--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Sometimes I have thought that a song…" description: "\"Sometimes I have thought that a song should look disappointing on the page - a little thin, perhaps, a little repetitive, or a little on the obvious si..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/james-fenton-9438_disappointing_sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-sho_1538212.jpg" --- # Sometimes I have thought that a song should look… ![“Sometimes I have thought that a song should look disappointing on the page - a little thin, perhaps, a little repetitive, or a little on the obvious side, or a mixture of all of these things.” quote by James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/james-fenton-9438_disappointing_sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-sho_1538212.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/james-fenton-9438_disappointing_sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-sho_1538212.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/james-fenton-9438_disappointing_sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-sho_1538212.jpg) > “Sometimes I have thought that a song should look disappointing on the page - a little thin, perhaps, a little repetitive, or a little on the obvious side, or a mixture of all of these things.” [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Songwriters may intentionally make lyrics simple or repetitive, seeing value in minimalism. **In simple terms:** Simple songs can be purposeful, not just lazy. Key Takeaway Embrace simplicity as a creative choice. Themes creativity artistry minimalism Mood thoughtful analytical Type musical critical When to use this quote - music composition - ly writing - album production Key Concepts songwriting aesthetic theory Questions to Reflect On - When does simplicity become a flaw? - How can repetition enhance a song? A Different Perspective Simplicity may be misinterpreted as lack of effort. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Thought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought/) ## Related quotes > [I do like a song that can look good on a page without even being sung. I edit and edit and edit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jakob-dylan/i-do-like-a-song-that-can-look-good-on-a-page-without-even-being-sung/) [Jakob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jakob-dylan/) > [That Awkward moment when your jamming out in your car to your favorite song, and then you look over and someone is watching you :)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kylee/that-awkward-moment-when-your-jamming-out-in-your-car-to-your/) [Kylee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kylee/) > [You can really walk around a song and completely, if it's a good song, look at it from a lot of different angles. Johnny…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/you-can-really-walk-around-a-song-and-completely-if-it-s-a-good-song/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) > [The song 'Can't Look Back Now' by the Weepies reminds me of the entire 'Life Unexpected' experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/britt-robertson/the-song-can-t-look-back-now-by-the-weepies-reminds-me-of-the-entire/) [Britt Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/britt-robertson/) > [There are so many songs that have become massive hits merely because the video is great, while the song is pretty rubbish. From that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christine-mcvie/there-are-so-many-songs-that-have-become-massive-hits-merely-because/) [Christine McVie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christine-mcvie/) > [“She spoke fast, and seemed to be a combination of stressed out and on the verge of cracking up, which was a mixture I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-matson/she-spoke-fast-and-seemed-to-be-a-combination-of-stressed-out-and-on/) [Morgan Matson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-matson/) > [I think 'Mistresses' is so successful because it's a mixture of intriguing storylines with lots of twists and it is rooted very strongly in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-conn/i-think-mistresses-is-so-successful-because-it-s-a-mixture-of/) [Shelley Conn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-conn/) > [We all have faith in something: usually a mixture of some personal beliefs with modern science. I am not like that. Mostly I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-altucher/we-all-have-faith-in-something-usually-a-mixture-of-some-personal/) [James Altucher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-altucher/) > [I was an odd mixture of quite theatrical and shy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-dahl/i-was-an-odd-mixture-of-quite-theatrical-and-shy/) [Sophie Dahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-dahl/) > [You already have the precious mixture that will make you well. Use it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/you-already-have-the-precious-mixture-that-will-make-you-well-use-it/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Both Iraq and Syria are a fissile mixture of ethnicities and religions thrown together after Versailles by departing French and British imperialists and only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/both-iraq-and-syria-are-a-fissile-mixture-of-ethnicities-and/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [Writing lyrics is part spontaneous, intuitive and part really thought through and carefully analyzed as you write it. It's a mixture of two approaches,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-anderson/writing-lyrics-is-part-spontaneous-intuitive-and-part-really-thought/) [Ian Anderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-anderson/) > [I wanted to go on a project which shows the mixture of Chae rin and CL, not just CL on stage or in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cl/i-wanted-to-go-on-a-project-which-shows-the-mixture-of-chae-rin-and/) CL > [We have such a mixture now, such a fusion of different genres.