--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I don't care if I'm a fish, I still want…" description: "\"I don't care if I'm a fish, I still want a bicycle.\" — Lorrie Moore" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33e/lorrie-moore-870_bicycle_i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want_2044906.png" --- # I don't care if I'm a fish, I still want a bicycle. ![“I don't care if I'm a fish, I still want a bicycle.” quote by Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33e/lorrie-moore-870_bicycle_i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want_2044906.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33e/lorrie-moore-870_bicycle_i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want_2044906.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33e/lorrie-moore-870_bicycle_i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want_2044906.png) > “I don't care if I'm a fish, I still want a bicycle.” [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The statement humorously expresses that personal identity (being a fish) does not diminish one's desire for autonomy and freedom (a bicycle). **In simple terms:** Identity doesn't limit desires. Key Takeaway Embrace your desires regardless of identity. Themes identity freedom humor autonomy Mood playful thoughtful Type satirical philosophical When to use this quote - gender rights - L expression - social norms - personal empowerment Key Concepts Existentialism personal liberty Questions to Reflect On - What freedoms do you claim despite societal labels? - How can humor reveal deeper truths about autonomy? A Different Perspective May be dismissed as absurd, limiting serious discussion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bicycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bicycle/) [Care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care/) [Care Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/care-fish-3824251/) [Don-t-care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/don-t-care/) [Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish/) [Fish Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fish-want-439920/) [Fishes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fishes/) [I don't care](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-don-t-care/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Bicycle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-bicycle-3824250/) ## Related quotes > [“I don't care if she ever makes a basket that can hold grain, but I want her to be here with me. I want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shay-savage/i-don-t-care-if-she-ever-makes-a-basket-that-can-hold-grain-but-i/) [Shay Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shay-savage/) > [although I have no fish, / I do not want any frog; / Or any elderberries either, / Instead of a bunch of grapes:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hadewijch/although-i-have-no-fish-i-do-not-want-any-frog-or-any-elderberries/) [Hadewijch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hadewijch/) > [Everything seems beautiful because you don't understand. Those flying fish, they're not leaping for joy, they're jumping in terror. Bigger fish want to eat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-siodmak/everything-seems-beautiful-because-you-don-t-understand-those-flying/) [Curt Siodmak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-siodmak/) > [Why do we say there are plenty of fish in the sea...My life is not a sea. I don't want to date a fish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/why-do-we-say-there-are-plenty-of-fish-in-the-sea-my-life-is-not-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“It's not about the number of fishes in the sea, it's about "the fish" you want to catch!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jum-jumms/it-s-not-about-the-number-of-fishes-in-the-sea-it-s-about-the-fish/) [Jum Jumms](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jum-jumms/) > [People may say there are plenty more fish in the sea, but I don't want fish, I want you!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-may-say-there-are-plenty-more-fish-in-the-sea-but-i-don-t-want/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [But what is work and what is not work? Is it work to dig, to carpenter, to plant trees, to fell trees, to ride,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-what-is-work-and-what-is-not-work-is-it-work-to-dig-to-carpenter/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [You know what they say: A woman needs a man about as much as a fish needs a bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/candace-bushnell/you-know-what-they-say-a-woman-needs-a-man-about-as-much-as-a-fish/) [Candace Bushnell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/candace-bushnell/) > [The city needs a car like a fish needs a bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-kamen/the-city-needs-a-car-like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle/) [Dean Kamen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-kamen/) > [Like a fish needs a bicycle. A goldfish riding a bicycle underwater. I need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-dunn/like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle-a-goldfish-riding-a-bicycle-underwater-i/) [Irina Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irina-dunn/) > [I think if I got a bicycle from my father, I should give a car to my son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-think-if-i-got-a-bicycle-from-my-father-i-should-give-a-car-to-my/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [At that age, it's one of the worse things in the world to wake up and not see your bike where you left it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/at-that-age-it-s-one-of-the-worse-things-in-the-world-to-wake-up-and/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-stand-and-rejoice-every-time-i-see-a-woman-ride-by-on-a-wheel-the/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) ## More by Lorrie Moore > [But I believed in starting over. There was finally, I knew, only rupture and hurt and falling short between all persons, but, Shirley, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/but-i-believed-in-starting-over-there-was-finally-i-knew-only-rupture/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I'm very interested in what people will do for money. Money: it's timeless.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-m-very-interested-in-what-people-will-do-for-money-money-it-s/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“One of the problems with people in Chicago, she remembered, was that they were never lonely at the same time. Their sadness occurred in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/one-of-the-problems-with-people-in-chicago-she-remembered-was-that/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“If you had forgotten, it would quickly come back to you. Aloneness was like riding a bike. At gunpoint. With the gun in your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/if-you-had-forgotten-it-would-quickly-come-back-to-you-aloneness-was/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Once love had seemed like magic. Now it seemed like tricks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/once-love-had-seemed-like-magic-now-it-seemed-like-tricks/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Observing others go through them, he used to admire midlife crises, the courage and shamelessness and existential daring of them, but after he'd watched…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/observing-others-go-through-them-he-used-to-admire-midlife-crises-the/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [Start dating someone who is funny, someone who has what in high school you called a "really great sense of humor" and what now…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/start-dating-someone-who-is-funny-someone-who-has-what-in-high-school/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [You are unhappy because you believe in such a thing as happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/you-are-unhappy-because-you-believe-in-such-a-thing-as-happy/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Amber was not shy. If she had been shy, not one of us would be at Perkins right now.