--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Whenever she was asked to play something…" description: "\"“Whenever she was asked to play something, this piece was the one she most often chose. “Le mal du pays.” The groundless sadness called forth in a pers..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ee/haruki-murakami-21_melancholy_whenever-she-was-asked-to-play-something_3158875.jpg" --- # Whenever she was asked to play something, this piece was… ![“Whenever she was asked to play something, this piece was the one she most often chose. “Le mal du pays.” The groundless sadness called forth in a person’s heart by a pastoral landscape. Homesickness. Melancholy. As he lightly shut his eyes and gave himself up to the music, Tsukuru felt his chest…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ee/haruki-murakami-21_melancholy_whenever-she-was-asked-to-play-something_3158875.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ee/haruki-murakami-21_melancholy_whenever-she-was-asked-to-play-something_3158875.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7ee/haruki-murakami-21_melancholy_whenever-she-was-asked-to-play-something_3158875.jpg) > ““Whenever she was asked to play something, this piece was the one she most often chose. “Le mal du pays.” The groundless sadness called forth in a person’s heart by a pastoral landscape. Homesickness. Melancholy. As he lightly shut his eyes and gave himself up to the music, Tsukuru felt his chest tighten with a disconsolate, stifling feeling, as if, before he’d realized it, he’d swallowed a hard lump of cloud.”” [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. A piece of music evokes deep, unrooted sadness and longing for home, causing a physical tightening in the chest. **In simple terms:** Music triggers homesickness and melancholy. Key Takeaway Allow feelings to surface without judgment. Themes homesickness melancholy music emotion longing Mood reflective poignant Type literary emotional When to use this quote - listening to music - travel - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts nostalgia psychology artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - What triggers your own sense of homesickness? - How does music help you process deep emotions? A Different Perspective The description may romanticize suffering, overlooking coping strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Melancholy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/melancholy/) [Sadness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sadness/) ## Related quotes > [“you can’t have love and not at some time hurt.  You can’t be happy and not have some sadness.  It is called life, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-k-eidem/you-can-t-have-love-and-not-at-some-time-hurt-you-can-t-be-happy-and/) [M.K. 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I'm not after a wall that'll repel power coming from outside.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-strength-i-m-looking-for-isn-t-the-type-where-you-win-or-lose-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“can barely recall it myself. How much did I suffer? How much pain did I go through? I wish there was a machine that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/can-barely-recall-it-myself-how-much-did-i-suffer-how-much-pain-did-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Im not totally mad at you. Im just sad. Youre all locked up in that little world of yours, and when I try knocking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/im-not-totally-mad-at-you-im-just-sad-youre-all-locked-up-in-that/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [For me, the melancholy of the late XXth Century is walking late at night by the Mont Blanc pen store and seeing these things…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gibson/for-me-the-melancholy-of-the-late-xxth-century-is-walking-late-at/) [William Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gibson/) > [There was only the broad square with the scattered dim moons of the street lamps and with the monumental stone arch which receded into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-maria-remarque/there-was-only-the-broad-square-with-the-scattered-dim-moons-of-the/) [Erich Maria Remarque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-maria-remarque/) > [In such a diversity it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/in-such-a-diversity-it-was-impossible-i-should-be-disposed-to/) [Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/) > [“Nothing you did made sense and nothing you’ll ever do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hogan/nothing-you-did-made-sense-and-nothing-you-ll-ever-do/) [Michael Hogan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hogan/) > [“They laughed, but I was melancholy. 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Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) ## 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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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 Melancholy quotes > [“As ofttimes as it rains on my little spot of earth, you'd think I'd grow accustomed to the gloom.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/as-ofttimes-as-it-rains-on-my-little-spot-of-earth-you-d-think-i-d/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [“Wish in one hand, shit in the other, see which one fills up faster.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noelle-oxenhandler/wish-in-one-hand-shit-in-the-other-see-which-one-fills-up-faster/) Noelle Oxenhandler > [You felt a deep sorrow, the kind of melancholy you feel when you're in a beautiful place and the sun is going down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thrity-umrigar/you-felt-a-deep-sorrow-the-kind-of-melancholy-you-feel-when-you-re-in/) [Thrity Umrigar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thrity-umrigar/) > [“They laughed, but I was melancholy. 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