--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I definitely was always expected and…" description: "\"I definitely was always expected and encouraged to be a songwriter from a very young age, ... But really it's because, as a child, I thought I was Judy..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/rufus-wainwright-2260_age_i-definitely-was-always-expected-and-enc_2665195.jpg" --- # I definitely was always expected and encouraged to be a… ![“I definitely was always expected and encouraged to be a songwriter from a very young age, ... But really it's because, as a child, I thought I was Judy Garland. And when I started out, I was a little nuts. I thought I was a classic, legendary superstar when only 10 people knew who I was. I feel in…” quote by Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/rufus-wainwright-2260_age_i-definitely-was-always-expected-and-enc_2665195.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/rufus-wainwright-2260_age_i-definitely-was-always-expected-and-enc_2665195.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/61c/rufus-wainwright-2260_age_i-definitely-was-always-expected-and-enc_2665195.jpg) > “I definitely was always expected and encouraged to be a songwriter from a very young age, ... But really it's because, as a child, I thought I was Judy Garland. And when I started out, I was a little nuts. I thought I was a classic, legendary superstar when only 10 people knew who I was. I feel in some ways that my confidence is misinterpreted as arrogance, which is understandable. But I've also always thought that false modesty is evil.” [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Early confidence can be misread as arrogance; false modesty may hinder authenticity. **In simple terms:** Confidence can seem like arrogance. Key Takeaway Balance humility and self‑belief. Themes creativity confidence modesty Mood introspective candid Type philosophical advice When to use this quote - songwriting - performance - public speaking - coaching Key Concepts self‑image career development Questions to Reflect On - How does confidence affect your work? - When is modesty beneficial? A Different Perspective Overconfidence may alienate peers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Arrogance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/arrogance/) [Children](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/children/) [Classic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/classic/) [Confidence Misinterpreted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/confidence-misinterpreted-2459002/) [Encouraged Songwriter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/encouraged-songwriter-2459003/) [Evil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/evil/) [Expected](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expected/) [False modesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/false-modesty/) [Feels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/feels/) [Garlands](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/garlands/) [Judy garland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/judy-garland/) [Legendary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/legendary/) [Littles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/littles/) [Misinterpreted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/misinterpreted/) [Modesty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/modesty/) [Nuts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nuts/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Songwriters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/songwriters/) [Superstar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superstar/) [Thought False](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-false-474711/) [Thought Judy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thought-judy-2459001/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young/) [Young age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/young-age/) ## Related quotes > [The thing I hate most is false modesty. The artists who are, like, 'Oh, you know, I'm really not that good. Oh, I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/the-thing-i-hate-most-is-false-modesty-the-artists-who-are-like-oh/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [A train of thought is never false. The falsehood lies deep in the necessities of existence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-conrad/a-train-of-thought-is-never-false-the-falsehood-lies-deep-in-the/) [Joseph Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-conrad/) > [...thinking as he had thought before and would think again and as every other man has thought: how false the most profound book turns…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/thinking-as-he-had-thought-before-and-would-think-again-and-as-every/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [It can take a lot of careful thought and false starts in order to arrive at the correct conclusion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melchor-lim/it-can-take-a-lot-of-careful-thought-and-false-starts-in-order-to/) [Melchor Lim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melchor-lim/) > [“He just thought quietly, 'So this is love. I see, I was wrong about it too', thinking as he had thought before and would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/he-just-thought-quietly-so-this-is-love-i-see-i-was-wrong-about-it/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [“Oh,” he said. “I see.” But he did not see, exactly, though he believed that he could have been wrong and that she was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-faulkner/oh-he-said-i-see-but-he-did-not-see-exactly-though-he-believed-that/) [William Faulkner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-faulkner/) > [ “If only \[people\] understood that every thought is both false and true! False by one-sidenedness resulting from man's inability to embrace the whole truth,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/if-only-people-understood-that-every-thought-is-both-false-and-true/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The thunder of false modesty was deafening.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sebastian-faulks/the-thunder-of-false-modesty-was-deafening/) [Sebastian Faulks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sebastian-faulks/) > [“I know that, like many other writers, I have many faults, for I am the first to be dissatisfied with myself . