--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: On television I feel like a man playing…" description: "\"On television I feel like a man playing piano in a brothel; every now and again he solaces himself by playing 'Abide with Me' in the hope of edifying b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_brothels_on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing_1196991.png" --- # On television I feel like a man playing piano in a… ![“On television I feel like a man playing piano in a brothel; every now and again he solaces himself by playing 'Abide with Me' in the hope of edifying both the clients and the inmates” quote by Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_brothels_on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing_1196991.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_brothels_on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing_1196991.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_brothels_on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing_1196991.png) > “On television I feel like a man playing piano in a brothel; every now and again he solaces himself by playing 'Abide with Me' in the hope of edifying both the clients and the inmates” [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He compares his TV work to a pianist in a disreputable venue, seeking redemption through a solemn hymn. **In simple terms:** He feels his TV role is lowbrow, yet tries to uplift it with a classic song. Key Takeaway Use art to bring dignity to unlikely places. Themes art media redemption Mood reflective melancholic Type observational critical When to use this quote - television production - live performance - public morale Key Concepts cultural critique self‑reflection Questions to Reflect On - Can art truly transform a degrading environment? - What responsibilities do creators have to their audience? A Different Perspective The metaphor may overstate the moral impact of entertainment. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Brothels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothels/) [Hope](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hope/) [Inmates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inmates/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano/) [Solace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/solace/) [Television](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/television/) ## Related quotes > [Having experience in film and television both, I feel both are equally powerful and satisfying for an actor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikitin-dheer/having-experience-in-film-and-television-both-i-feel-both-are-equally/) [Nikitin Dheer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikitin-dheer/) > [I am very self-conscious about seeing myself on television but I do feel people relate to me so it's worth it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonja-morgan/i-am-very-self-conscious-about-seeing-myself-on-television-but-i-do/) [Sonja Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sonja-morgan/) > [I prefer theatre to television - you get to feel the love.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheridan-smith/i-prefer-theatre-to-television-you-get-to-feel-the-love/) [Sheridan Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheridan-smith/) > [I had worked in TV prior to working on 'Game of Thrones' - 'Game of Thrones' is far more cinematic than any other television…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-leslie/i-had-worked-in-tv-prior-to-working-on-game-of-thrones-game-of/) [Rose Leslie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-leslie/) > ['ER' was so huge that whatever I did coming back to television, I'd have to feel as strongly about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-edwards/er-was-so-huge-that-whatever-i-did-coming-back-to-television-i-d-have/) [Anthony Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-edwards/) > [I come from television where I feel like I'm in people's living rooms every day so it's not crazy for me to think that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mila-kunis/i-come-from-television-where-i-feel-like-i-m-in-people-s-living-rooms/) [Mila Kunis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mila-kunis/) > [“social surrogacy hypothesis,” which holds that humans can use technologies, like television, to feel a sense of belonging that they're lacking in their physical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-disalvo/social-surrogacy-hypothesis-which-holds-that-humans-can-use/) [David DiSalvo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-disalvo/) > [It felt like being in the center of the world, and I felt like I was a witness to history and I knew that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krist-novoselic/it-felt-like-being-in-the-center-of-the-world-and-i-felt-like-i-was-a/) [Krist Novoselic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krist-novoselic/) > [I'm influenced by many things. Simply turning on the television, I feel inundated with images and messages to be a certain way. So I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teyonah-parris/i-m-influenced-by-many-things-simply-turning-on-the-television-i-feel/) [Teyonah Parris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teyonah-parris/) > [In the Bible, God uses brothel owners, pagan kings, murderers and mercenaries as instruments of good; at one point God even speaks to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/in-the-bible-god-uses-brothel-owners-pagan-kings-murderers-and/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [Here is the point about myself and my co-thinkers. Our belief is not a belief. Our principles are not a faith. We do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/here-is-the-point-about-myself-and-my-co-thinkers-our-belief-is-not-a/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [Blessed be they