---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Song is the licensed medium for bawling…"
description: "\"Song is the licensed medium for bawling in public things too silly or sacred to be uttered in ordinary speech.\" — Oliver Herford"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/oliver-herford-16722_bawling_song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling_1302123.png"
---

#  Song is the licensed medium for bawling in public things…

![“Song is the licensed medium for bawling in public things too silly or sacred to be uttered in ordinary speech.” quote by Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/oliver-herford-16722_bawling_song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling_1302123.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/oliver-herford-16722_bawling_song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling_1302123.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/oliver-herford-16722_bawling_song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling_1302123.png)

> “Song is the licensed medium for bawling in public things too silly or sacred to be uttered in ordinary speech.”

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Songs let us express emotions too intense or taboo for normal conversation, providing a safe outlet for both humor and reverence.

**In simple terms:** Music releases forbidden feelings.

Key Takeaway

Use song to voice hidden emotions.

Themes

expression humor taboo art communication

Mood

reflective playful

Type

artistic cultural

When to use this quote

- public performances
- personal therapy
- cultural rituals

Key Concepts

catharsis social norms emotional release

Questions to Reflect On

- What feelings do you keep silent?
- How does music change your willingness to share?

A Different Perspective

Songs may still be censored or misunderstood.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Bawling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bawling/) [Communication](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/communication/) [Sacred](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sacred/) [Silly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silly/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Speech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/speech/)

## Related quotes

> [There is no doubt in my mind that I will start bawling the day I graduate high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-that-i-will-start-bawling-the-day-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I can't watch 'Titanic' without breaking down within the first 10 minutes. You know, when it got re-released in 3D, I went to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-turner/i-can-t-watch-titanic-without-breaking-down-within-the-first-10/)

[Sophie Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-turner/)

> [I have children, and they demand my full and complete attention. They get that when I'm at home, even during the night, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/essie-davis/i-have-children-and-they-demand-my-full-and-complete-attention-they/)

[Essie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/essie-davis/)

> [“The bawling of babies, always in a way Inappropriate - why should the love and innocent Greet existence with wails? - is proof that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/the-bawling-of-babies-always-in-a-way-inappropriate-why-should-the/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [I couldn't stop bawling, watching the towers come down. it was a terrible thing to happen. And a terrible thing to realize that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/i-couldn-t-stop-bawling-watching-the-towers-come-down-it-was-a/)

[Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/)

> [Vocemail on the telephone, she calling, she bawling. She no like how the Bad Man give all a de gal dem better ideas about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zulu/vocemail-on-the-telephone-she-calling-she-bawling-she-no-like-how-the/)

[Zulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zulu/)

> [In my last scene in 'Breaking Dawn,' Bella has just died and I run outside and crumple to the ground and just lose it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-lautner/in-my-last-scene-in-breaking-dawn-bella-has-just-died-and-i-run/)

[Taylor Lautner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-lautner/)

> [“She shook her head. “No, Jonas.” “ ‘No, Jonas’ is all you ever say,” he responded with a hint of savagery. He knew he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-campbell/she-shook-her-head-no-jonas-no-jonas-is-all-you-ever-say-he-responded/)

[Anna Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-campbell/)

> [“I'll give you something to cry about!! Hell, no need to get up I’m doing a good job of bawling my eyes out now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-leckman/i-ll-give-you-something-to-cry-about-hell-no-need-to-get-up-i-m-doing/)

[Neil Leckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-leckman/)

> [“Those deep set eyes that look like they could tell stories for days, and that wavy brown hair that feels soft between my fingers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-norris/those-deep-set-eyes-that-look-like-they-could-tell-stories-for-days/)

[Elizabeth Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-norris/)

> [I hate being manipulated by song. Don't tell me what I should be feeling. I don't want cellos or violins to be telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-farmiga/i-hate-being-manipulated-by-song-don-t-tell-me-what-i-should-be/)

[Vera Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-farmiga/)

> [Get over him. He's not even worth it. He is not worth your time or your tears. Yea you loved him, I know that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/get-over-him-he-s-not-even-worth-it-he-is-not-worth-your-time-or-your/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“He bursts into tears, and not some manlike tears either, where you pretend you're brushing something off your face and, incidentally, wipe a tear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-flinn/he-bursts-into-tears-and-not-some-manlike-tears-either-where-you/)

[Alex Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-flinn/)

> [“gardens over. One of them was crying—maybe they both were—and there was a child bawling its head off,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-hawkins/gardens-over-one-of-them-was-crying-maybe-they-both-were-and-there/)

[Paula Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-hawkins/)

> [You were a terrible baby, do you know that? Bawling all the time, never sleeping. And one night you just wouldn't shut up, screaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yara/you-were-a-terrible-baby-do-you-know-that-bawling-all-the-time-never/)

[Yara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yara/)

