--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Songs are not better just because they're…" description: "\"Songs are not better just because they're emotionally honest. To write a song well, you have to put some work into it and grind it out.\" — Jakob Dylan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/jakob-dylan-11605_because_songs-are-not-better-just-because-they-r_1254915.jpg" --- # Songs are not better just because they're emotionally… ![“Songs are not better just because they're emotionally honest. To write a song well, you have to put some work into it and grind it out.” quote by Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/jakob-dylan-11605_because_songs-are-not-better-just-because-they-r_1254915.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/jakob-dylan-11605_because_songs-are-not-better-just-because-they-r_1254915.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/5dc/jakob-dylan-11605_because_songs-are-not-better-just-because-they-r_1254915.jpg) > “Songs are not better just because they're emotionally honest. To write a song well, you have to put some work into it and grind it out.” [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Skill and effort are essential; emotional honesty alone doesn’t make a song great. **In simple terms:** Hard work matters more than raw feeling. Key Takeaway Practice and refine your craft. Themes creativity craft discipline Mood determined reflective Type inspirational practical When to use this quote - studio sessions - live performance - personal songwriting Key Concepts songwriting artistic integrity Questions to Reflect On - How do you balance authenticity with technique? - What habits improve songwriting? A Different Perspective Talent without effort yields mediocre results. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Honest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/honest/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Songs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songs/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [There are certainly a lot of people - and I won't name names - who are getting by simply on expression. And I guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/there-are-certainly-a-lot-of-people-and-i-won-t-name-names-who-are/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [Sometimes when you're writing a song, it's work, and you really have to make sure you're kind of pounding out every little piece of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-ramsey/sometimes-when-you-re-writing-a-song-it-s-work-and-you-really-have-to/) [Matthew Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-ramsey/) > [To me the important thing for a comic to be is emotionally honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-norton/to-me-the-important-thing-for-a-comic-to-be-is-emotionally-honest/) [Jim Norton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-norton/) > [I think there's a huge pivot in popular music, and just in culture in general, towards art that is vulnerable and emotionally honest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mura-masa/i-think-there-s-a-huge-pivot-in-popular-music-and-just-in-culture-in/) [Mura Masa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mura-masa/) > [What I write is emotionally honest and truthful as the human experience can be, to make people feel less alone, or at least that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-birbiglia/what-i-write-is-emotionally-honest-and-truthful-as-the-human/) [Mike Birbiglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-birbiglia/) > [The loss of my mom really inspired me to go to a place with my performances that were emotionally honest, and I found that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-velour/the-loss-of-my-mom-really-inspired-me-to-go-to-a-place-with-my/) [Sasha Velour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-velour/) > [If you are emotionally honest, you should mean what you say but also mean what you do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-bytheway/if-you-are-emotionally-honest-you-should-mean-what-you-say-but-also/) [John Bytheway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-bytheway/) > [Cut the crap. Just don't try to be anything that you aren't, have ambition but when it comes to lyrics especially just be honest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-bemis/cut-the-crap-just-don-t-try-to-be-anything-that-you-aren-t-have/) [Max Bemis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-bemis/) > [I write because I love to. I'm very, very fortunate to have found something that I love doing that also earns my living. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paul-curtis/i-write-because-i-love-to-i-m-very-very-fortunate-to-have-found/) [Christopher Paul Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paul-curtis/) > [With songs, I've always pledged to be honest. I write my songs because I've lived them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katy-perry/with-songs-i-ve-always-pledged-to-be-honest-i-write-my-songs-because/) [Katy Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katy-perry/) > [I don't really see how any song can not feel contrived if it isn't honest, and how could I write honest songs if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-allen/i-don-t-really-see-how-any-song-can-not-feel-contrived-if-it-isn-t/) [Lily Allen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-allen/) > [We write about everything; we are very honest when we write.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/perrie-edwards/we-write-about-everything-we-are-very-honest-when-we-write/) [Perrie Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/perrie-edwards/) > [“To be honest, I write for myself. Therapy, I suppose people would call it. So when someone buys and reads one of my stories,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-black/to-be-honest-i-write-for-myself-therapy-i-suppose-people-would-call/) [Robert Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-black/) > [Any song I have to work on longer than a day, I just leave it. It's not gonna work. Everything that's good is really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emeli-sande/any-song-i-have-to-work-on-longer-than-a-day-i-just-leave-it-it-s-not/) [Emeli Sande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emeli-sande/) > [I have always thought it was important to maintain some connection for myself to what it takes to make a song work by myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-tweedy/i-have-always-thought-it-was-important-to-maintain-some-connection/) [Jeff Tweedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-tweedy/) ## More by Jakob Dylan > [My father said it himself in an interview many years ago: 'Husband and wife failed, but mother and father didn't.' I've got a life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/my-father-said-it-himself-in-an-interview-many-years-ago-husband-and/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [Those things interest me a lot in songwriting - the human nature of how people think, and the muck that we wind up in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/those-things-interest-me-a-lot-in-songwriting-the-human-nature-of-how/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [I don't feel like I chose to do music as much as I made a decision to not stop doing music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/i-don-t-feel-like-i-chose-to-do-music-as-much-as-i-made-a-decision-to/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [Every song you write you think is the last one you're going to manage. You put everything you've got into the song, and you've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/every-song-you-write-you-think-is-the-last-one-you-re-going-to-manage/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [Writing songs is a trade like anything else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/writing-songs-is-a-trade-like-anything-else/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [Artists are not going to put somebody new in the president's chair. It's all worth the effort; it all needs to be done. