--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric." description: "\"One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric.\" — John Marshall Harlan II" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/john-marshall-harlan-ii-63298_another-man_one-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-man-s-lyr_38465.jpg" --- # One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric. ![“One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric.” quote by John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/john-marshall-harlan-ii-63298_another-man_one-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-man-s-lyr_38465.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/john-marshall-harlan-ii-63298_another-man_one-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-man-s-lyr_38465.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/de2/john-marshall-harlan-ii-63298_another-man_one-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-man-s-lyr_38465.jpg) > “One man's vulgarity is another man's lyric.” [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. What one person deems crude or offensive can be celebrated as art by another, highlighting subjective taste. **In simple terms:** Taste is subjective. Key Takeaway Beauty lies in the eye of the beholder. Themes subjectivity aesthetic relativism cultural perception artistic value Mood thoughtful ironic Type aphorism observation When to use this quote - literary criticism - music reviews - visual art appraisal - social media commentary Key Concepts subjectivity aesthetic judgment cultural context Practical Applications - curating diverse content - designing inclusive marketing Questions to Reflect On - How does personal experience shape aesthetic judgment? - When might a work be both vulgar and lyrical? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Another man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-man/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Lyric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lyric/) [Man Lyric](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-lyric-448512/) [Man Vulgarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/man-vulgarity-448513/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [One man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/one-man/) [Vulgarity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity/) [Vulgarity is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity-is/) [Vulgarity Man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vulgarity-man-448511/) ## Related quotes > [ “\[O\]ne man's vulgarity is another's lyric.” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan/o-ne-man-s-vulgarity-is-another-s-lyric/) [John Marshall Harlan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan/) > [One man's frankness is another man's vulgarity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-smith/one-man-s-frankness-is-another-man-s-vulgarity/) [Kevin Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-smith/) > [Vulgarity is innocent; urbanity is not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mason-cooley/vulgarity-is-innocent-urbanity-is-not/) [Mason Cooley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mason-cooley/) > [A thing is not vulgar merely because it is common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-hazlitt/a-thing-is-not-vulgar-merely-because-it-is-common/) [William Hazlitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-hazlitt/) > [One is born with good taste. It's very hard to acquire. You can acquire the patina of taste. But what Elsie Mendl had was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-vreeland/one-is-born-with-good-taste-it-s-very-hard-to-acquire-you-can-acquire/) [Diana Vreeland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diana-vreeland/) > [Vulgarity is, in reality, nothing but a modern, chic, pert descendant of the goddess Dullness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-sitwell/vulgarity-is-in-reality-nothing-but-a-modern-chic-pert-descendant-of/) [Edith Sitwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-sitwell/) > [Donald Trump did his usual softball interview on "Fox News" where the interviewer agreed with Trump that using that Yiddish vulgarity is going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-o-donnell/donald-trump-did-his-usual-softball-interview-on-fox-news-where-the/) [Lawrence O'Donnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-o-donnell/) > [The physicists have known sin; and this is a knowledge which they cannot lose.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-robert-oppenheimer/the-physicists-have-known-sin-and-this-is-a-knowledge-which-they/) [J. Robert Oppenheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-robert-oppenheimer/) > [It is an immense loss to have all robust and sustaining expletives refined away from one! At. moments of trial refinement is a feeble…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-james/it-is-an-immense-loss-to-have-all-robust-and-sustaining-expletives/) [Alice James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-james/) > [The vulgarity of inanimate things requires time to get accustomed to; but living, breathing, bustling, plotting, planning, human vulgarity is a species of moral…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-carlyle/the-vulgarity-of-inanimate-things-requires-time-to-get-accustomed-to/) [Thomas Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-carlyle/) > [Vulgarity is the garlic in the salad of charm.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyril-connolly/vulgarity-is-the-garlic-in-the-salad-of-charm/) [Cyril Connolly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyril-connolly/) > [There is a point in portraying surface vulgarity where tragedy and comedy are very close.