--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My rules for a protest song are, if it's…" description: "\"My rules for a protest song are, if it's going to be hectoring or if it's going to be naive or ridiculously idealistic, just don't do it.\" — Matty Healy" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/matty-healy-5022_going_my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s_1980191.jpg" --- # My rules for a protest song are, if it's going to be… ![“My rules for a protest song are, if it's going to be hectoring or if it's going to be naive or ridiculously idealistic, just don't do it.” quote by Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/matty-healy-5022_going_my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s_1980191.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/matty-healy-5022_going_my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s_1980191.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/matty-healy-5022_going_my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s_1980191.jpg) > “My rules for a protest song are, if it's going to be hectoring or if it's going to be naive or ridiculously idealistic, just don't do it.” [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Protest songs should avoid being overly aggressive, naive, or idealistic. **In simple terms:** Don’t be hectoring, naive, idealistic. Key Takeaway Create thoughtful protest music. Themes art activism authenticity Mood critical reflective Type musical political When to use this quote - songwriting - campaigns - public demonstrations Key Concepts music theory political messaging Questions to Reflect On - How to stay authentic? - What tone resonates with audiences? A Different Perspective Balancing critique and nuance is challenging. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Protest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/protest/) [Rules](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/rules/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) ## Related quotes > [I understand why people get desensitized and roll their eyes when they hear a protest song, or even a politician making some flowery speech.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conor-oberst/i-understand-why-people-get-desensitized-and-roll-their-eyes-when/) [Conor Oberst](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conor-oberst/) > [The hardest song to write is a protest song, a topical song with meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-baez/the-hardest-song-to-write-is-a-protest-song-a-topical-song-with/) [Joan Baez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-baez/) > [The nice thing about a protest song is that it takes the complaint, the fussing, the finger-pointing, and gives it an added component of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholson-baker/the-nice-thing-about-a-protest-song-is-that-it-takes-the-complaint/) [Nicholson Baker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholson-baker/) > [In the '60s and '70s, a protest song was a genre in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sixto-rodriguez/in-the-60s-and-70s-a-protest-song-was-a-genre-in-music/) [Sixto Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sixto-rodriguez/) > [A protest song is a song that's so specific that you cannot mistake it for bullshit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/a-protest-song-is-a-song-that-s-so-specific-that-you-cannot-mistake/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [In the '60s, when I was growing up, one of the great elements of American culture was the protest song. There were songs about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-clooney/in-the-60s-when-i-was-growing-up-one-of-the-great-elements-of/) [George Clooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-clooney/) > [It don't matter if you put 'The Dance' out, or any old George Strait song. Someone is going to think that it's awful. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-rhett/it-don-t-matter-if-you-put-the-dance-out-or-any-old-george-strait/) [Thomas Rhett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-rhett/) > [I couldn't imagine having to write a paper and have to think about what song I am going to sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/naima-adedapo/i-couldn-t-imagine-having-to-write-a-paper-and-have-to-think-about/) [Naima Adedapo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/naima-adedapo/) > [I was singing a lot of waltzes. And I was with Jerry Kennedy, my producer, and he was playing me some songs, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reba-mcentire/i-was-singing-a-lot-of-waltzes-and-i-was-with-jerry-kennedy-my/) [Reba McEntire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reba-mcentire/) > [When I sit down with a guitar to write a song, or when going into a recording studio, the focus is really on one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-paisley/when-i-sit-down-with-a-guitar-to-write-a-song-or-when-going-into-a/) [Brad Paisley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-paisley/) > [And if you're horrible to me I'm going to write a song about you and you are not going to like it. That's how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/and-if-you-re-horrible-to-me-i-m-going-to-write-a-song-about-you-and/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [I feel like there are a lot of artists that you could put together that you love, but it doesn't necessarily mean it's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-feel-like-there-are-a-lot-of-artists-that-you-could-put-together/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Like, a song could be really tricky and intricate and be really intellectually stimulating, but I don't think that's the song that that I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theresa-wayman/like-a-song-could-be-really-tricky-and-intricate-and-be-really/) [Theresa Wayman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theresa-wayman/) > [A song is not going to change this damn world. Instead of making people mad about this shitty situation, it's going to make everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chaka-khan/a-song-is-not-going-to-change-this-damn-world-instead-of-making/) [Chaka Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chaka-khan/) > [My song is going to need dope lyrics to lure the honeys in!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/my-song-is-going-to-need-dope-lyrics-to-lure-the-honeys-in/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) ## More by Matty Healy > [I'd love to talk to myself at 40 and see what I've achieved and what I feel... but I will just be the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-d-love-to-talk-to-myself-at-40-and-see-what-i-ve-achieved-and-what/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I don't feel the need to be present in the culture unless I have a song out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-don-t-feel-the-need-to-be-present-in-the-culture-unless-i-have-a/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [Songs like 'Radioactive' by Imagine Dragons, it might as well be called 'Pikachu Banana.' It's nothingness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/songs-like-radioactive-by-imagine-dragons-it-might-as-well-be-called/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [People who overshare because they think it's endearing can be quite exhausting. Self-deprecation is fine if it's real but anything performative is annoying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/people-who-overshare-because-they-think-it-s-endearing-can-be-quite/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [When we make a record, we live together and we wake up every day and we make music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/when-we-make-a-record-we-live-together-and-we-wake-up-every-day-and/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [In a world where people want answers immediately, I'm behaving a lot of the time in ways that contradict certain people's beliefs, or normally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/in-a-world-where-people-want-answers-immediately-i-m-behaving-a-lot/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I've been writing about my life and my ideas since before I was even an adult! So you know, if you ask a gymnast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-ve-been-writing-about-my-life-and-my-ideas-since-before-i-was-even/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [“Who's to say tomorrow won't be the best day of your life?