--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I worked in corrections because they had…" description: "\"I worked in corrections because they had told me I wasn't going to make it in the music business. You know, when somebody tells you you ain't going to ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/sharon-jones-8033_am_i-worked-in-corrections-because-they-had_2924875.jpg" --- # I worked in corrections because they had told me I wasn't… ![“I worked in corrections because they had told me I wasn't going to make it in the music business. You know, when somebody tells you you ain't going to make it 'cause you don't have a look - you're too black, you're too fat, you're too short, and at the time I was past 25, so you're too old, what…” quote by Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/sharon-jones-8033_am_i-worked-in-corrections-because-they-had_2924875.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/sharon-jones-8033_am_i-worked-in-corrections-because-they-had_2924875.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b88/sharon-jones-8033_am_i-worked-in-corrections-because-they-had_2924875.jpg) > “I worked in corrections because they had told me I wasn't going to make it in the music business. You know, when somebody tells you you ain't going to make it 'cause you don't have a look - you're too black, you're too fat, you're too short, and at the time I was past 25, so you're too old, what the hell am I going to do? Singing is my life.” [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. External discouragement can fuel determination; personal passion persists despite stereotypes and age bias. **In simple terms:** Don't let others' limits define you. Key Takeaway Pursue your art regardless of criticism. Themes determination identity resilience stereotypes Mood defiant motivational Type personal inspirational When to use this quote - auditioning - songwriting - performance - career change Key Concepts self‑efficacy social bias Questions to Reflect On - What inner resources sustain you when faced with bias? - How can you turn rejection into creative energy? A Different Perspective Societal barriers may limit opportunities without systemic change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/business/) [Corrections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/corrections/) [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Music business](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-business/) [Music making](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music-making/) [Past](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/past/) [Singing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/singing/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Singing is my life. And when I can do that, that's when I'm free. That's when I'm at my happiest, I'm at my most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/singing-is-my-life-and-when-i-can-do-that-that-s-when-i-m-free-that-s/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [It definitely helps to have the acting experience going into singing, because when you're singing, you have to portray the emotion you were feeling…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ryan-newman/it-definitely-helps-to-have-the-acting-experience-going-into-singing/) Ryan Newman > [I want to keep the same kinda vibe where we've got the dance element and hip-hop. I'm going to be singing a lot more,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefflon-don/i-want-to-keep-the-same-kinda-vibe-where-we-ve-got-the-dance-element/) [Stefflon Don](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefflon-don/) > [I'm not going to be singing songs that I made in the past. I closed the door on that incarnation of Sinead O'Connor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/i-m-not-going-to-be-singing-songs-that-i-made-in-the-past-i-closed/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) > [Coming from my bedroom in San Antonio to this big world and going from singing covers off my laptop to making music in this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-mahone/coming-from-my-bedroom-in-san-antonio-to-this-big-world-and-going/) [Austin Mahone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-mahone/) > [Well painting is certainly my main thing. I will keep doing that for the rest of my life, but if I become famous I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-de-forest/well-painting-is-certainly-my-main-thing-i-will-keep-doing-that-for/) [Autumn de Forest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autumn-de-forest/) > [“The war is going on, and I'm singing. But I can't bandage up the wounded like Tala. I can, of course. But so can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mikhail-shishkin/the-war-is-going-on-and-i-m-singing-but-i-can-t-bandage-up-the/) [Mikhail Shishkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mikhail-shishkin/) > [I was never trying to be the voice for anybody else. I was just trying to sing about what I was going through, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathleen-hanna/i-was-never-trying-to-be-the-voice-for-anybody-else-i-was-just-trying/) [Kathleen Hanna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathleen-hanna/) > [As far as I'm concerned, I'm now in the business of making spiritual records and using my voice for that purpose. I'm not going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinead-o-connor/as-far-as-i-m-concerned-i-m-now-in-the-business-of-making-spiritual-2/) [Sinead O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinead-o-connor/) > [I decided I was going to give up singing and concentrate on acting, and a result of that, I didn't do another film for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-darin/i-decided-i-was-going-to-give-up-singing-and-concentrate-on-acting/) [Bobby Darin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-darin/) > [I pretty much started going more towards the singing route when I came out with the song 'Selfish.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pnb-rock/i-pretty-much-started-going-more-towards-the-singing-route-when-i/) [PnB Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pnb-rock/) > [I am going to keep on singing. I have no intention of retiring. Actually, I always wonder whether people know my songs in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-tyler/i-am-going-to-keep-on-singing-i-have-no-intention-of-retiring/) [Bonnie Tyler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-tyler/) > [That was pretty crazy, going from singing in my room to singing in front of 5,000 people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-marais/that-was-pretty-crazy-going-from-singing-in-my-room-to-singing-in/) [Jonah Marais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-marais/) > [I never publicise in advance what I'm going to be singing because I never quite know until I start. I often change my mind…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mandy-patinkin/i-never-publicise-in-advance-what-i-m-going-to-be-singing-because-i/) [Mandy Patinkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mandy-patinkin/) > [I'm going to be singing Dreams and Rhiannon when I'm 75 - and that's just fine with me. I just hope my chiffon doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-nicks/i-m-going-to-be-singing-dreams-and-rhiannon-when-i-m-75-and-that-s/) [Stevie Nicks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-nicks/) ## More by Sharon Jones > [I'm telling the story, and if I can't tell the story, I'm not going to sing it. And if I don't agree with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-m-telling-the-story-and-if-i-can-t-tell-the-story-i-m-not-going-to/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I miss my hair, but I feel like going out there with some fake braids wouldn't be right. I want to be the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-miss-my-hair-but-i-feel-like-going-out-there-with-some-fake-braids/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I'm blessed to be in an environment where people are sincere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-m-blessed-to-be-in-an-environment-where-people-are-sincere/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I'm singing, you know, because I'm happy and I'm free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-m-singing-you-know-because-i-m-happy-and-i-m-free/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [ We chose it's name \[Give the People What They Want\] a while ago, long before the cancer. But I can't think of a more… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/we-chose-it-s-name-give-the-people-what-they-want-a-while-ago-long/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I really can't wait to dance with Ellen DeGeneres!