--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Music is a gift and a burden I've had…" description: "\"Music is a gift and a burden I've had since I can remember who I was.\" — Nina Simone" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/nina-simone-3396_burden_music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-si_2451869.png" --- # Music is a gift and a burden I've had since I can remember… ![“Music is a gift and a burden I've had since I can remember who I was.” quote by Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/nina-simone-3396_burden_music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-si_2451869.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/nina-simone-3396_burden_music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-si_2451869.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/nina-simone-3396_burden_music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-si_2451869.png) > “Music is a gift and a burden I've had since I can remember who I was.” [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Music is both a blessing and a burden that defines identity. **In simple terms:** Music shapes who you are. Key Takeaway Balance the gift and weight of talent. Themes art identity burden Mood melancholic reflective Type artistic personal When to use this quote - performance anxiety - artistic identity - cultural heritage Key Concepts Creative expression psychological impact Questions to Reflect On - How does music influence your self‑image? - Can you separate art from self? A Different Perspective The burden may cause burnout or loss of joy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) [Gift Burden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gift-burden-577746/) [I can](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/i-can/) [Jazz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/jazz/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music Gift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-gift-577747/) [Music is](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-is/) [Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remember/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Ve Remember](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ve-remember-577748/) ## Related quotes > [I didn't get interested in music. It was a gift from God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-didn-t-get-interested-in-music-it-was-a-gift-from-god/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Your gift is not a burden," she whispered. "But you must be brave, because it has more power than the sharpest claw...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-hunter/your-gift-is-not-a-burden-she-whispered-but-you-must-be-brave-because/) [Erin Hunter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-hunter/) > [“A gift that has the power to change us awakens a part of the soul. But we cannot receive the gift until we can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-b-allender/a-gift-that-has-the-power-to-change-us-awakens-a-part-of-the-soul-but/) [Dan B. Allender](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-b-allender/) > [Leave out my name from the gift if it be a burden, but keep my song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/leave-out-my-name-from-the-gift-if-it-be-a-burden-but-keep-my-song/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [“Free will is a gift, not a burden”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephan-attia/free-will-is-a-gift-not-a-burden/) [Stephan Attia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephan-attia/) > [Sometimes you have to step outside the person you've been and remember the person you were meant to be,the person you wanted to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-have-to-step-outside-the-person-you-ve-been-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Seems like I've been here before, can't remember when I get this funny feeling, we'll be together again; No straight lines make up my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-chapin/seems-like-i-ve-been-here-before-can-t-remember-when-i-get-this-funny/) [Tom Chapin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-chapin/) > [Everytime I see you pass in the hall I think of everything we could be and should've been. I remember the nights we looked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/everytime-i-see-you-pass-in-the-hall-i-think-of-everything-we-could/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When it comes to past lovers sometimes it isn't worth trying to show them what they lost or what they could've had. Remember, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-it-comes-to-past-lovers-sometimes-it-isn-t-worth-trying-to-show/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People sometimes forget all the films that we've done. They remember the likes of 'Malcolm X' and 'Do the Right Thing.' But I've been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/spike-lee/people-sometimes-forget-all-the-films-that-we-ve-done-they-remember/) [Spike Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/spike-lee/) > [Sometimes, you have to step outside of the person you've been and remember the person you were meant to be. The person you want…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-you-have-to-step-outside-of-the-person-you-ve-been-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Because sometimes you have to step outside of the person you've been,and remember the person you were meant to be,the person you wanted to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mouth-mcfadden/because-sometimes-you-have-to-step-outside-of-the-person-you-ve-been/) [Mouth McFadden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mouth-mcfadden/) > [The ability to make music is a gift that you're born with; it's not something you can learn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-trower/the-ability-to-make-music-is-a-gift-that-you-re-born-with-it-s-not/) [Robin Trower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-trower/) > [My dad plays guitar in the church band, so it's like music as a service. He plays at old-people homes, so that's like music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-dacus/my-dad-plays-guitar-in-the-church-band-so-it-s-like-music-as-a/) [Lucy Dacus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-dacus/) > [The music was as much a gift as sunshine, as rain, as any blessing ever prayed for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bebe-moore-campbell/the-music-was-as-much-a-gift-as-sunshine-as-rain-as-any-blessing-ever/) [Bebe Moore Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bebe-moore-campbell/) ## More by Nina Simone > [Music is one of the ways by which you can know everything which is going on in the world. You can feel... through music...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-one-of-the-ways-by-which-you-can-know-everything-which-is/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [My love is like the wind and wild is the wind. Give me more than one caress, satisfy my hungriness. Let the wind blow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/my-love-is-like-the-wind-and-wild-is-the-wind-give-me-more-than-one/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I can't stand loud guitars that make me deaf.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-can-t-stand-loud-guitars-that-make-me-deaf/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I don't like to go to strange places. I was in Italy for about five hours on my way to Africa.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-don-t-like-to-go-to-strange-places-i-was-in-italy-for-about-five/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [We have ordered things so long in a certain way, we are numb. Nobody dares question it. This is what is wrong, symbolically, with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/we-have-ordered-things-so-long-in-a-certain-way-we-are-numb-nobody/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I wasn't a jazz player, but a classical musician, and I improvised arrangements of popular songs using classical motifs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-wasn-t-a-jazz-player-but-a-classical-musician-and-i-improvised/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I think the rich will eventually have to cave in too, because the economic situation around the world is not gonna tolerate the United…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-think-the-rich-will-eventually-have-to-cave-in-too-because-the/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [There's no excuse for the young...