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/who-s-to-say-tomorrow-won-t-be-the-best-day-of-your-life/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I know that I'm not as smart as I think I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-know-that-i-m-not-as-smart-as-i-think-i-am/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I don't listen to rock bands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-don-t-listen-to-rock-bands/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [All of my flaws and all the things that make me up are part of who I am. It's about honesty and everything that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/all-of-my-flaws-and-all-the-things-that-make-me-up-are-part-of-who-i/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I didn't feel particularly cool when I was 16 or 17 but I felt accepted in a community of alternative music and the gig scene.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-didn-t-feel-particularly-cool-when-i-was-16-or-17-but-i-felt/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [If fidelity really mattered, 'Loveless' wouldn't be one of the best records of all time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/if-fidelity-really-mattered-loveless-wouldn-t-be-one-of-the-best/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [Some days I'm cool with getting canceled every week. Some days I'm not cool with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/some-days-i-m-cool-with-getting-canceled-every-week-some-days-i-m-not/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) > [I'll die on the hill of my records, but I won't die on the hill of my tweets.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/i-ll-die-on-the-hill-of-my-records-but-i-won-t-die-on-the-hill-of-my/) [Matty Healy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) [Explore all 104 Matty Healy quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/) ## More Going quotes > [I actually think acting is a form of self-hypnosis. You have to be hyper, hyper aware of what's going on around you. You have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julianne-moore/i-actually-think-acting-is-a-form-of-self-hypnosis-you-have-to-be/) [Julianne Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julianne-moore/) > [Some people still believe you should just fall in line with what's going on - and that's scary. It makes a mockery of freedom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-robison/some-people-still-believe-you-should-just-fall-in-line-with-what-s/) [Emily Robison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-robison/) > [At the very beginning, I was a page at Letterman, and I freelanced for any place that would let me write any word. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwartz/at-the-very-beginning-i-was-a-page-at-letterman-and-i-freelanced-for/) [Ben Schwartz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-schwartz/) > [Keep the faith, and keep going strong!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doreen-virtue/keep-the-faith-and-keep-going-strong/) [Doreen Virtue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doreen-virtue/) > [Nobody has a crystal ball, and part of evolving a business plan is to say, 'I might have said we're going left, but I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-kavanaugh/nobody-has-a-crystal-ball-and-part-of-evolving-a-business-plan-is-to/) [Ryan Kavanaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryan-kavanaugh/) > [Think of these things, whence you came, where you are going, and to whom you must account.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/think-of-these-things-whence-you-came-where-you-are-going-and-to-whom/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I really enjoy going to play for the national team and be with the guys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cedi-osman/i-really-enjoy-going-to-play-for-the-national-team-and-be-with-the/) [Cedi Osman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cedi-osman/) > [“I’m not even going to ask you where you got that.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mackey/i-m-not-even-going-to-ask-you-where-you-got-that/) Mark Mackey > [This is how McGregor is, waging mental warfare before the fights. There's no way that guy is going to get in my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-mendes/this-is-how-mcgregor-is-waging-mental-warfare-before-the-fights-there/) [Chad Mendes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-mendes/) > [For me, going to Minneapolis is like going to Mecca.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-pastis/for-me-going-to-minneapolis-is-like-going-to-mecca/) [Stephan Pastis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-pastis/) > [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/) [Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [What I do miss that I don't get anymore? You're going to think I'm crazy, but you want the truth, so here it is.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-mandrell/what-i-do-miss-that-i-don-t-get-anymore-you-re-going-to-think-i-m/) [Barbara Mandrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-mandrell/) > [Any position I was going to be in, I was going to make the best of it. I always do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bledsoe/any-position-i-was-going-to-be-in-i-was-going-to-make-the-best-of-it/) [Eric Bledsoe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bledsoe/) > [I want to help people struggling with whatever it is they're going through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santan-dave/i-want-to-help-people-struggling-with-whatever-it-is-they-re-going/) [Santan Dave](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santan-dave/) Browse all 15,485 Going quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My rules for a protest song are, if it's going to be hectoring or if it's going to be naive or ridiculously idealistic, just don't do it.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Matty Healy" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s-going-to-be-hectoring-or-if/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Going" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s-going-to-be-hectoring-or-if/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/matty-healy-5022_going_my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s_1980191.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/matty-healy-5022_going_my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s_1980191.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9f/matty-healy-5022_going_my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s_1980191.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My rules for a protest song are, if it's going to be hectoring or if it's going to be naive or ridiculously…” — Matty Healy", "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": "Matty Healy", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matty-healy/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My rules for a protest song...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s-going-to-be-hectoring-or-if/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matty-healy/my-rules-for-a-protest-song-are-if-it-s-going-to-be-hectoring-or-if/#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 } } ] } ```