--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I never intended to make a living from…" description: "\"I never intended to make a living from music. That's the funny thing. I wanted to be a journalist.\" — Pete Seeger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/pete-seeger-1942_funny-things_i-never-intended-to-make-a-living-from-m_1712229.png" --- # I never intended to make a living from music. That's the… ![“I never intended to make a living from music. That's the funny thing. I wanted to be a journalist.” quote by Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/pete-seeger-1942_funny-things_i-never-intended-to-make-a-living-from-m_1712229.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/pete-seeger-1942_funny-things_i-never-intended-to-make-a-living-from-m_1712229.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/272/pete-seeger-1942_funny-things_i-never-intended-to-make-a-living-from-m_1712229.png) > “I never intended to make a living from music. That's the funny thing. I wanted to be a journalist.” [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He originally pursued journalism, but his passion led him to a career in music, showing unexpected paths can emerge. **In simple terms:** He became a musician instead of a journalist. Key Takeaway Embrace unexpected career turns. Themes career passion unexpected journey Mood reflective inspirational Type biographical inspirational When to use this quote - songwriting - activism - public speaking - teaching Key Concepts identity choice serendipity Questions to Reflect On - Do you follow your passion despite uncertainty? - How can you pivot skills to new fields? A Different Perspective Music may not provide stable income. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Funny things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-things/) [Journalist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/journalist/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Musician](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musician/) ## Related quotes > [Music is a funny thing when you really come to think about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miles-davis/music-is-a-funny-thing-when-you-really-come-to-think-about-it/) [Miles Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miles-davis/) > [I wanted to be a journalist for a long time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-bell/i-wanted-to-be-a-journalist-for-a-long-time/) [Jamie Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-bell/) > [I want to have not only the good side of life but the bad side of life. And the both combined is just my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stromae/i-want-to-have-not-only-the-good-side-of-life-but-the-bad-side-of/) [Stromae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stromae/) > [I'm in the lane where I can make music but also have it be funny and still good at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-paul/i-m-in-the-lane-where-i-can-make-music-but-also-have-it-be-funny-and/) [Jake Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-paul/) > [Alien Chutney is just what the name suggests it is. Its music that is so funny and quirky and weird that it feels entirely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vir-das/alien-chutney-is-just-what-the-name-suggests-it-is-its-music-that-is/) [Vir Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vir-das/) > [To the U.S. and the world, I'm just known as some funny song and some funny music, some funny video guy. But in Korea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/to-the-u-s-and-the-world-i-m-just-known-as-some-funny-song-and-some/) [PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/) > [My music has to be funny and sad and happy and loving; it's gotta have it all. When somebody's just too dark all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vile/my-music-has-to-be-funny-and-sad-and-happy-and-loving-it-s-gotta-have/) [Kurt Vile](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vile/) > [Music is funny. I shouldn't even ever talk about music, because you can have all the ideas in your head, and it never goes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alicia-keys/music-is-funny-i-shouldn-t-even-ever-talk-about-music-because-you-can/) [Alicia Keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alicia-keys/) > [The only ones that stand out to me are people like Jonathan Richman or Robyn Hitchcock, who can make you totally cry while their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neko-case/the-only-ones-that-stand-out-to-me-are-people-like-jonathan-richman/) [Neko Case](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neko-case/) > [Rock music is a funny thing: You can actually take it too far sometimes, and then it's not rock music anymore - it's something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-satriani/rock-music-is-a-funny-thing-you-can-actually-take-it-too-far/) [Joe Satriani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-satriani/) > [It's very difficult to make a living in music these days. All it takes is somebody paying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-bozzio/it-s-very-difficult-to-make-a-living-in-music-these-days-all-it-takes/) [Terry Bozzio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-bozzio/) > [No matter what you do for a living all we have is music to get through certain situations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deana-carter/no-matter-what-you-do-for-a-living-all-we-have-is-music-to-get/) [Deana Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deana-carter/) > [Playing live and making a living from music was always the only goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-capaldi/playing-live-and-making-a-living-from-music-was-always-the-only-goal/) [Lewis Capaldi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-capaldi/) > [Most people use music as a couch; they want to be pillowed on it, relaxed and consoled for the stress of daily living. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-copland/most-people-use-music-as-a-couch-they-want-to-be-pillowed-on-it/) [Aaron Copland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-copland/) > [To me living and music are all the same thing. And I keep finding out more about music as I learn more about myself,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mccoy-tyner/to-me-living-and-music-are-all-the-same-thing-and-i-keep-finding-out/) [McCoy Tyner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mccoy-tyner/) ## More by Pete Seeger > [Honest songs aren't written for money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/honest-songs-aren-t-written-for-money/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [My father, Charles Seeger, got me into the Communist movement. He backed out around '38. I drifted out in the 50's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/my-father-charles-seeger-got-me-into-the-communist-movement-he-backed/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [In the sixties, during the Vietnam war, when anarchists and pacifists and socialists, Democrats and Republicans, decent-hearted Americans, all recoiled with horror at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/in-the-sixties-during-the-vietnam-war-when-anarchists-and-pacifists/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Now somebody will ask me, Pete, how can you prove these songs really make a difference? And I have to confess I can't prove…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/now-somebody-will-ask-me-pete-how-can-you-prove-these-songs-really/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [The truth is a rabbit in a bramble patch. All you can do is circle around and say it's somewhere in there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/the-truth-is-a-rabbit-in-a-bramble-patch-all-you-can-do-is-circle/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [I was about 16 years old years when my father took me to a square dance festival in North Carolina. For the first time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/i-was-about-16-years-old-years-when-my-father-took-me-to-a-square/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [It was Rachel Carson's famous book 'Silent Spring' that got me involved with the environment. I read it in The New Yorker, in installments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-was-rachel-carson-s-famous-book-silent-spring-that-got-me-involved/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [When you play the 12-string guitar, you spend half your life tuning the instrument and the other half playing it out of tune.