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryszard-kapuscinski/we-have-such-a-mixture-now-such-a-fusion-of-different-genres/) [Ryszard Kapuscinski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryszard-kapuscinski/) > [I think my music has always been a mixture, depending on whom I'm working with - what band, what musicians, what producer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/i-think-my-music-has-always-been-a-mixture-depending-on-whom-i-m/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) ## More by James Fenton > [Among those today who believe that modern poetry must do without rhyme or metre, there is an assumption that the alternative to free verse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/among-those-today-who-believe-that-modern-poetry-must-do-without/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [When we study Shakespeare on the page, for academic purposes, we may require all kinds of help. Generally, we read him in modern spelling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/when-we-study-shakespeare-on-the-page-for-academic-purposes-we-may/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [There is no objection to the proposal: in order to learn to be a poet, I shall try to write a sonnet. But the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/there-is-no-objection-to-the-proposal-in-order-to-learn-to-be-a-poet/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Poetry carries its history within it, and it is oral in origin. Its transmission was oral. Its transmission today is still in part oral,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/poetry-carries-its-history-within-it-and-it-is-oral-in-origin-its/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [A glance at the history of European poetry is enough to inform us that rhyme itself is not indispensable. Latin poetry in the classical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/a-glance-at-the-history-of-european-poetry-is-enough-to-inform-us/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [In song the same rule applies as in dramatic verse: the meaning must yield itself, or yield itself sufficiently to arouse the attention and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-song-the-same-rule-applies-as-in-dramatic-verse-the-meaning-must/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Great poetry does not have to be technically intricate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/great-poetry-does-not-have-to-be-technically-intricate/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > ['Love' is so short of perfect rhymes that convention allows half-rhymes like 'move.' The alternative is a plague of doves, or a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/love-is-so-short-of-perfect-rhymes-that-convention-allows-half-rhymes/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Lyric poetry is, of course, musical in origin. I do know that what happened to poetry in the twentieth century was that it began…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/lyric-poetry-is-of-course-musical-in-origin-i-do-know-that-what/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [At somewhere around 10 syllables, the English poetic line is at its most relaxed and manageable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/at-somewhere-around-10-syllables-the-english-poetic-line-is-at-its/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [In rap, as in most popular lyrics, a very low standard is set for rhyme; but this was not always the case with popular…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/in-rap-as-in-most-popular-lyrics-a-very-low-standard-is-set-for-rhyme/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [The Italian word 'stanza' means 'a room', and a room is a good way to conceive of a stanza. A room, generally speaking, is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/the-italian-word-stanza-means-a-room-and-a-room-is-a-good-way-to/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Some people think that English poetry begins with the Anglo-Saxons. I don't, because I can't accept that there is any continuity between the traditions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/some-people-think-that-english-poetry-begins-with-the-anglo-saxons-i/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Nobody really knows whether they are a poet. I knew I was interested from the age of 15.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/nobody-really-knows-whether-they-are-a-poet-i-knew-i-was-interested/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) > [Modernism in other arts brought extreme difficulty. In poetry, the characteristic difficulty imported under the name of modernism was obscurity. But obscurity could just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/modernism-in-other-arts-brought-extreme-difficulty-in-poetry-the/) [James Fenton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) [Explore all 72 James Fenton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/) ## More Disappointing quotes > [To refer even in passing to unpublished or struggling authors and their problems is to put oneself at some risk, so I will say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-amis/to-refer-even-in-passing-to-unpublished-or-struggling-authors-and/) [Kingsley Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-amis/) > [I never felt I was quite the ticket academically. I always felt I had to put in an enormous amount of effort not to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-mortimer/i-never-felt-i-was-quite-the-ticket-academically-i-always-felt-i-had/) [Emily Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-mortimer/) > [I was depressed. I knew I was lost, but I had no idea how to find myself again. It was as though I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yasmina-khadra/i-was-depressed-i-knew-i-was-lost-but-i-had-no-idea-how-to-find/) [Yasmina Khadra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yasmina-khadra/) > [There's plenty of great stuff out there. I think it's just what we do is we all spend our allowance on the thing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-englund/there-s-plenty-of-great-stuff-out-there-i-think-it-s-just-what-we-do/) [Robert Englund](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-englund/) > [It is always disappointing when you miss a match.