as virtuous, who when they feel their virile members swollen with lust, visit a brothel rather than grind at some husband's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cato-the-younger/blessed-be-they-as-virtuous-who-when-they-feel-their-virile-members/) [Cato the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cato-the-younger/) > [Every time a man knocks on a brothel door, he is really knocking for God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/every-time-a-man-knocks-on-a-brothel-door-he-is-really-knocking-for/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [This twenty-year-old boy was distinguished from childhood by strange qualities, a dreamer and an eccentric. A girl fell in love with him, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/this-twenty-year-old-boy-was-distinguished-from-childhood-by-strange/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [Are you implying that shreds of my reputation remain intact?" Will demanded with mock horror. "Clearly I have been doing something wrong. Or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/are-you-implying-that-shreds-of-my-reputation-remain-intact-will/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) ## More by Malcolm Muggeridge > [It is only possible to succeed at second-rate pursuitslikebecoming a millionaire or a prime minister, winning a war, seducing beautiful women, flying thought the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/it-is-only-possible-to-succeed-at-second-rate-pursuitslikebecoming-a/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [He was not only a bore; he bored for England.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/he-was-not-only-a-bore-he-bored-for-england/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [The orgasm has replaced the Cross as the focus of longing and the image of fulfillment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/the-orgasm-has-replaced-the-cross-as-the-focus-of-longing-and-the/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Posterity will surely be amazed, and I hope vastly amused, that such slipshod and unconvincing theorizing should have so easily captivated twentieth-century minds and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/posterity-will-surely-be-amazed-and-i-hope-vastly-amused-that-such/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [In politics, as in womanizing, failure is decisive. It sheds its retrospective gloom on earlier endeavor which at the time seemed full of promise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/in-politics-as-in-womanizing-failure-is-decisive-it-sheds-its/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Marx and Freud are the two great destroyers of Christian civilization, the first replacing the gospel of love by the gospel of hate, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/marx-and-freud-are-the-two-great-destroyers-of-christian-civilization/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [I wouldn't have said that Anthony Eden was equipped by nature to deal with the situation in the world today. I would have said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-wouldn-t-have-said-that-anthony-eden-was-equipped-by-nature-to-deal/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [God, stay with me, let no word cross my lips that is not your word, no thoughts enter my mind that are not your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/god-stay-with-me-let-no-word-cross-my-lips-that-is-not-your-word-no/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [The monarchical institution in England is immensely valuable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/the-monarchical-institution-in-england-is-immensely-valuable/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Education, the great mumbo jumbo and fraud of the age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/education-the-great-mumbo-jumbo-and-fraud-of-the-age/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [This life in us; however low it flickers or fiercely burns, is still a divine flame which no man dare presume to put out,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/this-life-in-us-however-low-it-flickers-or-fiercely-burns-is-still-a/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [As Man alone, Jesus could not have saved us; As God alone, He would not; Made flesh, He could and did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/as-man-alone-jesus-could-not-have-saved-us-as-god-alone-he-would-not/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [ I think it \[presidency of Dwight Eisenhower\] came too late and I think that he is not on the wavelength of this dreadful time… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-think-it-presidency-of-dwight-eisenhower-came-too-late-and-i-think/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [Future historians will surely see us as having created in the media a Frankenstein monster whom no one knows how to control ordirect, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/future-historians-will-surely-see-us-as-having-created-in-the-media-a/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [ I think that President \[Dwight\] Eisenhower was... did the most marvelous job in the war, not really a military job: a public relations job,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/i-think-that-president-dwight-eisenhower-was-did-the-most-marvelous/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) [Explore all 168 Malcolm Muggeridge quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) ## More Brothels quotes > [Are you implying that shreds of my reputation remain intact?" Will demanded with mock horror. "Clearly I have been doing something wrong. Or not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/are-you-implying-that-shreds-of-my-reputation-remain-intact-will/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [This twenty-year-old boy was distinguished