--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never set out to write songs about the…" description: "\"I never set out to write songs about the world around me... it just kind of came about as a result of paying more attention to things.\" — Iris DeMent" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/iris-dement-28308_attention_i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the_2761746.jpg" --- # I never set out to write songs about the world around… ![“I never set out to write songs about the world around me... it just kind of came about as a result of paying more attention to things.” quote by Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/iris-dement-28308_attention_i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the_2761746.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/iris-dement-28308_attention_i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the_2761746.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/iris-dement-28308_attention_i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the_2761746.jpg) > “I never set out to write songs about the world around me... it just kind of came about as a result of paying more attention to things.” [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Songs arise from attentive observation, not deliberate planning; inspiration follows attention **In simple terms:** Songs emerge from paying attention Key Takeaway Observe more, write authentically Themes creativity observation songwriting authenticity Mood thoughtful inspirational Type artistic personal When to use this quote - travel journaling - field recordings - daily note‑taking Key Concepts mindfulness storytelling inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How can you sharpen observational skills? - What daily habit fuels your art? A Different Perspective Creative blocks can still occur ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Paying Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/paying-attention/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songs/) [World](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/world/) ## Related quotes > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I pay a lot of attention to how things are done and the whole activity of building something is interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-judd/i-pay-a-lot-of-attention-to-how-things-are-done-and-the-whole/) [Donald Judd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-judd/) > [I like receiving attention for the things that I do, like a good film.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vijay-deverakonda/i-like-receiving-attention-for-the-things-that-i-do-like-a-good-film/) [Vijay Deverakonda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vijay-deverakonda/) > [My job is not done. I address my songs now to the third world. I am popular all over Asia and Africa and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/my-job-is-not-done-i-address-my-songs-now-to-the-third-world-i-am/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [“There are millions of songs in the world, and millions of ways to connect them into mixes. Making the connections is part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/there-are-millions-of-songs-in-the-world-and-millions-of-ways-to/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [As you get older, your songwriting starts to become less and less about you, and especially when you have kids and a family. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-roberts/as-you-get-older-your-songwriting-starts-to-become-less-and-less/) [Sam Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-roberts/) > [“Why is it that one of the best songs in the world has to be written by the BeeGees?" Benedict”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tricia-walker/why-is-it-that-one-of-the-best-songs-in-the-world-has-to-be-written/) Tricia Walker > [There are probably five songs in the world that I get excited about when I hear them on the radio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sia-furler/there-are-probably-five-songs-in-the-world-that-i-get-excited-about/) [Sia Furler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sia-furler/) > [There are songs out there in the world which, in some ways, seem so unmusical.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rostam-batmanglij/there-are-songs-out-there-in-the-world-which-in-some-ways-seem-so/) [Rostam Batmanglij](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rostam-batmanglij/) > [Dear radio stations , you do realize that they are more than 5 songs in the world right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dear-radio-stations-you-do-realize-that-they-are-more-than-5-songs-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Honestly, it's been a dream come true. Having a number one that became one of the biggest songs in the world. It's weird to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lola-young/honestly-it-s-been-a-dream-come-true-having-a-number-one-that-became/) [Lola Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lola-young/) > [There are so many songs out there in the world that - if I know we have to come up with a new cover,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britt-daniel/there-are-so-many-songs-out-there-in-the-world-that-if-i-know-we-have/) [Britt Daniel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britt-daniel/) > [Despair and bitterness are not the only songs in the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-r-donaldson/despair-and-bitterness-are-not-the-only-songs-in-the-world/) [Stephen R. Donaldson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-r-donaldson/) > [I do listen to all of the songs in this world but, only a few are the ones I listen to when am in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnnymane/i-do-listen-to-all-of-the-songs-in-this-world-but-only-a-few-are-the/) Johnnymane > [There's times, in certain songs, that I might be in my own world, and who cares about who's out there, you know? You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-scott/there-s-times-in-certain-songs-that-i-might-be-in-my-own-world-and/) [Jimmy Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-scott/) ## More by Iris DeMent > [Some guy refuses to fight and we call that the sin, but he's standing up for what he believes in and that seems pretty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/some-guy-refuses-to-fight-and-we-call-that-the-sin-but-he-s-standing/) [Iris Dement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [Writing, overall, has never been what I'd call fun. It's fulfilling. It doesn't come real easy for me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/writing-overall-has-never-been-what-i-d-call-fun-it-s-fulfilling-it/) [Iris Dement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [Making the record was tons of fun, the most fun I've ever had.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/making-the-record-was-tons-of-fun-the-most-fun-i-ve-ever-had/) [Iris Dement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [I've always been aware of having feelings that were pretty intense at times. I imagine most people have had that, or they wouldn't be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-ve-always-been-aware-of-having-feelings-that-were-pretty-intense-at/) [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [This is how it has been since time began: If you want to make something really worthwhile and true, then you have to suffer…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/this-is-how-it-has-been-since-time-began-if-you-want-to-make/) [Iris Dement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [If something bothers me, it bothers me for a long time until I find a way to work it out. Music provided me with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/if-something-bothers-me-it-bothers-me-for-a-long-time-until-i-find-a/) [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [Turn off the TV and start digging around for information that's not from a corporation trying to make money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/turn-off-the-tv-and-start-digging-around-for-information-that-s-not/) [Iris Dement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [My guitar is really tempermental. I don't give up on it though, I'm close to my guitar!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/my-guitar-is-really-tempermental-i-don-t-give-up-on-it-though-i-m/) [Iris Dement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [Maybe I spent more time dwelling on emotions than some people, and maybe that's why I ended up writing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/maybe-i-spent-more-time-dwelling-on-emotions-than-some-people-and/) [Iris Dement](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [I've always written about things that cause me to feel something.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-ve-always-written-about-things-that-cause-me-to-feel-something/) [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [I honestly don't listen to a lot of music - I spend so much time working at my own music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-honestly-don-t-listen-to-a-lot-of-music-i-spend-so-much-time/) [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [I don't know what other people are like, I haven't been able to crawl inside anybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-don-t-know-what-other-people-are-like-i-haven-t-been-able-to-crawl/) [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [We got CEOs making 200 times the worker's pay, but they'll fight like hell against raising the minimum wage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/we-got-ceos-making-200-times-the-worker-s-pay-but-they-ll-fight-like/) [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [I was mainly influenced by the Carter Family, Jimmie Rodgers, Loretta Lynn, Merle Haggard, and others like Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-was-mainly-influenced-by-the-carter-family-jimmie-rodgers-loretta/) [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) > [For a long time I was interested in being a social worker. In a lot of ways I feel that that's all my music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/for-a-long-time-i-was-interested-in-being-a-social-worker-in-a-lot-of/) [Iris DeMent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) [Explore all 19 Iris DeMent quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never set out to write songs about the world around me... it just kind of came about as a result of paying more attention to things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Iris DeMent" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the-world-around-me-it-just-kind/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the-world-around-me-it-just-kind/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/iris-dement-28308_attention_i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the_2761746.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/iris-dement-28308_attention_i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the_2761746.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ea5/iris-dement-28308_attention_i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the_2761746.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I never set out to write songs about the world around me... it just kind of came about as a result of paying…” — Iris DeMent", "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": "Iris DeMent", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-dement/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I never set out to write...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the-world-around-me-it-just-kind/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-dement/i-never-set-out-to-write-songs-about-the-world-around-me-it-just-kind/#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 } } ] } ```