--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm out there doing the best that I can…" description: "\"I'm out there doing the best that I can, My lip is cut and I'm still playing.\" — Miles Davis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/miles-davis-1842_cutting_i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can_83467.jpg" --- # I'm out there doing the best that I can, My lip is cut and… ![“I'm out there doing the best that I can, My lip is cut and I'm still playing.” quote by Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/miles-davis-1842_cutting_i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can_83467.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/miles-davis-1842_cutting_i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can_83467.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/miles-davis-1842_cutting_i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can_83467.jpg) > “I'm out there doing the best that I can, My lip is cut and I'm still playing.” [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker acknowledges personal hardship yet persists in their craft, emphasizing resilience and dedication despite pain. **In simple terms:** Resilience amid adversity Key Takeaway Persevere despite setbacks Themes Resilience Determination Artistry Pain Authenticity Mood defiant determined hopeful Type Motivational Reflective When to use this quote - Performance under pressure - Recovering from injury - Continuing work despite setbacks - Sustaining artistic practice Key Concepts Self-discipline Creative expression Physical hardship Practical Applications - Motivational speaking - Therapeutic coaching Questions to Reflect On - How does pain influence creative output? - What strategies help maintain performance under duress? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Best Lip](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/best-lip-1056762/) [Cut Playing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cut-playing-244350/) [Cutting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) [Doing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing/) [Doing Best](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/doing-best/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Lips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lips/) [Playing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing/) [Stills](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stills/) [Work hard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work-hard/) ## Related quotes > [“My best lip gloss was in that purse but at that point, if he wanted to give it to one of his bitches, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-ashley/my-best-lip-gloss-was-in-that-purse-but-at-that-point-if-he-wanted-to/) [Kristen Ashley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-ashley/) > [The best lip product in the world is something I'm scared is out of production. It's YSL's Kiss-and-Blush in this really muted pinky brown.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/camille-rowe/the-best-lip-product-in-the-world-is-something-i-m-scared-is-out-of/) [Camille Rowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/camille-rowe/) > [You're playing a role, but you're still feeling it. You can walk away from it after 'Cut,' but if you're playing a sad or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-nolte/you-re-playing-a-role-but-you-re-still-feeling-it-you-can-walk-away/) [Nick Nolte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-nolte/) > [If you don't get cut up once in a while, you're playing basketball the wrong way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-vanvleet/if-you-don-t-get-cut-up-once-in-a-while-you-re-playing-basketball-the/) [Fred VanVleet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-vanvleet/) > [There's the tradition in jazz of having the Battle of the Bands, and you do not want to get your head cut when you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wynton-marsalis/there-s-the-tradition-in-jazz-of-having-the-battle-of-the-bands-and/) [Wynton Marsalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wynton-marsalis/) > [When I'm working, it's just about doing the best I can with whatever dialogue is in front of me today. You can't worry about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kerry-bishe/when-i-m-working-it-s-just-about-doing-the-best-i-can-with-whatever/) [Kerry Bishe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kerry-bishe/) > [“If you are doing best practices, you are not innovating.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-levy/if-you-are-doing-best-practices-you-are-not-innovating/) [Jaime Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaime-levy/) > [If your doing your best, You wont have the time to worry about Failures and Losses.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-your-doing-your-best-you-wont-have-the-time-to-worry-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Please do not shoot the pianist. He is doing his best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/please-do-not-shoot-the-pianist-he-is-doing-his-best/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [All I can do is focus on doing my best work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-ryder/all-i-can-do-is-focus-on-doing-my-best-work/) [Sam Ryder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-ryder/) > [“I may not be the best... I may even be the worst... But I'm doing my best to be worthy of you...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nerd-seyer/i-may-not-be-the-best-i-may-even-be-the-worst-but-i-m-doing-my-best/) [NerD\_Seyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nerd-seyer/) > [You'll never prove you're too good for a job by not doing your best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ethel-merman/you-ll-never-prove-you-re-too-good-for-a-job-by-not-doing-your-best/) [Ethel Merman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ethel-merman/) > [Never confuse looking your best with doing your best.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mardy-grothe/never-confuse-looking-your-best-with-doing-your-best/) [Mardy Grothe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mardy-grothe/) > [The only features I've done have been on the lower-budget end, for what they were. It's really all about getting the best people aboard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mick-garris/the-only-features-i-ve-done-have-been-on-the-lower-budget-end-for/) [Mick Garris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mick-garris/) > [Success lies not in the result but in the effort. BEING the Best is not at all important. DOING the Best is all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/prabin-shrestha/success-lies-not-in-the-result-but-in-the-effort-being-the-best-is/) [Prabin Shrestha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/prabin-shrestha/) ## More by Miles Davis > [I usually write from the rhythm section...If a drummer got a funky beat on some things - like a half-shuffle or a shuffle or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-usually-write-from-the-rhythm-section-if-a-drummer-got-a-funky-beat/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Look, man, all I am is a trumpet player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/look-man-all-i-am-is-a-trumpet-player/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [You have to practice for a long time before you can learn to sound like yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/you-have-to-practice-for-a-long-time-before-you-can-learn-to-sound/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [There are no wrong notes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/there-are-no-wrong-notes/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Knowledge is freedom and ignorance is slavery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/knowledge-is-freedom-and-ignorance-is-slavery/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I began to realize that some of the things Ornette Coleman had said about things being played three or fours ways, independently of each…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-began-to-realize-that-some-of-the-things-ornette-coleman-had-said/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [...people will go for anything they don't understand if it's got enough hype. They want to be hip, want always to be in on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/people-will-go-for-anything-they-don-t-understand-if-it-s-got-enough/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [If you're trying to be hip, be hip.