--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Somehow you can tell the difference when…" description: "\"Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/lyle-lovett-8466_bob_somehow-you-can-tell-the-difference-when_229342.jpg" --- # Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written… ![“Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through in Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. There is no separating their life from their music.” quote by Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/lyle-lovett-8466_bob_somehow-you-can-tell-the-difference-when_229342.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/lyle-lovett-8466_bob_somehow-you-can-tell-the-difference-when_229342.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b92/lyle-lovett-8466_bob_somehow-you-can-tell-the-difference-when_229342.jpg) > “Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through in Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. There is no separating their life from their music.” [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Authentic music reflects an artist’s life, unlike commercial songs made for radio; true artistry integrates life and work. **In simple terms:** Real music shows an artist’s life. Key Takeaway Seek authenticity over commercial appeal. Themes authenticity artistry commercialism Mood thoughtful critical Type musical philosophical When to use this quote - songwriting - career choices - media criticism Key Concepts music industry personal expression Questions to Reflect On - Can commercial work coexist with authenticity? - How do listeners discern genuine art? A Different Perspective Commercial success can also fund artistic freedom. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Radio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/radio/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [I give a lot of credit to 'Cherry Pie.' It has stood the test of time. It's a little catchy. It's a little tongue-in-cheek.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jani-lane/i-give-a-lot-of-credit-to-cherry-pie-it-has-stood-the-test-of-time-it/) [Jani Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jani-lane/) > [It's best to keep things as free and open as you can. It's good to have a template, but then you go back and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-halford/it-s-best-to-keep-things-as-free-and-open-as-you-can-it-s-good-to/) [Rob Halford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-halford/) > [“HIT SONG written by Johnny Mercer during the Second World War contained the words “accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative….”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sir-john-templeton/hit-song-written-by-johnny-mercer-during-the-second-world-war/) [Sir John Templeton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sir-john-templeton/) > [Most people who ask me what's my favorite song, expect that it's 'Midnight Train' or 'Neither One of Us.' But actually, it's always kinda…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gladys-knight/most-people-who-ask-me-what-s-my-favorite-song-expect-that-it-s/) [Gladys Knight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gladys-knight/) > [Within the songwriting community, there are these unwritten rules for the way that a song should be written in country music, and I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-hunt/within-the-songwriting-community-there-are-these-unwritten-rules-for/) [Sam Hunt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-hunt/) > [But for now, I just sat there on the bed and listened to my song. The one that had been written for me by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/but-for-now-i-just-sat-there-on-the-bed-and-listened-to-my-song-the/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [The first time I ever had a song play on a legit radio station, I think I was about 13. It was a song…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabby-barrett/the-first-time-i-ever-had-a-song-play-on-a-legit-radio-station-i/) [Gabby Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabby-barrett/) > [“My father referred to it as "the finest song ever written for fifteen fingers." He made me play it when I was getting too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-rothfuss/my-father-referred-to-it-as-the-finest-song-ever-written-for-fifteen/) [Patrick Rothfuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-rothfuss/) > [Those situations were just taking over my entire life. It was fun to write in a way, because it helped me take a really…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-atkins/those-situations-were-just-taking-over-my-entire-life-it-was-fun-to/) [Nicole Atkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-atkins/) > [I decided to do what I do when I was 2 years old. At 2 years old, you know, I heard the sound of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyclef-jean/i-decided-to-do-what-i-do-when-i-was-2-years-old-at-2-years-old-you/) [Wyclef Jean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyclef-jean/) > [I would much rather hear a song that's written from a fresh perspective, using ideas that have existed in rock & roll for 50…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-gibbard/i-would-much-rather-hear-a-song-that-s-written-from-a-fresh/) [Ben Gibbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-gibbard/) > [Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood," a song that was written for Simone, she confronted the band's lead singer, Eric Burdon. "So you're the honky,"…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/don-t-let-me-be-misunderstood-a-song-that-was-written-for-simone-she/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [It was a complete dream to work with David LaChapelle. I collected his books as a teenager, and I fantasised that he would direct…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-welch/it-was-a-complete-dream-to-work-with-david-lachapelle-i-collected-his/) [Florence Welch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-welch/) > [You're every love song ever written.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rod-stewart/you-re-every-love-song-ever-written/) [Rod Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rod-stewart/) > [Sometimes, if a song is written, in essence, to be that stripped down, it's very touchy when you start adding things, because even the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-cornell/sometimes-if-a-song-is-written-in-essence-to-be-that-stripped-down-it/) [Chris Cornell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-cornell/) ## More by Lyle Lovett > [Helen Hunt is terrific, and I got to do a couple of guest spots with Helen and Paul Reiser on 'Mad About You.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/helen-hunt-is-terrific-and-i-got-to-do-a-couple-of-guest-spots-with/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [In school, I didn't speak up often in class. I was never the person to yell out an answer. If I knew it, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/in-school-i-didn-t-speak-up-often-in-class-i-was-never-the-person-to/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [Tipping your hat to a lady is good form. If you're at a dinner table, you'd most certainly take your hat off - cowboy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/tipping-your-hat-to-a-lady-is-good-form-if-you-re-at-a-dinner-table/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [The idea that we humans are good-natured, politically correct, nonjudgmental beings is pure fantasy. We are, at the very least, judgmental.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/the-idea-that-we-humans-are-good-natured-politically-correct/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [Horses teach you patience and how to do things the right way so you can get the right result.