--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It's a terrible thing being a patriarch…" description: "\"It's a terrible thing being a patriarch. I don't even have a gray beard. But people keep calling me up for advice.\" — Pete Seeger" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/pete-seeger-1942_advice_it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch_680552.png" --- # It's a terrible thing being a patriarch. I don't even have… ![“It's a terrible thing being a patriarch. I don't even have a gray beard. But people keep calling me up for advice.” quote by Pete Seeger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/pete-seeger-1942_advice_it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch_680552.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/pete-seeger-1942_advice_it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch_680552.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/pete-seeger-1942_advice_it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch_680552.png) > “It's a terrible thing being a patriarch. I don't even have a gray beard. But people keep calling me up for advice.” [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. Expresses frustration with patriarchal expectations despite lacking typical symbols of age. **In simple terms:** Patriarchal pressure feels unfair without age signs. Key Takeaway Challenge gendered expectations. Themes gender age identity Mood reflective critical Type philosophical social When to use this quote - workplace discussions - family gatherings - social media commentary Key Concepts patriarchy social roles personal identity Questions to Reflect On - How do you define leadership beyond age? - What alternatives exist to patriarchal norms? A Different Perspective May overlook individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Advice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) [Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beard/) [Beard People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beard-people-2899381/) [Calling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/calling/) [Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray/) [Gray Beard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray-beard-3546374/) [Hair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hair/) [Patriarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/patriarch/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Terrible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible/) [Terrible things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/terrible-things/) [Thing Patriarch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thing-patriarch-5385122/) ## Related quotes > [Peter Beard is one of those people I've known a long time. We have an affinity. We share certain values.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-southern/peter-beard-is-one-of-those-people-i-ve-known-a-long-time-we-have-an/) [Terry Southern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-southern/) > [When I have the beard on I have people behind me in traffic honking their horn. I'm thinking "how in the world?" But it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-norris/when-i-have-the-beard-on-i-have-people-behind-me-in-traffic-honking/) [Chuck Norris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-norris/) > [My father was a Muslim immigrant; when Donald Trump started talking about banning Muslim immigrants from this country, I grew my beard out. My…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-aydin/my-father-was-a-muslim-immigrant-when-donald-trump-started-talking/) [Andrew Aydin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-aydin/) > [Frodo: We're friends of Gandalf the Grey, can you tell him we've arrived? Barliman Butterbur: Gandalf? Gandalf... Oh, yes, I remember! Elderly chap, big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lord-of-the-rings/frodo-we-re-friends-of-gandalf-the-grey-can-you-tell-him-we-ve/) [Lord Of The Rings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lord-of-the-rings/) > [“Men are the fleas in the gray beard of God, and I’m just itching to meet Him.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/men-are-the-fleas-in-the-gray-beard-of-god-and-i-m-just-itching-to/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [In the assemblies of the enlightened ones there have been many cases of mastering the Way bringing forth the heart of plants and trees;…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dogen/in-the-assemblies-of-the-enlightened-ones-there-have-been-many-cases/) [Dogen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dogen/) > [The blood of Abraham, God's father of the chosen, still flows in the veins of Arab, Jew, and Christian, and too much of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-carter/the-blood-of-abraham-god-s-father-of-the-chosen-still-flows-in-the/) [Jimmy Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-carter/) > [In 1054, the patriarch of Constantinople and the pope excommunicated each other. That was the end of holiness for both churches.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-herbert/in-1054-the-patriarch-of-constantinople-and-the-pope-excommunicated/) [Frank Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-herbert/) > [The brother of my grandfather was the patriarch of the Orthodox Church and revered as a saint. So everything in my childhood is about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marina-abramovic/the-brother-of-my-grandfather-was-the-patriarch-of-the-orthodox/) [Marina Abramovic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marina-abramovic/) > [The Present, the Present is all thou hast For thy sure possessing; Like the patriarch's angel hold it fast Till it gives its blessing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/the-present-the-present-is-all-thou-hast-for-thy-sure-possessing-like/) [John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/) > [A large stone presented by the archangel Gabriel to the patriarch Abraham, and preserved at Mecca. The patriarch had perhaps asked the archangel for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/a-large-stone-presented-by-the-archangel-gabriel-to-the-patriarch/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [My father said he was going to write to the Jinzhou City Party Committee asking for permission to 'talk about love'...My mother supposed it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jung-chang/my-father-said-he-was-going-to-write-to-the-jinzhou-city-party/) [Jung Chang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jung-chang/) > [Through the sequester'd vale of rural life The venerable patriarch guileless held The tenor of his way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beilby-porteus/through-the-sequester-d-vale-of-rural-life-the-venerable-patriarch/) [Beilby