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-stanwyck/there-is-a-point-in-portraying-surface-vulgarity-where-tragedy-and/) [Barbara Stanwyck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-stanwyck/) > [Vulgarity is setting store by the things which are seen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-lady-morgan/vulgarity-is-setting-store-by-the-things-which-are-seen/) [Sydney, Lady Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-lady-morgan/) > [To endeavor to work upon the vulgar with fine sense is like attempting to hew blocks with a razor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-pope/to-endeavor-to-work-upon-the-vulgar-with-fine-sense-is-like/) [Alexander Pope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-pope/) > [A lot of warm vulgarity is incomparably preferable to a little bit of pinched niceness](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caitlin-thomas/a-lot-of-warm-vulgarity-is-incomparably-preferable-to-a-little-bit-of/) [Caitlin Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caitlin-thomas/) ## More by John Marshall Harlan II > [The dissemination of the individual's opinions on matters of public interest is for us, in the historic words of the Declaration of Independence, an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/the-dissemination-of-the-individual-s-opinions-on-matters-of-public/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) > [Privacy in one's associations... may in many circumstances be indispensable to freedom of association, particularly where a group espouses dissident beliefs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/privacy-in-one-s-associations-may-in-many-circumstances-be/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) > [We cannot sanction the view that the Constitution, while solicitous of the cognitive content of individual speech, has little or no regard for that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/we-cannot-sanction-the-view-that-the-constitution-while-solicitous-of/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) > [The constitutional right of free expression... is designed and intended to remove governmental restraints from the arena of public discussion, putting the decision as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marshall-harlan-ii/the-constitutional-right-of-free-expression-is-designed-and-intended/) [John Marshall Harlan II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) [Explore all 5 John Marshall Harlan II quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marshall-harlan-ii/) ## More Another man quotes > [ Next came the Patent laws. These began in England in 1624; and, in this country, with the adoption of our constitution. Before then \[these?\],… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-lincoln/next-came-the-patent-laws-these-began-in-england-in-1624-and-in-this/) [Abraham Lincoln](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-lincoln/) > [“I took ten days off and by 11 o’clock on the first morning I had drunk fourteen cups of coffee, read all the newspapers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeremy-clarkson/i-took-ten-days-off-and-by-11-o-clock-on-the-first-morning-i-had/) [Jeremy Clarkson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeremy-clarkson/) > [One day I woke up and Juventus wanted me, another Manchester United and what I know is that there were approaches made. But an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raul-jimenez/one-day-i-woke-up-and-juventus-wanted-me-another-manchester-united/) [Raul Jimenez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raul-jimenez/) > [“He often remembered his dad's admonition that envy was mental theft. If you coveted another man's possessions, Dad said, then you should be willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-koontz/he-often-remembered-his-dad-s-admonition-that-envy-was-mental-theft/) [Dean Koontz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-koontz/) > [Never break another man's rice bowl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akio-morita/never-break-another-man-s-rice-bowl/) [Akio Morita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akio-morita/) > [“One theory on cannibals, of course, is that they eat parts of their slain enemies to benefit from that person's greatest assets - their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/one-theory-on-cannibals-of-course-is-that-they-eat-parts-of-their/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) > [I admire machinery as much is any man, and am as thankful to it as any man can be for what it does for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-admire-machinery-as-much-is-any-man-and-am-as-thankful-to-it-as-any/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“If you aren't in love, Willow Vaughn, then my name isn't Miriam Brigham." Willow started out of her daydreaming and glanced up from the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-mcpherren/if-you-aren-t-in-love-willow-vaughn-then-my-name-isn-t-miriam-brigham/) [Charlotte McPherren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-mcpherren/) > [“One man accomplishment Is another mans failure.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-sargent/one-man-accomplishment-is-another-mans-failure/) [Anthony Sargent](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-sargent/) > [“Hell, I bet there's another man right now on the other side of this planet, standing in the pouring rain, fighting desperately for the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/el-montes/hell-i-bet-there-s-another-man-right-now-on-the-other-side-of-this/) [EL Montes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/el-montes/) > [The perception of what we as professors provide has changed. Constant and demanding e-mails are just another manifestation of what our society has become.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-payne/the-perception-of-what-we-as-professors-provide-has-changed-constant/) [Dan Payne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-payne/) > [Fighting, to me, seems barbaric. I don't really like it. I enjoy out-thinking another man and out-maneuvering him, but I still don't like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/fighting-to-me-seems-barbaric-i-don-t-really-like-it-i-enjoy-out/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) > [The single greatest pleasure that I have in doing ('Bizarre Foods') is when I meet families with 6, 7, 8-year-olds, or teenagers, who say,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-zimmern/the-single-greatest-pleasure-that-i-have-in-doing-bizarre-foods-is/) [Andrew Zimmern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-zimmern/) > [“that of dealing death, of loosing another man’s soul and sending it down to hell. 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