hodges had this sensitive and elegant solo on it. Whenever I heard that languid, beautiful melody, those days came back to me. It…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/haruki-murakami-21_music_from-college-to-those-bleak-textbook-com_2623929.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/haruki-murakami-21_music_from-college-to-those-bleak-textbook-com_2623929.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c8c/haruki-murakami-21_music_from-college-to-those-bleak-textbook-com_2623929.jpg) > ““From college to those bleak textbook-company years, come evening I’d listen to the Such Sweet Thunder album, the “Star-Crossed Lovers” track over and over. Johnny Hodges had this sensitive and elegant solo on it. Whenever I heard that languid, beautiful melody, those days came back to me. It wasn’t what I’d characterize as a happy part of my life, living as I was, a balled-up mass of unfulfilled desires. I was much younger, much hungrier, much more alone. But I was myself, pared down to the essentials. I could feel each single note of music, each line I read, seep down deep inside me. My nerves were sharp as a blade, my eyes shining with a piercing light. And every time I heard that music, I recalled my eyes then, glaring back at me from a mirror.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music can trigger vivid recollection of past emotional states, revealing how art reflects inner turmoil and self‑recognition. **In simple terms:** Music recalls past feelings and self‑image. Key Takeaway Listen to music to explore hidden emotions. Themes memory identity art loneliness self‑reflection Mood melancholic reflective introspective Type literary personal philosophical When to use this quote - college life - late‑night listening - personal introspection - creative writing Key Concepts nostalgia emotional resonance psychology Questions to Reflect On - What does the music reveal about your younger self? - How can you transform that loneliness into purpose? A Different Perspective Music may romanticize pain, obscuring growth. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Unfulfilled desires](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unfulfilled-desires/) ## Related quotes > [So musical a discord, such sweet thunder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/so-musical-a-discord-such-sweet-thunder/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“It wasn’t what I’d characterize as a happy part of my life, living as I was, a balled-up mass of unfulfilled desires. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/it-wasn-t-what-i-d-characterize-as-a-happy-part-of-my-life-living-as/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Aata hai dagh\_e\_hasrat\_e\_dil ka shumaar yaad, Mujh se mere gunah ka hisaab ay Khuda na maang. O Lord, please do not ask for an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-suhail-siddiqui/aata-hai-dagh-e-hasrat-e-dil-ka-shumaar-yaad-mujh-se-mere-gunah-ka/) [Hasan Suhail Siddiqui](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-suhail-siddiqui/) > [“I release my parents from the feeling that they have already failed me. I release my children from the need to bring pride to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-release-my-parents-from-the-feeling-that-they-have-already-failed/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“We spend most of our lives with unfulfilled desires, and the occasional satisfactions that are all most of us can achieve are insufficient to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/we-spend-most-of-our-lives-with-unfulfilled-desires-and-the/) [Peter singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Pain and pleasure are transitory; endure all dualities with calmness, while trying at the same time to remove their hold. Imagination is the door…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-yukteswar-giri/pain-and-pleasure-are-transitory-endure-all-dualities-with-calmness/) [Sri Yukteswar Giri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-yukteswar-giri/) > [Why do you dream? - because there are so many desires unfulfilled, and to live with unfulfilled desires is painful. In dream you try…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-do-you-dream-because-there-are-so-many-desires-unfulfilled-and-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Once, long ago, I heard the mermaids singing, but I do not think they will sing to me now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toby-r-beeny/once-long-ago-i-heard-the-mermaids-singing-but-i-do-not-think-they/) Toby R. Beeny > [Future is your projection of unfulfilled desires. The more unfulfilled you are, the bigger a future you have. The more unfulfilled is your being,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/future-is-your-projection-of-unfulfilled-desires-the-more-unfulfilled/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The sight of a child…will arouse certain longings in adult, civilized persons — longings which relate to the unfulfilled desires and needs of those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-sight-of-a-child-will-arouse-certain-longings-in-adult-civilized/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is the awareness of unfulfilled desires which gives a nation the feeling that it has a mission and a destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/it-is-the-awareness-of-unfulfilled-desires-which-gives-a-nation-the/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [As long as we have unsolved problems, unfulfilled desires, and a mustard seed of faith, we have all we need for a vibrant prayer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ortberg/as-long-as-we-have-unsolved-problems-unfulfilled-desires-and-a/) [John Ortberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ortberg/) > [I think that my early poems were probably more concerned with time passing because of unfulfilled desires or yearnings. Now, I feel younger than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-w-galassi/i-think-that-my-early-poems-were-probably-more-concerned-with-time/) [Jonathan W. Galassi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-w-galassi/) > [Creativity is an attempt to resolve a conflict generated by unexpressed biological impulses, such that unfulfilled desires are the driving force of the imagination,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/creativity-is-an-attempt-to-resolve-a-conflict-generated-by/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [What are you going to do? Are you going to keep looking backwards, full of anger, resentment and unfulfilled desire. Or are you going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-jacobson/what-are-you-going-to-do-are-you-going-to-keep-looking-backwards-full/) [Leonard Jacobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-jacobson/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. 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The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More Music quotes > [I feel like I definitely have a real sporty style, more so than a lot of people in G.O.O.D. Music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/big-sean/i-feel-like-i-definitely-have-a-real-sporty-style-more-so-than-a-lot/) [Big Sean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/big-sean/) > [Before I debuted, it was my goal to make my debut, and afterwards, I aimed at winning champion titles on television music shows, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hyuna/before-i-debuted-it-was-my-goal-to-make-my-debut-and-afterwards-i/) [Hyuna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hyuna/) > [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/) > [I'm at the edge of the world, Where do I go from here? Do I disappear? Edge of the world, Should I sink or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bring-me-the-horizon/i-m-at-the-edge-of-the-world-where-do-i-go-from-here-do-i-disappear/) [Bring Me The Horizon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bring-me-the-horizon/) > [I've seen a lot of people come out of Carol City, but I had this distinct vision for Carol City, just me coming out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denzel-curry/i-ve-seen-a-lot-of-people-come-out-of-carol-city-but-i-had-this/) [Denzel Curry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denzel-curry/) > [When you listen to someone improvise, the notes that are played are only half the story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-laws/when-you-listen-to-someone-improvise-the-notes-that-are-played-are/) Hubert Laws > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [ “Downloading's the same as what I used to do. I used to tape the charts of the songs I liked \[off the radio\]. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gallagher/downloading-s-the-same-as-what-i-used-to-do-i-used-to-tape-the-charts/) [Liam Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gallagher/) > [I've been writing songs since I was 10 years old and always had a penchant for rhyming. I started listening to hip hop through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hoodie-allen/i-ve-been-writing-songs-since-i-was-10-years-old-and-always-had-a/) [Hoodie Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hoodie-allen/) > [Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, loved, and finely played, to have at last her own true music made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/each-woman-is-like-an-instrument-waiting-to-be-learned-loved-and/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [I want people to hear my lyrics and my melodies and say, 'That dude's in pain.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ivan-moody/i-want-people-to-hear-my-lyrics-and-my-melodies-and-say-that-dude-s/) [Ivan Moody](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ivan-moody/) > [I make dance music because I love to dance. But I want to think at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-make-dance-music-because-i-love-to-dance-but-i-want-to-think-at-the/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [There is something magical about being able to feel somebody. And that is something that has always moved me with music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-brink/there-is-something-magical-about-being-able-to-feel-somebody-and-that/) [Maria Brink](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-brink/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) Adam Ant > [I received a beautiful welcome to the world of music. I want to give something back to the younger generation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luciano-pavarotti/i-received-a-beautiful-welcome-to-the-world-of-music-i-want-to-give/) [Luciano Pavarotti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luciano-pavarotti/) [Browse all 55,293 Music quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“From college to those bleak textbook-company years, come evening I’d listen to the Such Sweet Thunder album, the “Star-Crossed Lovers” track over and over. Johnny Hodges had this sensitive and elegant solo on it. Whenever I heard that languid, beautiful melody, those days came back to me. It wasn’t what I’d characterize as a happy part of my life, living as I was, a balled-up mass of unfulfilled desires. I was much younger, much hungrier, much more alone. But I was myself, pared down to the essentials. 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