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/horses-teach-you-patience-and-how-to-do-things-the-right-way-so-you/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [She was ugly from the front, and I said ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly, ugly. Well, I could handle it behind her.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/she-was-ugly-from-the-front-and-i-said-ugly-ugly-ugly-ugly-ugly-well/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [Kemo Sabe, kiss my ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/kemo-sabe-kiss-my-ass/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [When you have a solid upbringing and a strong sense of place, that sustains you. My sense of home never leaves me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/when-you-have-a-solid-upbringing-and-a-strong-sense-of-place-that/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [If you forget the words to your own song, you can always claim artistic license. Forget the words to the national anthem and you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/if-you-forget-the-words-to-your-own-song-you-can-always-claim/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [I married her just because she looks like you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/i-married-her-just-because-she-looks-like-you/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [You're saying something with your appearance whether you mean to or not, so you may as well mean to.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/you-re-saying-something-with-your-appearance-whether-you-mean-to-or/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [My parents worked for Exxon, and they gave me every chance to take part in music. I took guitar lessons, and I was in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/my-parents-worked-for-exxon-and-they-gave-me-every-chance-to-take/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [The first time I toured with the 'Large Band' in 1988, I got so tired. If I just stood still anywhere, I could go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/the-first-time-i-toured-with-the-large-band-in-1988-i-got-so-tired-if/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [You don't have to have anything in common with people you've known since you were five. With old friends, you've got your whole life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/you-don-t-have-to-have-anything-in-common-with-people-you-ve-known/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) > [When I first was trying to play the clubs around Houston to start playing my own songs, songwriters like Eric Taylor and Vince Bell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyle-lovett/when-i-first-was-trying-to-play-the-clubs-around-houston-to-start/) [Lyle Lovett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) [Explore all 80 Lyle Lovett quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyle-lovett/) ## More Bob quotes > [In the movie, the stars above the ship bear no correspondence to any constellations in a real sky. Worse yet, while the heroine bobs...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/in-the-movie-the-stars-above-the-ship-bear-no-correspondence-to-any/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [I think anyone that grew up in the '70s and '80s grew up with Bob Barker and Wink Martindale and I think that was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-fieri/i-think-anyone-that-grew-up-in-the-70s-and-80s-grew-up-with-bob/) [Guy Fieri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-fieri/) > [ Except in these latter-day songs, \[Bob\] Dylan is a grizzled old prophet who's already been to hell and back. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/except-in-these-latter-day-songs-bob-dylan-is-a-grizzled-old-prophet/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Over the past 50 years Bob Hope employed 88 joke writers who supplied him with more than one million gags, and he still couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eddie-murphy/over-the-past-50-years-bob-hope-employed-88-joke-writers-who-supplied/) [Eddie Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eddie-murphy/) > [I like men who are very cool but who are also so brilliant that they are almost insane. Sean Penn, Gary Oldman, Bob Dylan,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jolene-blalock/i-like-men-who-are-very-cool-but-who-are-also-so-brilliant-that-they/) [Jolene Blalock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jolene-blalock/) > [I was very engaged by the folk music movement.Bob Dylan; Joan Baez; Peter, Paul and Mary. And then I sort of discovered world music,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/i-was-very-engaged-by-the-folk-music-movement-bob-dylan-joan-baez/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [ The most recent incarnation of \[Bob\] Dylan has been the traveling journeyman/ charlatan who sings roots music, snarls dark lyrics that make "All Along… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-michaelson/the-most-recent-incarnation-of-bob-dylan-has-been-the-traveling/) [Jay Michaelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-michaelson/) > [Well. We’ll just have to hope that this wasn’t a loup-garou, I guess.” “If it was a louper, you’d know,” Bob said wisely. “In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-butcher/well-we-ll-just-have-to-hope-that-this-wasn-t-a-loup-garou-i-guess-if/) [Jim Butcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-butcher/) > [Because of my tremendous respect for Bob Barker and for the show's high standards of professionalism I consider this a tremendous honor that few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randy-west/because-of-my-tremendous-respect-for-bob-barker-and-for-the-show-s/) [Randy West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randy-west/) > [That's who I wanted to be like was Bob Dylan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-kristofferson/that-s-who-i-wanted-to-be-like-was-bob-dylan/) [Kris Kristofferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-kristofferson/) > [Everybody who I ever cared about has told me that they like my music: Bob Dylan, Paul McCartney, Al Green, The Spinners, Smokey Robinson.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-hall/everybody-who-i-ever-cared-about-has-told-me-that-they-like-my-music/) [Daryl Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-hall/) > [Bob's work gleaned from hoofing, from vaudeville, from ballet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-reinking/bob-s-work-gleaned-from-hoofing-from-vaudeville-from-ballet/) [Ann Reinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-reinking/) > [Producing Bob Dylan was pretty much a spectator sport.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/al-kooper/producing-bob-dylan-was-pretty-much-a-spectator-sport/) [Al Kooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/al-kooper/) > [Listen, the story of the United States is this: One kid, without anything, walks out of his house, down the road, with nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-bone-burnett/listen-the-story-of-the-united-states-is-this-one-kid-without/) [T Bone Burnett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-bone-burnett/) > [I figure if I keep my health, I have no intention of retiring. I love to work. I want to be like Bob Hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dolly-parton/i-figure-if-i-keep-my-health-i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-i-love/) [Dolly Parton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dolly-parton/) Browse all 886 Bob quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Somehow you can tell the difference when a song is written just to get on the radio and when what someone does is their whole life. That comes through in Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. 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