--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You've got to keep the child alive; you…" description: "\"You've got to keep the child alive; you can't create without it.\" — Joni Mitchell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/461/joni-mitchell-1160_alive_you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-c_1971949.png" --- # You've got to keep the child alive; you can't create… ![“You've got to keep the child alive; you can't create without it.” quote by Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/461/joni-mitchell-1160_alive_you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-c_1971949.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/461/joni-mitchell-1160_alive_you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-c_1971949.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/461/joni-mitchell-1160_alive_you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-c_1971949.png) > “You've got to keep the child alive; you can't create without it.” [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Creativity requires maintaining a childlike wonder; without it, creation stalls. **In simple terms:** Keep childlike wonder alive to create. Key Takeaway Nurture inner child for artistic flow. Themes creativity innocence growth Mood hopeful inspirational Type musical motivational When to use this quote - writing - painting - teaching - parenting Key Concepts psychology of play artistic inspiration Questions to Reflect On - How can you reconnect with your inner child? - What practices keep wonder alive? A Different Perspective Adults may lose wonder, hindering innovation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) [Alive Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive-create-2634882/) [Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child/) [Child Alive](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/child-alive-1313578/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Create](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/create/) [Creativity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/creativity/) [Got Child](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/got-child-865181/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) ## Related quotes > [Survival is important, art is secondary. If you aren't alive, how can you create art?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pankaj-tripathi/survival-is-important-art-is-secondary-if-you-aren-t-alive-how-can/) [Pankaj Tripathi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pankaj-tripathi/) > [Once you've got a child to the point that they've discovered books, they're safe. There's a world of the imagination that when they're hurt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rhys-davies/once-you-ve-got-a-child-to-the-point-that-they-ve-discovered-books/) [John Rhys-Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-rhys-davies/) > [Everyone's got to be for a child to have a home and love. I mean I don't know anyone who would be against that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-thomas/everyone-s-got-to-be-for-a-child-to-have-a-home-and-love-i-mean-i-don/) [Dave Thomas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-thomas/) > [Says she's got my child, but it don't look like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grateful-dead/says-she-s-got-my-child-but-it-don-t-look-like-me/) [Grateful Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grateful-dead/) > [My mother and I never got along, not even when I was a child.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tamara-mellon/my-mother-and-i-never-got-along-not-even-when-i-was-a-child/) [Tamara Mellon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tamara-mellon/) > [Keep the child within alive. A child never tires of hearing the birds sing, never gets bored looking at flowers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mata-amritanandamayi/keep-the-child-within-alive-a-child-never-tires-of-hearing-the-birds/) [Mata Amritanandamayi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mata-amritanandamayi/) > [If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder, he needs the companionship of at least one adult who can share…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/if-a-child-is-to-keep-alive-his-inborn-sense-of-wonder-he-needs-the/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [No matter how old you get, if you can keep the desire to be creative, you're keeping the man-child alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cassavetes/no-matter-how-old-you-get-if-you-can-keep-the-desire-to-be-creative/) [John Cassavetes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cassavetes/) > [If a child is to keep alive his inborn sense of wonder without any such gift from the fairies, he needs the companionship of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachel-carson/if-a-child-is-to-keep-alive-his-inborn-sense-of-wonder-without-any/) [Rachel Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachel-carson/) > [“Few living do." "Then, have I...I mean, am I-" "Oh, no, child! You are still very much alive! Though I may say, not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-w-schmidt/few-living-do-then-have-i-i-mean-am-i-oh-no-child-you-are-still-very/) [R.W. Schmidt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-w-schmidt/) > [“even the slightest stir in the broad grammar of existence—a moment asking only to be noticed—was enough to rekindle that astonished brightness, the kind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neena-h-brar-2/even-the-slightest-stir-in-the-broad-grammar-of-existence-a-moment/) [Neena H. Brar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neena-h-brar-2/) > [Throughout my life, I've been gratified that I've been able to keep the child in me alive and inspire others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-winters/throughout-my-life-i-ve-been-gratified-that-i-ve-been-able-to-keep/) [Jonathan Winters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-winters/) > [The poet is one who is able to keep the fresh vision of the child alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anais-nin/the-poet-is-one-who-is-able-to-keep-the-fresh-vision-of-the-child/) [Anais Nin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anais-nin/) > [I looked down at the little pink face in the bundle. A newborn. The child had been alive only minutes but was already considered…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruta-sepetys/i-looked-down-at-the-little-pink-face-in-the-bundle-a-newborn-the/) [Ruta Sepetys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruta-sepetys/) > [It sometimes happens that the town child is more alive to the fresh beauty of the country than a child who is country born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beatrix-potter/it-sometimes-happens-that-the-town-child-is-more-alive-to-the-fresh-2/) [Beatrix Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beatrix-potter/) ## More by Joni Mitchell > [They paved paradise and put up a parkin lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/they-paved-paradise-and-put-up-a-parkin-lot-with-a-pink-hotel-a/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [And the seasons they go 'round and 'round And the painted ponies go up and down We're captive on the carousel of time We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/and-the-seasons-they-go-round-and-round-and-the-painted-ponies-go-up/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Abstract Expressionism was invented by New York drunks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/abstract-expressionism-was-invented-by-new-york-drunks/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I have one piece of music, since 1997, and I don't see it having lyrics. Where does it go in this world? So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-have-one-piece-of-music-since-1997-and-i-don-t-see-it-having-lyrics/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Musically, I would never run dry. Any time I sit down to an instrument, I could write a song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/musically-i-would-never-run-dry-any-time-i-sit-down-to-an-instrument/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [You snipe so steady, you snub so snide, so rip and ready to diminish and deride.