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/there-s-no-excuse-for-the-young/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [Everything that happened to me as a child involved music. It was part of everyday life, as automatic as breathing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/everything-that-happened-to-me-as-a-child-involved-music-it-was-part/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [When I was studying... there weren't any black concert pianists. My choices were intuitive, and I had the technique to do it. People have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/when-i-was-studying-there-weren-t-any-black-concert-pianists-my/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [You have to learn to get up from the table when love is not being served.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/you-have-to-learn-to-get-up-from-the-table-when-love-is-not-being/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [That's a very high goal to have, study eight hours a day to be a concert pianist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/that-s-a-very-high-goal-to-have-study-eight-hours-a-day-to-be-a/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [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/) > [This is the world you have made yourself, now you have to live in it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/this-is-the-world-you-have-made-yourself-now-you-have-to-live-in-it/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) > [I'll tell you what freedom is to me: no fear. I mean really, no fear!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/i-ll-tell-you-what-freedom-is-to-me-no-fear-i-mean-really-no-fear/) [Nina Simone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) [Explore all 132 Nina Simone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/) ## More Burden quotes > [Everything I do is more memorable and I understand music more than ever now. It's not a burden to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seungri/everything-i-do-is-more-memorable-and-i-understand-music-more-than/) [Seungri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seungri/) > [I am at a point in my life where everything I have worked for starts to look like a burden, a weight on my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-abou-samra/i-am-at-a-point-in-my-life-where-everything-i-have-worked-for-starts/) [Simone Abou Samra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-abou-samra/) > [Trump's enduring appeal is a resource to be harnessed by the Republican Party, not a burden to be jettisoned.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-devine/trump-s-enduring-appeal-is-a-resource-to-be-harnessed-by-the/) [Miranda Devine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-devine/) > [We want to free our citizens from the burden of excessive paper documents in every office. We want paperless transactions. We will set up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/narendra-modi/we-want-to-free-our-citizens-from-the-burden-of-excessive-paper/) [Narendra Modi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/narendra-modi/) > [We cannot go back in time and change the past, but we can repent. The Savior can wipe away our tears of regret and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dieter-f-uchtdorf/we-cannot-go-back-in-time-and-change-the-past-but-we-can-repent-the/) [Dieter F. Uchtdorf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dieter-f-uchtdorf/) > [The world around us is an increasingly hostile and sinful place. Occasionally that splashes onto us, and perhaps, in the case of a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-r-holland/the-world-around-us-is-an-increasingly-hostile-and-sinful-place/) [Jeffrey R. Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-r-holland/) > ['Inequality' has become the political theme/slogan of our time in both Europe and the U.S., yet political leaders do not even bother to consider…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-singer/inequality-has-become-the-political-theme-slogan-of-our-time-in-both/) [Paul Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-singer/) > [With those who are willing to join, let us cooperate to reduce the burden of arms, to strengthen the structure of peace, to lift…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-m-nixon/with-those-who-are-willing-to-join-let-us-cooperate-to-reduce-the/) [Richard M. Nixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-m-nixon/) > [“What a burden it must be to know all the terrible things you've done and support it with arms unfit to carry it all.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-weikel/what-a-burden-it-must-be-to-know-all-the-terrible-things-you-ve-done/) [K. Weikel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-weikel/) > [And that, in a way, was the burden of being a philosopher: one knew what one had to do, but it was so often…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-mccall-smith/and-that-in-a-way-was-the-burden-of-being-a-philosopher-one-knew-what/) [Alexander McCall Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-mccall-smith/) > [Wherever I am, I see the yoke on women in some form or another. On some it sits easy for they are but beasts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abby-may-alcott/wherever-i-am-i-see-the-yoke-on-women-in-some-form-or-another-on-some/) [Abby May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abby-may-alcott/) > [It's a burden trying to keep a secret. It's hard. It probably takes more out of you trying to hold it and keep it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magic-johnson/it-s-a-burden-trying-to-keep-a-secret-it-s-hard-it-probably-takes/) [Magic Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magic-johnson/) > [I've always liked artists like Chris Burden, who would take performances, put them in galleries, and then do things that were on the edge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-blaine/i-ve-always-liked-artists-like-chris-burden-who-would-take/) [David Blaine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-blaine/) > [Our office...subjects us to great burdens and labors, dangers and temptations, with little reward or gratitude from the world. But Christ himself will be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/our-office-subjects-us-to-great-burdens-and-labors-dangers-and/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [The debt immense of endless gratitude, So burthensome, still paying, still to owe; Forgetful what from him I still receivd, And understood not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/the-debt-immense-of-endless-gratitude-so-burthensome-still-paying/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) [Browse all 2,567 Burden quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/burden/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Music is a gift and a burden I've had since I can remember who I was.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Nina Simone" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-since-i-can-remember-who-i-was/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Burden" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-since-i-can-remember-who-i-was/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/nina-simone-3396_burden_music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-si_2451869.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/nina-simone-3396_burden_music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-si_2451869.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bb6/nina-simone-3396_burden_music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-si_2451869.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Music is a gift and a burden I've had since I can remember who I was.” — Nina Simone", "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": "Nina Simone", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nina-simone/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Music is a gift and a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-since-i-can-remember-who-i-was/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nina-simone/music-is-a-gift-and-a-burden-i-ve-had-since-i-can-remember-who-i-was/#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 } } ] } ```