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/if-you-re-trying-to-be-hip-be-hip/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [My father's rich, my momma's good looking. Right? And I can play the Blues. I've never suffered and don't intend to suffer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/my-father-s-rich-my-momma-s-good-looking-right-and-i-can-play-the/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [When I'm playing, I'm never through. It's unfinished. I like to find a place to leave for someone else to finish it. That's where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/when-i-m-playing-i-m-never-through-it-s-unfinished-i-like-to-find-a/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [ \[Prince\] could very well be the Duke Ellington of Rock 'n' Roll. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/prince-could-very-well-be-the-duke-ellington-of-rock-n-roll/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I can tell whether a person can play just by the way he stands.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-can-tell-whether-a-person-can-play-just-by-the-way-he-stands/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [Do not fear mistakes. There are none.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/do-not-fear-mistakes-there-are-none/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [You can't compete with Sweets' sound and time feel. It's impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/you-can-t-compete-with-sweets-sound-and-time-feel-it-s-impossible/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I keep telling Ron Lorman and them in the control room, "It's my band! The reason I have a band is because I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-keep-telling-ron-lorman-and-them-in-the-control-room-it-s-my-band/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) [Explore all 204 Miles Davis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) ## More Cutting quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [If my campaign is not in the debate, we will not be talking about how we really fix this problem of endless and expanding…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-stein/if-my-campaign-is-not-in-the-debate-we-will-not-be-talking-about-how/) [Jill Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-stein/) > [Since I worked with Danny Boyle before on Slumdog Millionaire, we have great success and everything. So, when I first got the script and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-r-rahman/since-i-worked-with-danny-boyle-before-on-slumdog-millionaire-we-have/) [A. R. Rahman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-r-rahman/) > [A man has a right to use a saw, an axe, a plane, separately; may he not combine their uses on the same piece…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/a-man-has-a-right-to-use-a-saw-an-axe-a-plane-separately-may-he-not/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I didn't understand Southland Tales script at all! Is there a single word to describe it? Cacophony? It's celebrity meets pornography meets politics -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-grant/i-didn-t-understand-southland-tales-script-at-all-is-there-a-single/) [Beth Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-grant/) > [Confidence comes from cutting yourself some slack.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tess-daly/confidence-comes-from-cutting-yourself-some-slack/) [Tess Daly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tess-daly/) > [The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ida-b-wells/the-nineteenth-century-lynching-mob-cuts-off-ears-toes-and-fingers/) [Ida B. Wells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ida-b-wells/) > [There ain't no such thing as black Muslims. That's how they tried to cut off all my brothers in the rest of the world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muhammad-ali/there-ain-t-no-such-thing-as-black-muslims-that-s-how-they-tried-to/) [Muhammad Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muhammad-ali/) > [ We have no clear ideas of the agency of \[demonic\] spirits, nor is it necessary. The Scripture says little to satisfy our curiosity; but… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-newton/we-have-no-clear-ideas-of-the-agency-of-demonic-spirits-nor-is-it/) [John Newton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-newton/) > [The child who ran weeping to you with a cut finger is now brought home, smiling gamely, with a broken collarbone and incredible contusions-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-brown/the-child-who-ran-weeping-to-you-with-a-cut-finger-is-now-brought/) [Pam Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-brown/) > [Somewhere somebody must have some sense. Men must see that force begets force, hate begets hate, toughness begets toughness. And it is all a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/somewhere-somebody-must-have-some-sense-men-must-see-that-force/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [God holds each of us by a string. When we sin, we cut the string. But God ties it up again, making a knot.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meister-eckhart/god-holds-each-of-us-by-a-string-when-we-sin-we-cut-the-string-but/) [Meister Eckhart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meister-eckhart/) > [What's the difference between obsolete and cutting edge? Obsolete works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/what-s-the-difference-between-obsolete-and-cutting-edge-obsolete-works/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) > [Geometry, which should only obey Physics, when united with it sometimes commands it. If it happens that the question which we wish to examine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/geometry-which-should-only-obey-physics-when-united-with-it-sometimes/) [Jean le Rond d'Alembert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-le-rond-d-alembert/) [Browse all 6,010 Cutting quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cutting/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm out there doing the best that I can, My lip is cut and I'm still playing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Miles Davis" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can-my-lip-is-cut-and-i-m-still/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cutting" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can-my-lip-is-cut-and-i-m-still/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/miles-davis-1842_cutting_i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can_83467.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/miles-davis-1842_cutting_i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can_83467.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b1/miles-davis-1842_cutting_i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can_83467.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I'm out there doing the best that I can, My lip is cut and I'm still playing.” — Miles Davis", "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": "Miles Davis", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I'm out there doing the best...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can-my-lip-is-cut-and-i-m-still/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/i-m-out-there-doing-the-best-that-i-can-my-lip-is-cut-and-i-m-still/#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 } } ] } ```