--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There was a time when I was in the South…" description: "\"There was a time when I was in the South, singing, and someone came to me before the show and said, 'There's been a threat on your life. Someone had ph..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/johnny-mathis-3833_life_there-was-a-time-when-i-was-in-the-south_3073095.jpg" --- # There was a time when I was in the South, singing, and… ![“There was a time when I was in the South, singing, and someone came to me before the show and said, 'There's been a threat on your life. Someone had phoned in and said they were going to shoot you if you go on stage.' I was singing 'Chances Are,' and I kept moving so they wouldn't have a shot at me.” quote by Johnny Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/johnny-mathis-3833_life_there-was-a-time-when-i-was-in-the-south_3073095.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/johnny-mathis-3833_life_there-was-a-time-when-i-was-in-the-south_3073095.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/531/johnny-mathis-3833_life_there-was-a-time-when-i-was-in-the-south_3073095.jpg) > “There was a time when I was in the South, singing, and someone came to me before the show and said, 'There's been a threat on your life. Someone had phoned in and said they were going to shoot you if you go on stage.' I was singing 'Chances Are,' and I kept moving so they wouldn't have a shot at me.” [Johnny Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-mathis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He faced a death threat while performing but continued to sing, refusing to be intimidated. **In simple terms:** He kept performing despite a threat. Key Takeaway Don’t let fear silence you. Themes courage performance threats Mood tense defiant Type motivational inspirational When to use this quote - Live concerts - public speaking - political protests - dangerous situations Key Concepts Freedom of expression personal bravery Questions to Reflect On - How would you react to a similar threat? - What supports you to stay brave? A Different Perspective Threats may still cause trauma after the act. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Stage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stage/) [Theatre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/theatre/) [Threat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/threat/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [ \[Donald Trump\] basically has said, 'No it's more of a threat than an actual reality.' I do not think we're going to see tariffs… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-bartiromo/donald-trump-basically-has-said-no-it-s-more-of-a-threat-than-an/) [Maria Bartiromo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maria-bartiromo/) > [I love singing, and I came to absolutely adore it in the later part of my career.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-andrews/i-love-singing-and-i-came-to-absolutely-adore-it-in-the-later-part-of/) [Julie Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-andrews/) > [Singing always came naturally but the writing side is something I have always had to work hard at to get from good songs to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-ripp/singing-always-came-naturally-but-the-writing-side-is-something-i/) [Andrew Ripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-ripp/) > [Academically I was never that great and I was not really into school. I don't know, I just really had a problem focusing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ari-lennox/academically-i-was-never-that-great-and-i-was-not-really-into-school/) [Ari Lennox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ari-lennox/) > [It's so easy to demagogue the issue and make someone who speaks out against the internal-combustion engine sound like an insane communist, when the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/it-s-so-easy-to-demagogue-the-issue-and-make-someone-who-speaks-out/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [“You know, Jimmy’s got records stashed away in case something unnatural happens to him.” “Your friend made one threat too many in his life,”…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-brandt/you-know-jimmy-s-got-records-stashed-away-in-case-something-unnatural/) [Charles Brandt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-brandt/) > [“he was safe in here from all the threat of life...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fitzgerald/he-was-safe-in-here-from-all-the-threat-of-life/) Fitzgerald > [Because the state I was in, contesting elections with Azam Khan, as a woman, with acid attack threats, threat to my life... I couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaya-prada/because-the-state-i-was-in-contesting-elections-with-azam-khan-as-a/) [Jaya Prada](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaya-prada/) > [Change is not a threat to your life, but an invitation to live.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adrienne-rich/change-is-not-a-threat-to-your-life-but-an-invitation-to-live/) [Adrienne Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adrienne-rich/) > [If you are not living with a whole heart now, the end of the world poses no threat; your life is already gone. Life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-cohen/if-you-are-not-living-with-a-whole-heart-now-the-end-of-the-world/) [Alan Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-cohen/) > [In any event, it is one thing to assert, then or now, that the Iraq war was ill-advised. It is quite another to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-silberman/in-any-event-it-is-one-thing-to-assert-then-or-now-that-the-iraq-war/) [Laurence Silberman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-silberman/) > [“A good threat is often more telling than a blow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-r-r-martin/a-good-threat-is-often-more-telling-than-a-blow/) [George R.R. Martin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-r-r-martin/) > [Climate change poses clear, catastrophic threats. We may not agree on the extent, but we certainly can't afford the risk of inaction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/climate-change-poses-clear-catastrophic-threats-we-may-not-agree-on/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [“The threats that resurfaced in the past 10 years were not an aberration. Al Qaeda and terrorism or one such threat, but it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-friedman/the-threats-that-resurfaced-in-the-past-10-years-were-not-an/) [George Friedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-friedman/) > [Believe me, most of the people in Russia are seeing the West as a threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margarita-simonyan/believe-me-most-of-the-people-in-russia-are-seeing-the-west-as-a/) [Margarita Simonyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margarita-simonyan/) ## More by Johnny Mathis > [The world changes. The world is completely different now from when I was growing up. Back then, you didn't say things like they say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-mathis/the-world-changes-the-world-is-completely-different-now-from-when-i/) [Johnny Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-mathis/) > [I've paid the price over the years, though: a lot of injuries and surgeries related to my sports career; my hips and knees took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-mathis/i-ve-paid-the-price-over-the-years-though-a-lot-of-injuries-and/) [Johnny Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-mathis/) > [When you do interviews, you have to talk about yourself - and I like to find out about other people. 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