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/amber-was-not-shy-if-she-had-been-shy-not-one-of-us-would-be-at/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [People will do anything, anything, for a really nice laugh,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/people-will-do-anything-anything-for-a-really-nice-laugh/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Farmers aren't rich. They have land but no money." Actually, my father didn't even have that much land. He had once stood on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/farmers-aren-t-rich-they-have-land-but-no-money-actually-my-father/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“My grandmother, who, when I visited, stared at me with the staggering, arrogant stare of the dying, the wise vapidity of the already gone;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/my-grandmother-who-when-i-visited-stared-at-me-with-the-staggering/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I count too heavily on birthdays, though I know I shouldn't. Inevitably I begin to assess my life by them, figure out how I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-count-too-heavily-on-birthdays-though-i-know-i-shouldn-t-inevitably/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [“Life is sad. Here is someone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/life-is-sad-here-is-someone/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) > [I had never feared insomnia before--like prison, wouldn't it just give you more time to read?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-had-never-feared-insomnia-before-like-prison-wouldn-t-it-just-give/) [Lorrie Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) [Explore all 340 Lorrie Moore quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/) ## More Bicycle quotes > [I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/i-stand-and-rejoice-every-time-i-see-a-woman-ride-by-on-a-wheel-the/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [Can you understand why the Congress, most states and most cities refuse to pass legislation requiring the registration and licensing of any and all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-forbes/can-you-understand-why-the-congress-most-states-and-most-cities/) [Malcolm Forbes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-forbes/) > [My father had Parkinson's, though he actually died following a bicycle accident.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kt-tunstall/my-father-had-parkinson-s-though-he-actually-died-following-a-bicycle/) [KT Tunstall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kt-tunstall/) > [At that age, it's one of the worse things in the world to wake up and not see your bike where you left it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curtis-jackson/at-that-age-it-s-one-of-the-worse-things-in-the-world-to-wake-up-and/) [Curtis Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curtis-jackson/) > [I think if I got a bicycle from my father, I should give a car to my son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lech-walesa/i-think-if-i-got-a-bicycle-from-my-father-i-should-give-a-car-to-my/) [Lech Walesa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lech-walesa/) > [Life is like a bicycle; keep moving on to maintain balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/life-is-like-a-bicycle-keep-moving-on-to-maintain-balance/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [It has been explained to me that toys are packaged in shards, to be assembled by the middle-aged and butter-fingered, because this makes it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-kerr/it-has-been-explained-to-me-that-toys-are-packaged-in-shards-to-be/) [Jean Kerr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-kerr/) > [I simply want to celebrate the fact that right near your home, year in and year out, a community college is quietly - and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-ryan/i-simply-want-to-celebrate-the-fact-that-right-near-your-home-year-in/) [Kay Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-ryan/) > [Let me tell you what I think of bicycling. I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-b-anthony/let-me-tell-you-what-i-think-of-bicycling-i-think-it-has-done-more-to/) [Susan B. Anthony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-b-anthony/) > [If we’re going to talk about transport, I would say that the great city is not the one that has highways, but one where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/enrique-penalosa/if-we-re-going-to-talk-about-transport-i-would-say-that-the-great/) [Enrique Penalosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/enrique-penalosa/) > [Like a fish needs a bicycle. A goldfish riding a bicycle underwater. I need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irina-dunn/like-a-fish-needs-a-bicycle-a-goldfish-riding-a-bicycle-underwater-i/) [Irina Dunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irina-dunn/) > [Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-like-riding-a-bicycle-to-keep-your-balance-you-must-keep/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love a bicycle, and I haven't been without at least one since I was three years old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-may/i-love-a-bicycle-and-i-haven-t-been-without-at-least-one-since-i-was/) [James May](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-may/) > [ Rose: Look at you, beaming away like you're Father Christmas! The Doctor: Who says I'm not, red-bicycle-when-you-were-twelve? Rose: \[shocked\] What? The Doctor: And everybody… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-moffat/rose-look-at-you-beaming-away-like-you-re-father-christmas-the-doctor/) [Steven Moffat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-moffat/) > [Life is like riding a bicycle: you don't fall off unless you stop pedaling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claude-pepper/life-is-like-riding-a-bicycle-you-don-t-fall-off-unless-you-stop/) [Claude Pepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claude-pepper/) [Browse all 531 Bicycle quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bicycle/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I don't care if I'm a fish, I still want a bicycle.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Lorrie Moore" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want-a-bicycle/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bicycle" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want-a-bicycle/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33e/lorrie-moore-870_bicycle_i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want_2044906.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33e/lorrie-moore-870_bicycle_i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want_2044906.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/33e/lorrie-moore-870_bicycle_i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want_2044906.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I don't care if I'm a fish, I still want a bicycle.” — Lorrie Moore", "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": "Lorrie Moore", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorrie-moore/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I don't care if I'm a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want-a-bicycle/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorrie-moore/i-don-t-care-if-i-m-a-fish-i-still-want-a-bicycle/#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 } } ] } ```