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-really-can-t-wait-to-dance-with-ellen-degeneres/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [Singing is my life. And when I can do that, that's when I'm free. That's when I'm at my happiest, I'm at my most.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/singing-is-my-life-and-when-i-can-do-that-that-s-when-i-m-free-that-s/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [At first, they told me it was just bile-duct cancer, but once they went in, they removed the gallbladder, the head of my pancreas,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/at-first-they-told-me-it-was-just-bile-duct-cancer-but-once-they-went/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [Me and the Dap-Kings, the whole band is playing a wedding band in 'The Wolf of Wall Street.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/me-and-the-dap-kings-the-whole-band-is-playing-a-wedding-band-in-the/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [People buy my albums, and I love my albums when I do them because we try to record live with that same energy, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/people-buy-my-albums-and-i-love-my-albums-when-i-do-them-because-we/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [In Rikers, you had the Italians over here, the Spanish over here, the Blacks here, then there would be your Christians here and your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/in-rikers-you-had-the-italians-over-here-the-spanish-over-here-the/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I often call Daptone the Motown and Stax of today. But in some ways, it's different. At Motown, a lot of the musicians didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-often-call-daptone-the-motown-and-stax-of-today-but-in-some-ways-it/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I've got these five-pound weights and a treadmill in the living room. I work out the other parts that have affected my voice: my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-ve-got-these-five-pound-weights-and-a-treadmill-in-the-living-room/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [I chose not to put a wig on. The reason why I chose to come out with the cancer thing is because there's somebody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/i-chose-not-to-put-a-wig-on-the-reason-why-i-chose-to-come-out-with/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) > [God's eye is on a sparrow. And I know - oh, yes, I know he watches over me...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharon-jones/god-s-eye-is-on-a-sparrow-and-i-know-oh-yes-i-know-he-watches-over-me/) [Sharon Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) [Explore all 85 Sharon Jones quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharon-jones/) ## More Am quotes > [I don't own designer clothes, or a sports car, or a huge house, but I am seeing the world, experiencing amazing things, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roz-savage/i-don-t-own-designer-clothes-or-a-sports-car-or-a-huge-house-but-i-am/) [Roz Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roz-savage/) > [I think I am against stereotype. Generally, Asian guys are more quiet - they study and have a good work ethic. Generally, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lee/i-think-i-am-against-stereotype-generally-asian-guys-are-more-quiet/) [Bobby Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lee/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [Any incarnation of 'Batman' I am delighted to do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-west/any-incarnation-of-batman-i-am-delighted-to-do/) [Adam West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-west/) > [I am tired of our characters being so incomplete. When do we ever save the day in a film? When does a Latino actor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/esai-morales/i-am-tired-of-our-characters-being-so-incomplete-when-do-we-ever-save/) [Esai Morales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/esai-morales/) > [I am confident when I take the penalty otherwise I would pass for somebody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruno-fernandes/i-am-confident-when-i-take-the-penalty-otherwise-i-would-pass-for/) [Bruno Fernandes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruno-fernandes/) > [I am on sabbatical as of right now, been too busy to think of about my OWN needs as of late.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-diamond/i-am-on-sabbatical-as-of-right-now-been-too-busy-to-think-of-about-my/) [Jim Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-diamond/) > [I am strongly opposed to any form of amnesty, including, especially, executive amnesty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-scalise/i-am-strongly-opposed-to-any-form-of-amnesty-including-especially/) [Steve Scalise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-scalise/) > [I am no different from a lot of people. I am concerned for the future of my children and concerned for the future of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-barnes/i-am-no-different-from-a-lot-of-people-i-am-concerned-for-the-future/) [John Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-barnes/) > [I won't be managing the Mets. I am closing the door on managing the Mets and probably everybody else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-torre/i-won-t-be-managing-the-mets-i-am-closing-the-door-on-managing-the/) [Joe Torre](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-torre/) > [I know who I am. I know what I represent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-cora/i-know-who-i-am-i-know-what-i-represent/) [Alex Cora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-cora/) > [I am fortunate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruth-westheimer/i-am-fortunate/) [Ruth Westheimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruth-westheimer/) > [I will support my party when they are right on an issue, but am not afraid to stand up to party bosses who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darlene-senger/i-will-support-my-party-when-they-are-right-on-an-issue-but-am-not/) Darlene Senger > [Acting is what I do with who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-walter/acting-is-what-i-do-with-who-i-am/) [Harriet Walter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-walter/) > [I am a big outliner. For my adult book, 'The Visibles,' I did not outline, and it took me two years to write because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sara-shepard/i-am-a-big-outliner-for-my-adult-book-the-visibles-i-did-not-outline/) [Sara Shepard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sara-shepard/) Browse all 9,589 Am quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I worked in corrections because they had told me I wasn't going to make it in the music business. You know, when somebody tells you you ain't going to make it 'cause you don't have a look - you're too black, you're too fat, you're too short, and at the time I was past 25, so you're too old, what the hell am I going to do? 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