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dostoyevsky-fyodor/i-know-that-like-many-other-writers-i-have-many-faults-for-i-am-the/) [Dostoyevsky, Fyodor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dostoyevsky-fyodor/) > [“With characteristic lack of false modesty, John once said to me, "My looks are a rough test of people. If they don't begin to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olaf-stapledon/with-characteristic-lack-of-false-modesty-john-once-said-to-me-my/) [Olaf Stapledon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olaf-stapledon/) > [Fidelity to conscience is inconsistent with retiring modesty. If it be so, let the modesty succumb. It can be only a false modesty which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-martineau/fidelity-to-conscience-is-inconsistent-with-retiring-modesty-if-it-be/) [Harriet Martineau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-martineau/) > [“Besides, I'm not going to let you go anywhere alone- you'll have every male in the vicinity pouncing on you." "Don't be silly," Annabelle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-kleypas/besides-i-m-not-going-to-let-you-go-anywhere-alone-you-ll-have-every/) [Lisa Kleypas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-kleypas/) > [“There is no conceit equal to false modesty, and there is no politics like antipolitics”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/there-is-no-conceit-equal-to-false-modesty-and-there-is-no-politics/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [I think in the world of indie music there's this sort of false modesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-kapranos/i-think-in-the-world-of-indie-music-there-s-this-sort-of-false-modesty/) [Alex Kapranos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-kapranos/) > [Diffidence is a sort of false modesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/diffidence-is-a-sort-of-false-modesty/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) ## More by Rufus Wainwright > [I have an ounce of Lady Gaga's full-bodied ambition.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-have-an-ounce-of-lady-gaga-s-full-bodied-ambition/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I definitely consider 'Poses' - the whole album in fact - to be kind of a miracle. Like the last breath of that moment…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-definitely-consider-poses-the-whole-album-in-fact-to-be-kind-of-a/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [You know the question: 'How do you get to Carnegie Hall?' Answer: 'Practise?' Well, in my case, I got there by not practising. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/you-know-the-question-how-do-you-get-to-carnegie-hall-answer-practise/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I've had my ups and downs, and I definitely have a sense - in America, especially - that once you've made your mark and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-ve-had-my-ups-and-downs-and-i-definitely-have-a-sense-in-america/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I'll always be a boulevardier. I have an extreme reverence and romantic longing for all that is decrepit and fatalistic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-ll-always-be-a-boulevardier-i-have-an-extreme-reverence-and/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I'm very blessed, mainly because even though my family is mostly in show business, it's really centered around music. My parents were very successful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-m-very-blessed-mainly-because-even-though-my-family-is-mostly-in/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Growing up, for years and years I had no idea what the plots of operas were, and that's part of what fascinated me -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/growing-up-for-years-and-years-i-had-no-idea-what-the-plots-of-operas/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Once illness strikes, you realize there's not a lot of time for you to do what you really need to do. And there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/once-illness-strikes-you-realize-there-s-not-a-lot-of-time-for-you-to/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I basically have needed to go to the piano and give voice periodically to, you know - I'm always afraid to describe it as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-basically-have-needed-to-go-to-the-piano-and-give-voice/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [And you will believe in love And all that it's supposed to be But just until the fish start to smell And you're struck…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/and-you-will-believe-in-love-and-all-that-it-s-supposed-to-be-but/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [It's about how whenever I fall in love, I have these expectations of the experience being a perfect dream, which, of course, ruins it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/it-s-about-how-whenever-i-fall-in-love-i-have-these-expectations-of/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [Crazy as it sounds, I'm a believer in destiny and serendipity, and I have had cosmic experiences all my life. Something told me I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/crazy-as-it-sounds-i-m-a-believer-in-destiny-and-serendipity-and-i/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I think everybody identified at a pretty young age that I was fairly entranced with myself. And that I had to be tempered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-think-everybody-identified-at-a-pretty-young-age-that-i-was-fairly/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [The song is about knowing the end result of every situation you're in, and being able to play it out in your mind and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/the-song-is-about-knowing-the-end-result-of-every-situation-you-re-in/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) > [I like to make the mundane fabulous whenever I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rufus-wainwright/i-like-to-make-the-mundane-fabulous-whenever-i-can/) [Rufus Wainwright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) [Explore all 176 Rufus Wainwright quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rufus-wainwright/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? Because all else is temporary, while beauty and wisdom are the only real and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-nazarian/why-is-wisdom-so-fair-why-is-beauty-so-wise-because-all-else-is/) [Vera Nazarian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-nazarian/) > [It was only when I went to acting school that I was like, "You are absolutely such a pigheaded freak show that you thought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-matthey/it-was-only-when-i-went-to-acting-school-that-i-was-like-you-are/) [Giles Matthey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-matthey/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [We have started to make music at age seven. That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I definitely was always expected and encouraged to be a songwriter from a very young age, ... But really it's because, as a child, I thought I was Judy Garland. And when I started out, I was a little nuts. I thought I was a classic, legendary superstar when only 10 people knew who I was. I feel in some ways that my confidence is misinterpreted as arrogance, which is understandable. 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