--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When the punk thing came along and I…" description: "\"When the punk thing came along and I heard my friends saying, I hate these people with the pins in their ears. I said, Thank God, something got their a..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/neil-young-969_attention_when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-hea_1197462.jpg" --- # When the punk thing came along and I heard my friends… ![“When the punk thing came along and I heard my friends saying, I hate these people with the pins in their ears. I said, Thank God, something got their attention.” quote by Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/neil-young-969_attention_when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-hea_1197462.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/neil-young-969_attention_when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-hea_1197462.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/neil-young-969_attention_when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-hea_1197462.jpg) > “When the punk thing came along and I heard my friends saying, I hate these people with the pins in their ears. I said, Thank God, something got their attention.” [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Seeing people with punk symbols as a sign of attention‑grabbing, not a flaw. **In simple terms:** Punk style signals they’re being heard. Key Takeaway Value unconventional expression. Themes culture identity expression rebellion Mood curious open‑minded Type cultural observational When to use this quote - music festivals - fashion trends - youth activism Key Concepts symbolism social signaling Questions to Reflect On - What does punk symbolism convey today? - How can we appreciate diverse self‑expression? A Different Perspective Stereotyping can dismiss genuine voices. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Attention](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Hate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hate/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Punk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/punk/) ## Related quotes > [I hate people, but I hate saying I hate people because that makes me sound mean. I'm nice I like people it's just that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sangfroid-stalker/i-hate-people-but-i-hate-saying-i-hate-people-because-that-makes-me/) [SangFroid Stalker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sangfroid-stalker/) > [“Listen not to the words that have been spoken, but bend your ears to what has not been said.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-s-gal/listen-not-to-the-words-that-have-been-spoken-but-bend-your-ears-to/) [Ian Ségal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-s-gal/) > [“I'd like to ask you more about your ears if I may," I said. "You want to ask whether or not my ears possess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-d-like-to-ask-you-more-about-your-ears-if-i-may-i-said-you-want-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [What should not be heard by little ears, should not be said by big mount.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-should-not-be-heard-by-little-ears-should-not-be-said-by-big/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People forget the punk thing was really good for women. It motivated them to pick up a guitar rather than be a chanteuse. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siouxsie-sioux/people-forget-the-punk-thing-was-really-good-for-women-it-motivated/) [Siouxsie Sioux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siouxsie-sioux/) > [I was still doing the punk thing, but also playing in some indie bands, I had a less crazy hairstyle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-palermo/i-was-still-doing-the-punk-thing-but-also-playing-in-some-indie-bands/) [Tony Palermo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-palermo/) > [I shouldn't have to play live just because I've made a record. I get lots of letters 'cos I'm not into the street credibility…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-numan/i-shouldn-t-have-to-play-live-just-because-i-ve-made-a-record-i-get/) [Gary Numan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-numan/) > [The whole 'anniversary of punk' thing really compounded what I thought was wrong. I was so disillusioned. I remember thinking, 'I don't want anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siouxsie-sioux/the-whole-anniversary-of-punk-thing-really-compounded-what-i-thought/) [Siouxsie Sioux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siouxsie-sioux/) > [When I was signed, that was before the punk thing even happened.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/when-i-was-signed-that-was-before-the-punk-thing-even-happened/) [Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/) > [When I look at it now, the whole punk thing is sort of comedy in a weird way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-cowell/when-i-look-at-it-now-the-whole-punk-thing-is-sort-of-comedy-in-a/) [Simon Cowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-cowell/) > [“This is what I'm saying; you hate your life. But you don't know what life is. Life is too huge for you to possibly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/augusten-burroughs/this-is-what-i-m-saying-you-hate-your-life-but-you-don-t-know-what/) [Augusten Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/augusten-burroughs/) > [Im not saying I hate you. Im just saying if you got his by a bus, I would be driving that bus.:)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/im-not-saying-i-hate-you-im-just-saying-if-you-got-his-by-a-bus-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Most of the time, if someone gives me trouble at a bar or something, saying, 'Why do you hate the Red Sox or Patriots?'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-buck/most-of-the-time-if-someone-gives-me-trouble-at-a-bar-or-something/) [Joe Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-buck/) > [Anybody that doesn't like Netflix, that's like saying you hate Santa Claus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-robertson/anybody-that-doesn-t-like-netflix-that-s-like-saying-you-hate-santa/) [Julian Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-robertson/) > [“You know that dejection that comes upon you when you realize that the person you're talking to might as well be from Jupiter, for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-powell/you-know-that-dejection-that-comes-upon-you-when-you-realize-that-the/) [Julie Powell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-powell/) ## More by Neil Young > [A lot of people that buy vinyl today don’t realise that they’re listening to CD masters on vinyl and that’s because the record companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/a-lot-of-people-that-buy-vinyl-today-don-t-realise-that-they-re/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Let's roll for justice, let's roll for truth. Let's not let our children grow up fearful in their youth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/let-s-roll-for-justice-let-s-roll-for-truth-let-s-not-let-our/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Don't feel like Satan, but I am to them. And I try to forgive them anyway I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/don-t-feel-like-satan-but-i-am-to-them-and-i-try-to-forgive-them/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [I never knew a man could tell so many lies, he had a different story for every set of eyes. How can he remember…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/i-never-knew-a-man-could-tell-so-many-lies-he-had-a-different-story/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [It's the woman in you that makes you want to play this game.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/it-s-the-woman-in-you-that-makes-you-want-to-play-this-game/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Keep it moving. Don't hoard. Money's no good, get rid of it. Turn it into people doing things. Turn it into jobs. Turn it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/keep-it-moving-don-t-hoard-money-s-no-good-get-rid-of-it-turn-it-into/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [My dad passed away...and suddenly I found myself at the top of the tree and looking at the sky instead of at my mom…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/my-dad-passed-away-and-suddenly-i-found-myself-at-the-top-of-the-tree/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [The Arabic states have to be integrated into the Iraqi reconstruction. We need the help of the Arabic community, which understands its culture. Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/the-arabic-states-have-to-be-integrated-into-the-iraqi-reconstruction/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Said the condor to the preying mantis, we're gonna lose this place just like we lost Atlantis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/said-the-condor-to-the-preying-mantis-we-re-gonna-lose-this-place/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [With Crazy Horse, it's all one big, growing, smoldering sound, and I'm part of it. It's like gliding, or some sort of natural surfing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/with-crazy-horse-it-s-all-one-big-growing-smoldering-sound-and-i-m/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [It doesn't mean that much to me to mean that much to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/it-doesn-t-mean-that-much-to-me-to-mean-that-much-to-you/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Cocaine eyes won't hide your face.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/cocaine-eyes-won-t-hide-your-face/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Now I'm livin' out here on the beach, but those seagulls are still out of reach.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/now-i-m-livin-out-here-on-the-beach-but-those-seagulls-are-still-out/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [I've always been better moving than I am standing still.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/i-ve-always-been-better-moving-than-i-am-standing-still/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) > [Don't think. The worst songs I've ever written happen when I think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/don-t-think-the-worst-songs-i-ve-ever-written-happen-when-i-think/) [Neil Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) [Explore all 317 Neil Young quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/) ## More Attention quotes > [It appears to me that one great cause of our difference in opinion on subjects which we often discuss is that you have always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ricardo/it-appears-to-me-that-one-great-cause-of-our-difference-in-opinion-on/) [David Ricardo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ricardo/) > [People pay far too much attention to the television and they're quite literal in some ways. At the beginning, when I was playing very…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ardal-o-hanlon/people-pay-far-too-much-attention-to-the-television-and-they-re-quite/) [Ardal O'Hanlon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ardal-o-hanlon/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [Our inventions are wont to be pretty toys, which distract our attention from serious things. They are but improved means to an unimproved end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/our-inventions-are-wont-to-be-pretty-toys-which-distract-our/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [What people don't normally know about us is the hustle is very real, and it's sorely driven a lot by how we consider ourselves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lzzy-hale/what-people-don-t-normally-know-about-us-is-the-hustle-is-very-real/) [Lzzy Hale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lzzy-hale/) > [For me, the term "psychotherapy" is limiting. It implies that we work with mind and emotions, but excludes the body and pays scant attention…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jed-diamond/for-me-the-term-psychotherapy-is-limiting-it-implies-that-we-work/) [Jed Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jed-diamond/) > [When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don't leave…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/minor-white/when-you-approach-something-to-photograph-it-first-be-still-with/) [Minor White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/minor-white/) > [I'm writing about real things. Real people. Real characters. You have to believe what I write about is true or you wouldn't pay any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lou-reed/i-m-writing-about-real-things-real-people-real-characters-you-have-to/) [Lou Reed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lou-reed/) > [ I went to a mosque in Philadelphia with \[my wife\] in December 24, 1999. And we we went to this mosque in Philly, and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahershala-ali/i-went-to-a-mosque-in-philadelphia-with-my-wife-in-december-24-1999/) [Mahershala Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahershala-ali/) > [The Harvard Business Review recently had an article called 'The Human Moment,' about how to make real contact with a person at work: ...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-goleman/the-harvard-business-review-recently-had-an-article-called-the-human/) [Daniel Goleman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-goleman/) > [Let us thank God heartily as often as we pray that we have His Spirit in us to teach us to pray. Thanksgiving will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-murray/let-us-thank-god-heartily-as-often-as-we-pray-that-we-have-his-spirit/) [Andy Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-murray/) > [Enlightened people live in very charged states of attention, with a tremendous power circuiting through them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/enlightened-people-live-in-very-charged-states-of-attention-with-a/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [We must have a welfare system that we can afford, which will mean giving greater attention to directing the welfare program toward its primary…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-portillo/we-must-have-a-welfare-system-that-we-can-afford-which-will-mean/) [Michael Portillo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-portillo/) > [The director's job should give you a sense of music without drawing attention to itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-hackford/the-director-s-job-should-give-you-a-sense-of-music-without-drawing/) [Taylor Hackford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-hackford/) [Browse all 10,153 Attention quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/attention/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When the punk thing came along and I heard my friends saying, I hate these people with the pins in their ears. I said, Thank God, something got their attention.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Young" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-heard-my-friends-saying-i-hate/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Attention" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-heard-my-friends-saying-i-hate/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/neil-young-969_attention_when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-hea_1197462.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/neil-young-969_attention_when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-hea_1197462.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fbc/neil-young-969_attention_when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-hea_1197462.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“When the punk thing came along and I heard my friends saying, I hate these people with the pins in their…” — Neil Young", "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": "Neil Young", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-young/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "When the punk thing came along...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-heard-my-friends-saying-i-hate/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-young/when-the-punk-thing-came-along-and-i-heard-my-friends-saying-i-hate/#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 } } ] } ```