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhuvneshwar-kumar/it-is-always-disappointing-when-you-miss-a-match/) [Bhuvneshwar Kumar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhuvneshwar-kumar/) > [I really like the George Clooney of Solaris also filmed by Andrei Tarkovsky, before Steven Soderbergh: that's very obviously sci-fi, and it seems to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoff-dyer/i-really-like-the-george-clooney-of-solaris-also-filmed-by-andrei/) [Geoff Dyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoff-dyer/) > [The exit polls suggest that after a relatively disappointing first term, Obama managed to reassemble almost all of his 2008 electorate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-podhoretz/the-exit-polls-suggest-that-after-a-relatively-disappointing-first/) [John Podhoretz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-podhoretz/) > [“How very disappointing truth is sometimes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-smith/how-very-disappointing-truth-is-sometimes/) [Ali Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-smith/) > [You're born and then you're on your own, you start having relationships, you're developing relationships to the world and your wider community, and then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mirah/you-re-born-and-then-you-re-on-your-own-you-start-having/) [Mirah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mirah/) > [What's disappointing about @usopengolf is the fans not being about to walk around the course/get close enough to most of the greens to cheer.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-horschel/what-s-disappointing-about-usopengolf-is-the-fans-not-being-about-to/) [Billy Horschel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-horschel/) > [For the world is an ever-elusive and ever-disappointing mirage only from the standpoint of someone standing aside from it—as if it were quite other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/for-the-world-is-an-ever-elusive-and-ever-disappointing-mirage-only/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Christianity persecuted, tortured, and burned. Like a hound it tracked the very scent of heresy. It kindled wars, and nursed furious hatreds and ambitions...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-santayana/christianity-persecuted-tortured-and-burned-like-a-hound-it-tracked/) [George Santayana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-santayana/) > [From this instant on, vow to stop disappointing yourself. Separate yourself from the mob. Decide to be extraordinary and do what you need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/epictetus/from-this-instant-on-vow-to-stop-disappointing-yourself-separate/) [Epictetus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/epictetus/) > [Don't ever love anything too much, or expect too much it will just end up disappointing you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-ever-love-anything-too-much-or-expect-too-much-it-will-just-end/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [All those men who end up disappointing you. After a while, you don't even want to have feelings anymore. You just want to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/all-those-men-who-end-up-disappointing-you-after-a-while-you-don-t/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) Browse all 364 Disappointing quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Sometimes I have thought that a song should look disappointing on the page - a little thin, perhaps, a little repetitive, or a little on the obvious side, or a mixture of all of these things.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Fenton" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-should-look-disappointing-on-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disappointing" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-should-look-disappointing-on-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/james-fenton-9438_disappointing_sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-sho_1538212.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/james-fenton-9438_disappointing_sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-sho_1538212.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/james-fenton-9438_disappointing_sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-sho_1538212.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Sometimes I have thought that a song should look disappointing on the page - a little thin, perhaps, a…” — James Fenton", "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": "James Fenton", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-fenton/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Sometimes I have thought that a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-should-look-disappointing-on-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-fenton/sometimes-i-have-thought-that-a-song-should-look-disappointing-on-the/#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 } } ] } ```