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/you-snipe-so-steady-you-snub-so-snide-so-rip-and-ready-to-diminish/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I loved Debussy, Stravinsky, Chopin, Tchaikovsky, anything with romantic melodies, especially the nocturnes. Nietzsche was a hero, especially with 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra.' He gets…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-loved-debussy-stravinsky-chopin-tchaikovsky-anything-with-romantic/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [When the spirit of child's play enters into the creative process, it's a wonderful force and something to be nurtured.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/when-the-spirit-of-child-s-play-enters-into-the-creative-process-it-s/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Americans have decided to be stupid and shallow since 1980.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/americans-have-decided-to-be-stupid-and-shallow-since-1980/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I was young for my age. Not as naïve as they expected. I don't know why I seem to bring that out in people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-was-young-for-my-age-not-as-na-ve-as-they-expected-i-don-t-know-why/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [This is a nation that has lost the ability to be self-critical, and that makes a lie out of the freedoms.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/this-is-a-nation-that-has-lost-the-ability-to-be-self-critical-and/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [Land of snap decisions, land of short attention spans, nothing is savored long enough to really understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/land-of-snap-decisions-land-of-short-attention-spans-nothing-is/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I like my freedom. I like to do my own grocery shopping.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-like-my-freedom-i-like-to-do-my-own-grocery-shopping/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I'm not a pitiable creature. It's just that I suffer very eloquently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-m-not-a-pitiable-creature-it-s-just-that-i-suffer-very-eloquently/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [I can't remember anything I ever wrote.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/i-can-t-remember-anything-i-ever-wrote/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) [Explore all 281 Joni Mitchell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) ## More Alive quotes > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [I feel very grateful to be alive and well enough to make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-ant/i-feel-very-grateful-to-be-alive-and-well-enough-to-make-music/) [Adam Ant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-ant/) > [I don't crave applause. I'm not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I'm much more alive at home, I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bowie/i-don-t-crave-applause-i-m-not-one-of-those-guys-who-comes-alive-on/) [David Bowie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bowie/) > [We must master our egoism, and through this mastery, step outside ourselves and educate ourselves in giving. Fasting requires that we rediscover all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tariq-ramadan/we-must-master-our-egoism-and-through-this-mastery-step-outside/) [Tariq Ramadan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tariq-ramadan/) > [I can't say that there are 'things' that make me come alive. There are thoughts that make me come alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-can-t-say-that-there-are-things-that-make-me-come-alive-there-are/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [If Jovan Belcher didn't possess a gun, he and Kasandra Perkins would both be alive today.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-costas/if-jovan-belcher-didn-t-possess-a-gun-he-and-kasandra-perkins-would/) [Bob Costas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-costas/) > [Peace is an ongoing process. It begins with the first step and it does not end. We, all of us alive today, are the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-krieger/peace-is-an-ongoing-process-it-begins-with-the-first-step-and-it-does/) [David Krieger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-krieger/) > [I think adoption becomes complicated whenever the biological parents are alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-haven/i-think-adoption-becomes-complicated-whenever-the-biological-parents/) [James Haven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-haven/) > [The pain of love is the pain of being alive. It is a perpetual wound.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-duffy/the-pain-of-love-is-the-pain-of-being-alive-it-is-a-perpetual-wound/) [Maureen Duffy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-duffy/) > [I have tried to resign myself, and to console myself; and that, I hope, I may have done imperfectly; but what I cannot firmly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/i-have-tried-to-resign-myself-and-to-console-myself-and-that-i-hope-i/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [If you’re alive, don’t move, if you’re dead, don’t worry about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurell-k-hamilton/if-you-re-alive-don-t-move-if-you-re-dead-don-t-worry-about-it/) [Laurell K. Hamilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurell-k-hamilton/) > [Here Greek and Roman find themselves alive along these crowded shelves; and Shakespeare treads again his stage, and Chaucer paints anew his age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/here-greek-and-roman-find-themselves-alive-along-these-crowded/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [You're alive!" Fezzik cried. The man in black sat immobile, like a ventriloquist's dummy, just his mouth moving. "That is perhaps the most childishly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/you-re-alive-fezzik-cried-the-man-in-black-sat-immobile-like-a/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) [Browse all 7,282 Alive quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/alive/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You've got to keep the child alive; you can't create without it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Joni Mitchell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-can-t-create-without-it/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Alive" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-can-t-create-without-it/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/461/joni-mitchell-1160_alive_you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-c_1971949.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/461/joni-mitchell-1160_alive_you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-c_1971949.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/461/joni-mitchell-1160_alive_you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-c_1971949.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You've got to keep the child alive; you can't create without it.” — Joni Mitchell", "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": "Joni Mitchell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You've got to keep the child...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-can-t-create-without-it/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/you-ve-got-to-keep-the-child-alive-you-can-t-create-without-it/#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 } } ] } ```