--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That's something I've certainly taken…" description: "\"That's something I've certainly taken from writers like Gord Downie is that there is a whole potential for breaking out of meter. Even if you don't do ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/john-k-samson-29885_rock-song_that-s-something-i-ve-certainly-taken-fr_1767926.jpg" --- # That's something I've certainly taken from writers like… ![“That's something I've certainly taken from writers like Gord Downie is that there is a whole potential for breaking out of meter. Even if you don't do it, you're permitted to. He gave a lot of writers permission to do that, to expand and push out the borders of what a rock song can contain.” quote by John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/john-k-samson-29885_rock-song_that-s-something-i-ve-certainly-taken-fr_1767926.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/john-k-samson-29885_rock-song_that-s-something-i-ve-certainly-taken-fr_1767926.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c6/john-k-samson-29885_rock-song_that-s-something-i-ve-certainly-taken-fr_1767926.jpg) > “That's something I've certainly taken from writers like Gord Downie is that there is a whole potential for breaking out of meter. Even if you don't do it, you're permitted to. He gave a lot of writers permission to do that, to expand and push out the borders of what a rock song can contain.” [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writers can break traditional song structures, encouraging artistic freedom and genre expansion. **In simple terms:** Artists can ignore strict meter for creativity. Key Takeaway Embrace flexibility in songwriting and storytelling. Themes music creativity freedom genre innovation Mood inspirational thoughtful Type creative musical When to use this quote - songwriting workshops - music education - indie recording sessions - live improvisation Key Concepts artistic liberty structural experimentation Questions to Reflect On - When does experimentation become self‑indulgent? - How to balance novelty with listener accessibility? A Different Perspective Breaking form may alienate audiences expecting familiar patterns. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Rock song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-song/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [The most important thing for aspiring writers is for them to give themselves permission to be brave on the page, to write in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheryl-strayed/the-most-important-thing-for-aspiring-writers-is-for-them-to-give/) [Cheryl Strayed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheryl-strayed/) > [I'll cover just about anything - except for a Kid Rock song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-ll-cover-just-about-anything-except-for-a-kid-rock-song/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [My music is very diversified. I'll have a rock song then I'll do a ballad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-camp/my-music-is-very-diversified-i-ll-have-a-rock-song-then-i-ll-do-a/) [Jeremy Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-camp/) > [My favourite piece of music is actually 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' as a whole. For me, it's the most perfect and brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gourley/my-favourite-piece-of-music-is-actually-the-dark-side-of-the-moon-as/) [John Gourley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gourley/) > [I cut my teeth playing rock songs on the accordion when I was a teenager and my friends always thought that was extremely amusing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/i-cut-my-teeth-playing-rock-songs-on-the-accordion-when-i-was-a/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [I write almost all my songs on an acoustic guitar, even if they turn into rock songs, hard rock songs, metal songs, heavy metal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/i-write-almost-all-my-songs-on-an-acoustic-guitar-even-if-they-turn/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [I think have my own style; no one has ever tried playback singing before. I might release a punk rock song that perhaps other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atif-aslam/i-think-have-my-own-style-no-one-has-ever-tried-playback-singing/) [Atif Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atif-aslam/) > [I don't really have a favorite genre. I could listen to a rock song, a metal song, jazz, pop music, whatever. For me, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakermat/i-don-t-really-have-a-favorite-genre-i-could-listen-to-a-rock-song-a/) [Bakermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakermat/) > [If you asked me to write a rock song or a rap song, I couldn't do it because they're not in my fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/if-you-asked-me-to-write-a-rock-song-or-a-rap-song-i-couldn-t-do-it/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [“That girl in the backseat of the beater, I wonder if she's bored d restless, stuck in this small town, hating the slow, stoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-godfrey/that-girl-in-the-backseat-of-the-beater-i-wonder-if-she-s-bored-d/) [Rebecca Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-godfrey/) > [What we feel most comfortable doing is playing loud, screaming rock songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/what-we-feel-most-comfortable-doing-is-playing-loud-screaming-rock/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [I've always believed that there's an amazing number of things you can do through a rock'n'roll song and that you can do serious writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-ve-always-believed-that-there-s-an-amazing-number-of-things-you-can/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [Well, after Zombie Birdhouse came out, I toured behind it in the fall of 1982, into the spring, and in the summer in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/well-after-zombie-birdhouse-came-out-i-toured-behind-it-in-the-fall/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [That was something we were trying to figure out: Are we allowed to do a jazz song? Are we allowed to do cabaret? Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-ross/that-was-something-we-were-trying-to-figure-out-are-we-allowed-to-do/) [Ryan Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-ross/) > [He bows his and I bow mine back and then poke him in the stomach. He walks out of the kitchen leaving me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/he-bows-his-and-i-bow-mine-back-and-then-poke-him-in-the-stomach-he/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) ## More by John K. Samson > [I do get a little shy about contemporary language and events, but I also enjoy the idea of dating myself, somehow, anchoring a song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-do-get-a-little-shy-about-contemporary-language-and-events-but-i/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [In my mind I still qualify as punk, though I know four out of five punks would disagree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/in-my-mind-i-still-qualify-as-punk-though-i-know-four-out-of-five/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [I've always viewed my career with some suspicion, like I don't want to count on it to be the only thing I do. Partly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-ve-always-viewed-my-career-with-some-suspicion-like-i-don-t-want-to/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [I was listening to this interview with fiction writer George Saunders the other day, and he said something about how the role of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-was-listening-to-this-interview-with-fiction-writer-george-saunders/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [A more detailed world is a more complicated and complex one, and therefore a more empathetic one. I feel Gord's Downie lyrics are exceptionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/a-more-detailed-world-is-a-more-complicated-and-complex-one-and/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [I think of Gord Downie voice as Whitman-esque. He has a poetic voice that contains multitudes, both the suppleness of the instrument of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-think-of-gord-downie-voice-as-whitman-esque-he-has-a-poetic-voice/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [One of the wonderful things about music these days is that it's less cliqueish.