from childhood by strange qualities, a dreamer and an eccentric. A girl fell in love with him, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-bulgakov/this-twenty-year-old-boy-was-distinguished-from-childhood-by-strange/) [Mikhail Bulgakov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-bulgakov/) > [Every time a man knocks on a brothel door, he is really knocking for God](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-k-chesterton/every-time-a-man-knocks-on-a-brothel-door-he-is-really-knocking-for/) [Gilbert K. Chesterton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-k-chesterton/) > [Blessed be they as virtuous, who when they feel their virile members swollen with lust, visit a brothel rather than grind at some husband's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cato-the-younger/blessed-be-they-as-virtuous-who-when-they-feel-their-virile-members/) [Cato the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cato-the-younger/) > [Here is the point about myself and my co-thinkers. Our belief is not a belief. Our principles are not a faith. We do not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/here-is-the-point-about-myself-and-my-co-thinkers-our-belief-is-not-a/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [In the Bible, God uses brothel owners, pagan kings, murderers and mercenaries as instruments of good; at one point God even speaks to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shane-claiborne/in-the-bible-god-uses-brothel-owners-pagan-kings-murderers-and/) [Shane Claiborne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shane-claiborne/) > [That man has missed something who has never left a brothel at sunrise feeling like throwing himself into the river out of pure disgust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/that-man-has-missed-something-who-has-never-left-a-brothel-at-sunrise/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [Keep thy foot out of brothels, thy hand out of plackets, thy pen from lender's books, and defy the foul fiend.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/keep-thy-foot-out-of-brothels-thy-hand-out-of-plackets-thy-pen-from/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [The freedom the bars give women is not the same freedom a woman on the street or in a brothel has. That's more like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sonia-faleiro/the-freedom-the-bars-give-women-is-not-the-same-freedom-a-woman-on/) Sonia Faleiro > [He banged on the side of the carriage. "Thomas! We must away at once to the nearest brothel. I seek scandal and low companionship.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/he-banged-on-the-side-of-the-carriage-thomas-we-must-away-at-once-to/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I have never been to a brothel. I don't think I could go into one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-rea/i-have-never-been-to-a-brothel-i-don-t-think-i-could-go-into-one/) [Stephen Rea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-rea/) > [The problem is that many MPs never see the London that exists beyond the wine bars and brothels of Westminster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-livingstone/the-problem-is-that-many-mps-never-see-the-london-that-exists-beyond/) [Ken Livingstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-livingstone/) > [The world doesn't want to be punished. It wants to remain in darkness. It doesn't want to be told that what it believes is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/the-world-doesn-t-want-to-be-punished-it-wants-to-remain-in-darkness/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [ If you call \[the synagogue\] a brothel, a den of vice, the devil's refuge, Satan's fortress, a place to deprave the soul, an abyss… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/if-you-call-the-synagogue-a-brothel-a-den-of-vice-the-devil-s-refuge/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [He fell in love with Manhattan's skyline, like a first-time brothel guest falling for a seasoned professional. He mused over her reflections in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-phillips/he-fell-in-love-with-manhattan-s-skyline-like-a-first-time-brothel/) [Arthur Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-phillips/) [Browse all 77 Brothels quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brothels/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "On television I feel like a man playing piano in a brothel; every now and again he solaces himself by playing 'Abide with Me' in the hope of edifying both the clients and the inmates", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Malcolm Muggeridge" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing-piano-in-a-brothel-every-now/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Brothels" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing-piano-in-a-brothel-every-now/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_brothels_on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing_1196991.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_brothels_on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing_1196991.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/80f/malcolm-muggeridge-2370_brothels_on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing_1196991.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“On television I feel like a man playing piano in a brothel; every now and again he solaces himself by…” — Malcolm Muggeridge", "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": "Malcolm Muggeridge", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "On television I feel like a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing-piano-in-a-brothel-every-now/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/on-television-i-feel-like-a-man-playing-piano-in-a-brothel-every-now/#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 } } ] } ```