--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I started busking when I was 24. I was…" description: "\"I started busking when I was 24. I was living with Mom and Dad. I'd broken up with my girlfriend and didn't know what I was doing with my life, and I t..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/passenger-8415_dad_i-started-busking-when-i-was-24-i-was-li_1461523.jpg" --- # I started busking when I was 24. I was living with Mom and… ![“I started busking when I was 24. I was living with Mom and Dad. I'd broken up with my girlfriend and didn't know what I was doing with my life, and I thought, 'Well, this is the last shot - I'm going busking, and let's see what happens.'” quote by Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/passenger-8415_dad_i-started-busking-when-i-was-24-i-was-li_1461523.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/passenger-8415_dad_i-started-busking-when-i-was-24-i-was-li_1461523.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/edb/passenger-8415_dad_i-started-busking-when-i-was-24-i-was-li_1461523.jpg) > “I started busking when I was 24. I was living with Mom and Dad. I'd broken up with my girlfriend and didn't know what I was doing with my life, and I thought, 'Well, this is the last shot - I'm going busking, and let's see what happens.'” [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Taking a bold, uncertain step into street performance as a last‑ditch effort to find purpose. **In simple terms:** He tried busking when life felt directionless. Key Takeaway Embrace risk when stuck. Themes risk‑taking creativity resilience Mood courageous hopeful Type motivational personal narrative When to use this quote - career transitions - personal crises - creative experimentation Key Concepts career pivots artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - What risks could you take to change your path? - How do you prepare for possible failure? A Different Perspective Success isn’t guaranteed; financial instability possible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Busking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busking/) [Busking 24](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busking-24-5280783/) [Busking Let](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busking-let-5280782/) [Dad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dad/) [Going Busking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/going-busking-5280781/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living/) [Mom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mom/) [Mom and dad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mom-and-dad/) [Started Busking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/started-busking-2123562/) ## Related quotes > [My mum pushed me to get a normal job when I finished school, and I just wasn't into that at all. So I hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/my-mum-pushed-me-to-get-a-normal-job-when-i-finished-school-and-i/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [To be honest, busking was a massive part of becoming aware of homelessness. I used to run into a lot of 'Big Issue' sellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/to-be-honest-busking-was-a-massive-part-of-becoming-aware-of/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I've played in some pretty weird settings; busking puts you in all kinds of situations. I can tell you the most depressing gig I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-ve-played-in-some-pretty-weird-settings-busking-puts-you-in-all/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Busking is the essence of what I do. It's made everything possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/busking-is-the-essence-of-what-i-do-it-s-made-everything-possible/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Busking taught me so much on so many levels, not just about being a musician or writing songs - actually about growing up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/busking-taught-me-so-much-on-so-many-levels-not-just-about-being-a/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I've done my share of busking, and it's fun until it isn't. There are musicians in the subways that will make you cry, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-ve-done-my-share-of-busking-and-it-s-fun-until-it-isn-t-there-are/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [Everything about singing, I learned from busking. Everything I learned about songwriting, I learned from busking. Busking, you learn people, you learn about reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/everything-about-singing-i-learned-from-busking-everything-i-learned/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [I chose busking because I didn't want to be working for someone else. I wanted to work as I am. I feel like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/i-chose-busking-because-i-didn-t-want-to-be-working-for-someone-else/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [Well, the first Australian tour I literally just took busking to the stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/well-the-first-australian-tour-i-literally-just-took-busking-to-the/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [Without busking, there is no Fantastic Negrito.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fantastic-negrito/without-busking-there-is-no-fantastic-negrito/) [Fantastic Negrito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fantastic-negrito/) > [Dance Monkey' is about the bad side of busking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/dance-monkey-is-about-the-bad-side-of-busking/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [If you get the chance to be a Bourke Street busker, you actually have to do an audition in front of a council panel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/if-you-get-the-chance-to-be-a-bourke-street-busker-you-actually-have/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [There was a lot of times when I was busking there were a lot of people in your face, like 'More, more! Go again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/there-was-a-lot-of-times-when-i-was-busking-there-were-a-lot-of/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [I felt like I was homeless anyway, so the change in environment wasn't that much of a big deal. I felt pretty much the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-clementine/i-felt-like-i-was-homeless-anyway-so-the-change-in-environment-wasn-t/) [Benjamin Clementine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-clementine/) > [In Irish law, busking is considered vagrancy - you can be arrested for it. It's risky asking people for money in public. So it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/in-irish-law-busking-is-considered-vagrancy-you-can-be-arrested-for/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) ## More by Passenger > [To be honest, busking was a massive part of becoming aware of homelessness. I used to run into a lot of 'Big Issue' sellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/to-be-honest-busking-was-a-massive-part-of-becoming-aware-of/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Staring at the bottom of your glass Hoping one day you'll make a dream last But dreams come slow and they go so fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/staring-at-the-bottom-of-your-glass-hoping-one-day-you-ll-make-a/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Before it happened to me, I'd look at other people who had become really successful and think, 'What a dream. That must be absolutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/before-it-happened-to-me-i-d-look-at-other-people-who-had-become/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I love that - you get everything from seven-year-olds to 87-year-olds at Passenger gigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-love-that-you-get-everything-from-seven-year-olds-to-87-year-olds/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Only know you've been high when you're feeling low...