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/one-of-the-wonderful-things-about-music-these-days-is-that-it-s-less/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [I try to write lyrics that will be able to function on their own if they get separated from the music. But I wouldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-try-to-write-lyrics-that-will-be-able-to-function-on-their-own-if/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [I think we all have a certain number of "coming of age" songs, and then a writer has to expand and grow into more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-think-we-all-have-a-certain-number-of-coming-of-age-songs-and-then/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [John Berger once defined music by saying that it began as a howl, became a prayer, then a lament, and still contains the elements…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/john-berger-once-defined-music-by-saying-that-it-began-as-a-howl/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [No one else writes like Gord Downie, so it's difficult to compare him. He can work in the abstract and still somehow be really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/no-one-else-writes-like-gord-downie-so-it-s-difficult-to-compare-him/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [There are definitely parts of me in most of the protagonists I write, but I find a bit of distance can be useful, so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/there-are-definitely-parts-of-me-in-most-of-the-protagonists-i-write/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [In this frightening, anxious time to be alive it can be liberating to remember that nothing lasts forever. That can focus and invigorate our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/in-this-frightening-anxious-time-to-be-alive-it-can-be-liberating-to/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [I listened to lots of other kinds of music, but punk is what allowed me to actually play music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-listened-to-lots-of-other-kinds-of-music-but-punk-is-what-allowed/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) > [I always go into listening to a new record by Gord Downie solo or The Tragically Hip and think, "Well, I know what this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-k-samson/i-always-go-into-listening-to-a-new-record-by-gord-downie-solo-or-the/) [John K. Samson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) [Explore all 18 John K. Samson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-k-samson/) ## More Rock song quotes > [I'll cover just about anything - except for a Kid Rock song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-malkmus/i-ll-cover-just-about-anything-except-for-a-kid-rock-song/) [Stephen Malkmus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-malkmus/) > [That was something we were trying to figure out: Are we allowed to do a jazz song? Are we allowed to do cabaret? Just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-ross/that-was-something-we-were-trying-to-figure-out-are-we-allowed-to-do/) [Ryan Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-ross/) > [Well, after Zombie Birdhouse came out, I toured behind it in the fall of 1982, into the spring, and in the summer in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iggy-pop/well-after-zombie-birdhouse-came-out-i-toured-behind-it-in-the-fall/) [Iggy Pop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iggy-pop/) > [I've always believed that there's an amazing number of things you can do through a rock'n'roll song and that you can do serious writing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-ve-always-believed-that-there-s-an-amazing-number-of-things-you-can/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [What we feel most comfortable doing is playing loud, screaming rock songs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-grohl/what-we-feel-most-comfortable-doing-is-playing-loud-screaming-rock/) [Dave Grohl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-grohl/) > [“That girl in the backseat of the beater, I wonder if she's bored d restless, stuck in this small town, hating the slow, stoned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-godfrey/that-girl-in-the-backseat-of-the-beater-i-wonder-if-she-s-bored-d/) [Rebecca Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-godfrey/) > [If you asked me to write a rock song or a rap song, I couldn't do it because they're not in my fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-lehrer/if-you-asked-me-to-write-a-rock-song-or-a-rap-song-i-couldn-t-do-it/) [Tom Lehrer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-lehrer/) > [I don't really have a favorite genre. I could listen to a rock song, a metal song, jazz, pop music, whatever. For me, whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bakermat/i-don-t-really-have-a-favorite-genre-i-could-listen-to-a-rock-song-a/) [Bakermat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bakermat/) > [I think have my own style; no one has ever tried playback singing before. I might release a punk rock song that perhaps other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atif-aslam/i-think-have-my-own-style-no-one-has-ever-tried-playback-singing/) [Atif Aslam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atif-aslam/) > [I write almost all my songs on an acoustic guitar, even if they turn into rock songs, hard rock songs, metal songs, heavy metal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corey-taylor/i-write-almost-all-my-songs-on-an-acoustic-guitar-even-if-they-turn/) [Corey Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corey-taylor/) > [I cut my teeth playing rock songs on the accordion when I was a teenager and my friends always thought that was extremely amusing.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-yankovic/i-cut-my-teeth-playing-rock-songs-on-the-accordion-when-i-was-a/) [Al Yankovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-yankovic/) > [My favourite piece of music is actually 'The Dark Side Of The Moon' as a whole. For me, it's the most perfect and brilliant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-gourley/my-favourite-piece-of-music-is-actually-the-dark-side-of-the-moon-as/) [John Gourley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-gourley/) > [My music is very diversified. I'll have a rock song then I'll do a ballad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-camp/my-music-is-very-diversified-i-ll-have-a-rock-song-then-i-ll-do-a/) [Jeremy Camp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-camp/) > [He bows his and I bow mine back and then poke him in the stomach. He walks out of the kitchen leaving me and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jade/he-bows-his-and-i-bow-mine-back-and-then-poke-him-in-the-stomach-he/) [Jade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jade/) > [I do believe that a poet would possess a stronger intuitive sense of phrasing with a rock song. There is a way to tap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-carroll/i-do-believe-that-a-poet-would-possess-a-stronger-intuitive-sense-of/) [Jim Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-carroll/) [Browse all 44 Rock song quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rock-song/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "That's something I've certainly taken from writers like Gord Downie is that there is a whole potential for breaking out of meter. Even if you don't do it, you're permitted to. He gave a lot of writers permission to do that, to expand and push out the borders of what a rock song can contain.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John K. 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