## More by Oliver Herford

> [Modesty is the gentle art of enhancing your charm by pretending not to be aware of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/modesty-is-the-gentle-art-of-enhancing-your-charm-by-pretending-not/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [Actresses will happen in the best regulated families.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/actresses-will-happen-in-the-best-regulated-families/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [To babble is to make a feminine noise somewhat resembling the sound of a brook, but with less meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/to-babble-is-to-make-a-feminine-noise-somewhat-resembling-the-sound/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [Bigamy is one way of avoiding the painful publicity of divorce and the expense of alimony.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/bigamy-is-one-way-of-avoiding-the-painful-publicity-of-divorce-and/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [Tact: to lie about others as you would have them lie about you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/tact-to-lie-about-others-as-you-would-have-them-lie-about-you/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [An epicure is one who gets nothing better than the cream of everything but cheerfully makes the best of it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/an-epicure-is-one-who-gets-nothing-better-than-the-cream-of/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [A kiss is a course of procedure cunningly devised, for the mutual stopage of speech at a moment when words are superfluous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/a-kiss-is-a-course-of-procedure-cunningly-devised-for-the-mutual/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [A woman's mind is cleaner than a man's: She changes it more often.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/a-woman-s-mind-is-cleaner-than-a-man-s-she-changes-it-more-often/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [True love; an old fashioned sentiment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/true-love-an-old-fashioned-sentiment/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [Some take their gold in minted mold, and some in harps thereafter, but give me mine in bubbles fine and keep the change in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/some-take-their-gold-in-minted-mold-and-some-in-harps-thereafter-but/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [“At evening when the lamp is lit, The tired Human People sit And doze, or turn with solemn looks The speckled pages of their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/at-evening-when-the-lamp-is-lit-the-tired-human-people-sit-and-doze/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [Diplomacy is living in state.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/diplomacy-is-living-in-state/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [Only the young die good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/only-the-young-die-good/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [Many are called but few get up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/many-are-called-but-few-get-up/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

> [Children, behold the Chimpanzee: He sits on the ancestral tree From which we sprang in ages gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/children-behold-the-chimpanzee-he-sits-on-the-ancestral-tree-from/)

[Oliver Herford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

[Explore all 39 Oliver Herford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/)

## More Bawling quotes

> [There is no doubt in my mind that I will start bawling the day I graduate high school.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/there-is-no-doubt-in-my-mind-that-i-will-start-bawling-the-day-i/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“gardens over. One of them was crying—maybe they both were—and there was a child bawling its head off,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-hawkins/gardens-over-one-of-them-was-crying-maybe-they-both-were-and-there/)

[Paula Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-hawkins/)

> [“He bursts into tears, and not some manlike tears either, where you pretend you're brushing something off your face and, incidentally, wipe a tear.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-flinn/he-bursts-into-tears-and-not-some-manlike-tears-either-where-you/)

[Alex Flinn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-flinn/)

> [Get over him. He's not even worth it. He is not worth your time or your tears. Yea you loved him, I know that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/get-over-him-he-s-not-even-worth-it-he-is-not-worth-your-time-or-your/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [I hate being manipulated by song. Don't tell me what I should be feeling. I don't want cellos or violins to be telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-farmiga/i-hate-being-manipulated-by-song-don-t-tell-me-what-i-should-be/)

[Vera Farmiga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-farmiga/)

> [“Those deep set eyes that look like they could tell stories for days, and that wavy brown hair that feels soft between my fingers.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-norris/those-deep-set-eyes-that-look-like-they-could-tell-stories-for-days/)

[Elizabeth Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-norris/)

> [“I'll give you something to cry about!! Hell, no need to get up I’m doing a good job of bawling my eyes out now.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-leckman/i-ll-give-you-something-to-cry-about-hell-no-need-to-get-up-i-m-doing/)

[Neil Leckman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-leckman/)

> [“She shook her head. “No, Jonas.” “ ‘No, Jonas’ is all you ever say,” he responded with a hint of savagery. He knew he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-campbell/she-shook-her-head-no-jonas-no-jonas-is-all-you-ever-say-he-responded/)

[Anna Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-campbell/)

> [In my last scene in 'Breaking Dawn,' Bella has just died and I run outside and crumple to the ground and just lose it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-lautner/in-my-last-scene-in-breaking-dawn-bella-has-just-died-and-i-run/)

[Taylor Lautner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-lautner/)

> [Vocemail on the telephone, she calling, she bawling. She no like how the Bad Man give all a de gal dem better ideas about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zulu/vocemail-on-the-telephone-she-calling-she-bawling-she-no-like-how-the/)

[Zulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zulu/)

> [I couldn't stop bawling, watching the towers come down. it was a terrible thing to happen. And a terrible thing to realize that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randa-abdel-fattah/i-couldn-t-stop-bawling-watching-the-towers-come-down-it-was-a/)

[Randa Abdel-Fattah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randa-abdel-fattah/)

> [“The bawling of babies, always in a way Inappropriate - why should the love and innocent Greet existence with wails? - is proof that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eugene-h-peterson/the-bawling-of-babies-always-in-a-way-inappropriate-why-should-the/)

[Eugene H. Peterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eugene-h-peterson/)

> [I have children, and they demand my full and complete attention. They get that when I'm at home, even during the night, but it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/essie-davis/i-have-children-and-they-demand-my-full-and-complete-attention-they/)

[Essie Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/essie-davis/)

> [I can't watch 'Titanic' without breaking down within the first 10 minutes. You know, when it got re-released in 3D, I went to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophie-turner/i-can-t-watch-titanic-without-breaking-down-within-the-first-10/)

[Sophie Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophie-turner/)

> [You were a terrible baby, do you know that? Bawling all the time, never sleeping. And one night you just wouldn't shut up, screaming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yara/you-were-a-terrible-baby-do-you-know-that-bawling-all-the-time-never/)

[Yara](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yara/)

[Browse all 21 Bawling quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bawling/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Song is the licensed medium for bawling in public things too silly or sacred to be uttered in ordinary speech.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Oliver Herford"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling-in-public-things-too-silly-or/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bawling"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling-in-public-things-too-silly-or/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/oliver-herford-16722_bawling_song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling_1302123.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/oliver-herford-16722_bawling_song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling_1302123.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e7f/oliver-herford-16722_bawling_song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling_1302123.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Song is the licensed medium for bawling in public things too silly or sacred to be uttered in ordinary speech.” — Oliver Herford",
                "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": "Oliver Herford",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-herford/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Song is the licensed medium for...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling-in-public-things-too-silly-or/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-herford/song-is-the-licensed-medium-for-bawling-in-public-things-too-silly-or/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