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/only-know-you-ve-been-high-when-you-re-feeling-low/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I'm lucky in the sense that I can write wherever I am - on the bus, in the hotel room, backstage, sitting at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-m-lucky-in-the-sense-that-i-can-write-wherever-i-am-on-the-bus-in/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [“Don't you cry for the lost Smile for the living Get what you need and give what you'r given Life's for the living so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/don-t-you-cry-for-the-lost-smile-for-the-living-get-what-you-need-and/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I think Passenger is a bit of an ambiguous thing because in the past, it's been a band, or it's been just me, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-think-passenger-is-a-bit-of-an-ambiguous-thing-because-in-the-past/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I think some sing-songwriter music can just be very serious - after an hour and a half of it, you are exhausted - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-think-some-sing-songwriter-music-can-just-be-very-serious-after-an/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I still have the mentality of a street musician, because I was one for five years. Every opportunity that comes my way, I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-still-have-the-mentality-of-a-street-musician-because-i-was-one-for/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [America is a funny place; it's a land of extremes, I think. There's fantastic, and there's gobsmackingly dreadful. In every realm you could imagine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/america-is-a-funny-place-it-s-a-land-of-extremes-i-think-there-s/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I've grown up on American songwriters my whole life - listening to Paul Simon and Bob Dylan and people like John Prine - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-ve-grown-up-on-american-songwriters-my-whole-life-listening-to-paul/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I've got friends and my family and people who've been around for years and years and years. And those people are never in doubt:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-ve-got-friends-and-my-family-and-people-who-ve-been-around-for/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Some people expect me to have changed overnight because of one big song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/some-people-expect-me-to-have-changed-overnight-because-of-one-big/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [If you can't be what you want, you learn to be the thing's you're not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/if-you-can-t-be-what-you-want-you-learn-to-be-the-thing-s-you-re-not/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) [Explore all 81 Passenger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) ## More Busking quotes > [To be honest, busking was a massive part of becoming aware of homelessness. I used to run into a lot of 'Big Issue' sellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/to-be-honest-busking-was-a-massive-part-of-becoming-aware-of/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Everything about singing, I learned from busking. Everything I learned about songwriting, I learned from busking. Busking, you learn people, you learn about reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/everything-about-singing-i-learned-from-busking-everything-i-learned/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [Dance Monkey' is about the bad side of busking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/dance-monkey-is-about-the-bad-side-of-busking/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [My mum pushed me to get a normal job when I finished school, and I just wasn't into that at all. So I hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/my-mum-pushed-me-to-get-a-normal-job-when-i-finished-school-and-i/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [There was a lot of times when I was busking there were a lot of people in your face, like 'More, more! Go again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/there-was-a-lot-of-times-when-i-was-busking-there-were-a-lot-of/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [I've done my share of busking, and it's fun until it isn't. There are musicians in the subways that will make you cry, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-ve-done-my-share-of-busking-and-it-s-fun-until-it-isn-t-there-are/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [I felt like I was homeless anyway, so the change in environment wasn't that much of a big deal. I felt pretty much the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-clementine/i-felt-like-i-was-homeless-anyway-so-the-change-in-environment-wasn-t/) [Benjamin Clementine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-clementine/) > [In Irish law, busking is considered vagrancy - you can be arrested for it. It's risky asking people for money in public. So it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/in-irish-law-busking-is-considered-vagrancy-you-can-be-arrested-for/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [If you get the chance to be a Bourke Street busker, you actually have to do an audition in front of a council panel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/if-you-get-the-chance-to-be-a-bourke-street-busker-you-actually-have/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [Busking is the essence of what I do. It's made everything possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/busking-is-the-essence-of-what-i-do-it-s-made-everything-possible/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Without busking, there is no Fantastic Negrito.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fantastic-negrito/without-busking-there-is-no-fantastic-negrito/) [Fantastic Negrito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fantastic-negrito/) > [Well, the first Australian tour I literally just took busking to the stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/well-the-first-australian-tour-i-literally-just-took-busking-to-the/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [I chose busking because I didn't want to be working for someone else. I wanted to work as I am. I feel like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/i-chose-busking-because-i-didn-t-want-to-be-working-for-someone-else/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [I had to pay back the money for the equipment my parents bought me, the amp, the microphone, and I paid it back in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruel/i-had-to-pay-back-the-money-for-the-equipment-my-parents-bought-me/) [Ruel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruel/) > [The first album was more born from busking - they were the 'me-and-my-guitar' songs. Going out on the road and opening for big acts…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-grammer/the-first-album-was-more-born-from-busking-they-were-the-me-and-my/) [Andy Grammer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-grammer/) [Browse all 23 Busking quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busking/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I started busking when I was 24. 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