Porteus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beilby-porteus/) > [Mum was the matriarch and the patriarch of the family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-scott/mum-was-the-matriarch-and-the-patriarch-of-the-family/) [Tony Scott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-scott/) > [He wasn't completely wrong, poor old Gemistus (let Lord Andronicus and the patriarch suspect him if they like), in wanting us, telling us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-p-cavafy/he-wasn-t-completely-wrong-poor-old-gemistus-let-lord-andronicus-and/) [C.P. Cavafy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-p-cavafy/) ## 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 Advice quotes > [The sensible person is always serious about sensible advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mak-786/the-sensible-person-is-always-serious-about-sensible-advice/) [Mak\_786](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mak-786/) > [I ask for tips, for advice. What I have also learnt is that I need to do things that are good for me. In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthijs-de-ligt/i-ask-for-tips-for-advice-what-i-have-also-learnt-is-that-i-need-to/) [Matthijs de Ligt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthijs-de-ligt/) > [Don't get too attached to someone you know you can't be together with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anurag-prakash-ray/don-t-get-too-attached-to-someone-you-know-you-can-t-be-together-with/) [Anurag Prakash Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anurag-prakash-ray/) > [A low-minded person should not be given good advice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chanakya/a-low-minded-person-should-not-be-given-good-advice/) [Chanakya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chanakya/) > [The worst advice? 'Don't listen to the critics.' I think that you really ought to listen to the critics, because sometimes they're telling you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-worst-advice-don-t-listen-to-the-critics-i-think-that-you-really/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [When I was in my twenties and just so sexually prolific, the first time I went to Machu Picchu, this guy, a spiritual teacher,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-harrelson/when-i-was-in-my-twenties-and-just-so-sexually-prolific-the-first/) [Woody Harrelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-harrelson/) > [The best way to succeed in this world is to act on the advice you give to others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/the-best-way-to-succeed-in-this-world-is-to-act-on-the-advice-you/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [Time is priceless. You have it, but you don't own it. You spend it, but you can't keep it. And once it's gone, there's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/time-is-priceless-you-have-it-but-you-don-t-own-it-you-spend-it-but/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You don't need to take a persons advice to make him feel good, just ask him for it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurence-j-peter/you-don-t-need-to-take-a-persons-advice-to-make-him-feel-good-just/) [Laurence J. Peter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurence-j-peter/) > [Some of the things that we hold onto the most, are the things that we need to let go of.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryaj-ablando-catayas/some-of-the-things-that-we-hold-onto-the-most-are-the-things-that-we/) [Ryaj Ablando Catayas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ryaj-ablando-catayas/) > [“If your clothes are enough to drive would-be friends away, they're not the kind of friends you want." Typical mother advice. Sweet, honest, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aprilynne-pike/if-your-clothes-are-enough-to-drive-would-be-friends-away-they-re-not/) [Aprilynne Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aprilynne-pike/) > [“My kingdom not for a horse, but for a good piece of advice!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/my-kingdom-not-for-a-horse-but-for-a-good-piece-of-advice/) [Mehmet Murat ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [I always advise people not to act upon the advice that I give them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vikrant-parsai/i-always-advise-people-not-to-act-upon-the-advice-that-i-give-them/) [Vikrant Parsai](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vikrant-parsai/) > [ \[A\]s you partake of the world's bill of fare, that's darned good advice to follow. Do a lot of spitting out the hot air.… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dr-seuss/a-s-you-partake-of-the-world-s-bill-of-fare-that-s-darned-good-advice/) [Dr. Seuss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dr-seuss/) > [My relationship with Ibrahimovic was completely neutral. He is not the type of player to approach the younger players and give them advice. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kingsley-coman/my-relationship-with-ibrahimovic-was-completely-neutral-he-is-not-the/) [Kingsley Coman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kingsley-coman/) [Browse all 8,535 Advice quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/advice/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "It's a terrible thing being a patriarch. I don't even have a gray beard. But people keep calling me up for advice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Pete Seeger" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch-i-don-t-even-have-a-gray/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Advice" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch-i-don-t-even-have-a-gray/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/pete-seeger-1942_advice_it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch_680552.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/pete-seeger-1942_advice_it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch_680552.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/155/pete-seeger-1942_advice_it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch_680552.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It's a terrible thing being a patriarch. I don't even have a gray beard. But people keep calling me up for…” — Pete Seeger", "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": "Pete Seeger", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-seeger/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It's a terrible thing being a...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch-i-don-t-even-have-a-gray/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-seeger/it-s-a-terrible-thing-being-a-patriarch-i-don-t-even-have-a-gray/#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 } } ] } ```