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/artists-are-not-going-to-put-somebody-new-in-the-president-s-chair-it/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [I always saw songwriting as the top of the heap. No matter what else you were going to do creatively - and there were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/i-always-saw-songwriting-as-the-top-of-the-heap-no-matter-what-else/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [There are certainly a lot of people - and I won't name names - who are getting by simply on expression. And I guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/there-are-certainly-a-lot-of-people-and-i-won-t-name-names-who-are/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [I don't want to sing songs and write songs that need to have images behind them that are of a specific time. The times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/i-don-t-want-to-sing-songs-and-write-songs-that-need-to-have-images/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [I do look at songwriting as a lot of work. I don't over-intellectualize music as a special medium that only some people deserve to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/i-do-look-at-songwriting-as-a-lot-of-work-i-don-t-over/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [But there's got to be an opening somewhere here in front of me. Through this maze of ugliness and greed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/but-there-s-got-to-be-an-opening-somewhere-here-in-front-of-me/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [I don't like to sing things that just sound like they're going straight down the tubes, and they're circling the drain, and there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/i-don-t-like-to-sing-things-that-just-sound-like-they-re-going/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [My songs have always had hope and perseverance in them - I never write songs that have no escape hatch, no positivity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/my-songs-have-always-had-hope-and-perseverance-in-them-i-never-write/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [We've all had that experience where we hear a song that we've liked for many years, and we finally hear what the writer tells…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/we-ve-all-had-that-experience-where-we-hear-a-song-that-we-ve-liked/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [I'm waiting for my kids to grow up and get into the Offspring and look at me like I'm a total candy-ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/i-m-waiting-for-my-kids-to-grow-up-and-get-into-the-offspring-and/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) [Explore all 59 Jakob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) ## More Because quotes > [One is a painter because one wants so-called freedom; one doesn't want to go to the office every morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-duchamp/one-is-a-painter-because-one-wants-so-called-freedom-one-doesn-t-want/) [Marcel Duchamp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcel-duchamp/) > [I gave my archive to Emory University because there's a really dear friend who teaches there, Rudolph Byrd, and he's the editor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-walker/i-gave-my-archive-to-emory-university-because-there-s-a-really-dear/) [Alice Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-walker/) > [Because of the womb being a central phenomenon in the feminine body, the whole psychology of woman differs: she is non-aggressive, non-inquiring, non-questioning, non-doubting,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/because-of-the-womb-being-a-central-phenomenon-in-the-feminine-body/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/) [David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/) > [There were songs that we cut out after we chose the name, because 'Praise Break' turned out to be an underlying concept that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-caesar/there-were-songs-that-we-cut-out-after-we-chose-the-name-because/) [Daniel Caesar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-caesar/) > [It took me 20 years to buy an electric typewriter, because I was afraid it would be too sensitive. I like to bang the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elmore-leonard/it-took-me-20-years-to-buy-an-electric-typewriter-because-i-was/) [Elmore Leonard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elmore-leonard/) > [I was also known as Frodo because I was an early adopter of 'The Lord of the Rings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-perrotta/i-was-also-known-as-frodo-because-i-was-an-early-adopter-of-the-lord/) [Tom Perrotta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-perrotta/) > [I believe in taxation and health care that is outside the usual libertarian mandate, because I don't want people to have to suffer. It's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-peart/i-believe-in-taxation-and-health-care-that-is-outside-the-usual/) [Neil Peart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-peart/) > [It's like saying French shouldn't be taught because you don't understand it because it's new. Shakespeare is just like learning a new, exciting language.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-barnett/it-s-like-saying-french-shouldn-t-be-taught-because-you-don-t/) [Samuel Barnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-barnett/) > [Whether it was Little League or playing with your brothers or sisters, that was always a problem. If I would lose - because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-ripken-jr/whether-it-was-little-league-or-playing-with-your-brothers-or-sisters/) [Cal Ripken, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-ripken-jr/) > [Sometimes, when full and in fear that I will continue to eat unwanted food just because it's staring at me, I will place my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-nichols/sometimes-when-full-and-in-fear-that-i-will-continue-to-eat-unwanted/) [Rachel Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-nichols/) > [I didn't want to do 'Fashion Police' because I thought, 'This is stupid, this is beneath me, who wants to talk about fashion?' 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