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/when-you-play-the-12-string-guitar-you-spend-half-your-life-tuning/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Folks out in the country couldn't afford to pay for anybody else to make music. They had to make their own. So the peasantry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/folks-out-in-the-country-couldn-t-afford-to-pay-for-anybody-else-to/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [If there's something wrong, speak up!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/if-there-s-something-wrong-speak-up/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [This world is so full of hypocrisy, the only way you can be honest is to be a hermit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/this-world-is-so-full-of-hypocrisy-the-only-way-you-can-be-honest-is/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [There is a big, beautiful world that could be destroyed by selfishness and foolishness. We musicians have it within our power to help save…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/there-is-a-big-beautiful-world-that-could-be-destroyed-by-selfishness/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [And the people in the houses All went to the University And they got put in boxes Little boxes all the same, Little boxes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/and-the-people-in-the-houses-all-went-to-the-university-and-they-got/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [A good song reminds us what we're fighting for.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/a-good-song-reminds-us-what-we-re-fighting-for/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) > [Most conservatives just want to turn back the clock to a time before the income tax - 100 years or so. I would like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/most-conservatives-just-want-to-turn-back-the-clock-to-a-time-before/) [Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) [Explore all 196 Pete Seeger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/) ## More Funny things quotes > [When we criticize in Iran the actions of the government, the fundamentalists say that we and the Bush Administration are in the same camp.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirin-ebadi/when-we-criticize-in-iran-the-actions-of-the-government-the/) [Shirin Ebadi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirin-ebadi/) > [Wendy, Wendy, when you are sleeping in your silly bed you might be flying about with me saying funny things to the stars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wendy-wendy-when-you-are-sleeping-in-your-silly-bed-you-might-be/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Social media, and the way the Internet works, you see a lot of funny things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicklas-bendtner/social-media-and-the-way-the-internet-works-you-see-a-lot-of-funny/) [Nicklas Bendtner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicklas-bendtner/) > [I think religion is a funny thing because, when you see somebody who can really break it down, sometimes it feels foolish what you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-costner/i-think-religion-is-a-funny-thing-because-when-you-see-somebody-who/) [Kevin Costner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-costner/) > [The funny thing is, I don't actually think of myself as fat at all. I don't think I am. Not really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-brand/the-funny-thing-is-i-don-t-actually-think-of-myself-as-fat-at-all-i/) [Jo Brand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-brand/) > [Funny things tend not to happen to me. I am not a natural comic. I need to think about things a lot before I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/funny-things-tend-not-to-happen-to-me-i-am-not-a-natural-comic-i-need/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [God has a sense of humor though and he must see funny things in us. He must also have some love. We're still here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/god-has-a-sense-of-humor-though-and-he-must-see-funny-things-in-us-he/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [It's a funny thing about writing. You get so balled up in a story idea that you lose your perspective and forget that human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-reilly/it-s-a-funny-thing-about-writing-you-get-so-balled-up-in-a-story-idea/) [Gary Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-reilly/) > [Funny thing, every time an angel appeared to someone in the Bible, the first thing he'd say was, "Fear not."... I guess they were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gilbert-morris/funny-thing-every-time-an-angel-appeared-to-someone-in-the-bible-the/) [Gilbert Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gilbert-morris/) > [In politics practically everything you hear is scandal, and besides, the funny thing is that the things they are whispering ain't half has bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/in-politics-practically-everything-you-hear-is-scandal-and-besides/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [The short version is that I started an internet diary a long, long time ago (six years!) because I was bored with my job.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-mulgrew/the-short-version-is-that-i-started-an-internet-diary-a-long-long/) [Jason Mulgrew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-mulgrew/) > [A funny thing is that you can't search me on Twitter because Adam Levine dominates there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-devine/a-funny-thing-is-that-you-can-t-search-me-on-twitter-because-adam/) [Adam DeVine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-devine/) > [I'm all for anybody having a party who wants that. The funny thing about me and birthdays or any kind of celebration where it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kim-basinger/i-m-all-for-anybody-having-a-party-who-wants-that-the-funny-thing/) [Kim Basinger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kim-basinger/) > [The funny thing is, strangers still seem to feel comfortable coming up to me and saying things, but now usually it's because they recognize…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-solondz/the-funny-thing-is-strangers-still-seem-to-feel-comfortable-coming-up/) [Todd Solondz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-solondz/) > [Change is a funny thing. We never are quite sure what we are becoming or even why. Then one day we look at ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/change-is-a-funny-thing-we-never-are-quite-sure-what-we-are-becoming/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) [Browse all 428 Funny things quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-things/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I never intended to make a living from music. That's the funny thing. 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