--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But my father needed a job so he could…" description: "\"“But my father needed a job so he could finish a play he was working on . . .”\" — Stephen King" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/stephen-king-13_father_but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-f_2529653.jpg" --- # But my father needed a job so he could finish a play he… ![“But my father needed a job so he could finish a play he was working on . . .” quote by Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/stephen-king-13_father_but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-f_2529653.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/stephen-king-13_father_but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-f_2529653.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/stephen-king-13_father_but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-f_2529653.jpg) > ““But my father needed a job so he could finish a play he was working on . . .”” [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A father’s need for work drives him to complete his creative project, highlighting duty versus artistic pursuit. **In simple terms:** Father works to finish his play. Key Takeaway Balance work and creative goals. Themes family art duty Mood determined reflective Type motivational philosophical When to use this quote - freelance work - parenting - artistic projects Key Concepts creative process economic necessity Questions to Reflect On - How to prioritize art over income? - What sacrifices are justified for art? A Different Perspective Financial pressure can stifle creativity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father Needed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-needed-860478/) [Finish Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/finish-play-1330220/) [Job Finish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/job-finish-1330219/) [Needed Job](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/needed-job-1330218/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [We don't start a job that we can't finish... that's the American way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-wolfowitz/we-don-t-start-a-job-that-we-can-t-finish-that-s-the-american-way/) [Paul Wolfowitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-wolfowitz/) > [When I was three, my father was three. When I was six, he was six... he needed me to escape from being 50.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-robin-milne/when-i-was-three-my-father-was-three-when-i-was-six-he-was-six-he/) [Christopher Robin Milne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-robin-milne/) > [“It all seemed so impossible, so difficult after searching for her, not knowing for so long. How many times had his daughter suffered some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-white/it-all-seemed-so-impossible-so-difficult-after-searching-for-her-not/) [Elaine White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-white/) > [I can't take nothing for granted. I have to really protect myself - either get out of bounds or continue to finish the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/le-veon-bell/i-can-t-take-nothing-for-granted-i-have-to-really-protect-myself/) [Le'Veon Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/le-veon-bell/) > [I always look for the best option of who can finish the play.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vinicius-junior/i-always-look-for-the-best-option-of-who-can-finish-the-play/) [Vinicius Junior](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vinicius-junior/) > [I've got this mindset now that I'm going to finish the play no matter where the defender's at.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ja-morant/i-ve-got-this-mindset-now-that-i-m-going-to-finish-the-play-no-matter/) [Ja Morant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ja-morant/) > [I've gotten into such weird jobs just by word of mouth... Like I didn't try to be an accessory designer, but I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-cowan/i-ve-gotten-into-such-weird-jobs-just-by-word-of-mouth-like-i-didn-t/) [Nicolas Cowan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-cowan/) > [“He pulled the shade, climbed into bed, thought of the Replacements, a band from his hometown singing about needing a job and needing a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-rushin/he-pulled-the-shade-climbed-into-bed-thought-of-the-replacements-a/) [Steve Rushin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-rushin/) > [“I needed a job. Now. I felt certain that at some point I was going to have to apply for seasonal help at a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-lyon/i-needed-a-job-now-i-felt-certain-that-at-some-point-i-was-going-to/) [Erin Lyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-lyon/) > [I was a hostess in a restaurant in New York when I was 21, and I was too good of an employee. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-deschanel/i-was-a-hostess-in-a-restaurant-in-new-york-when-i-was-21-and-i-was/) [Emily Deschanel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-deschanel/) > [I graduated high school and I didn't have a skill set and I didn't want to go to college. I needed a job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-adams/i-graduated-high-school-and-i-didn-t-have-a-skill-set-and-i-didn-t/) [Amy Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-adams/) > [I just needed a job. Before being hired as an usher at the CBS Theater, I didn't even know there was a show business.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-geffen/i-just-needed-a-job-before-being-hired-as-an-usher-at-the-cbs-theater/) [David Geffen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-geffen/) > [I moved to London when I was 21 and I needed a job. I'd just done a year working in Waterstones in Manchester and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-widdicombe/i-moved-to-london-when-i-was-21-and-i-needed-a-job-i-d-just-done-a/) [Josh Widdicombe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-widdicombe/) > [If I wanted to make it out of the hood, which I did, and do something fulfilling with my life then I needed a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hazell/if-i-wanted-to-make-it-out-of-the-hood-which-i-did-and-do-something/) [Keeley Hazell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hazell/) > [I was about 15 years old, and I needed a job, and somebody I know - I don't even know who it was -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-de-cadenet/i-was-about-15-years-old-and-i-needed-a-job-and-somebody-i-know-i-don/) [Amanda de Cadenet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-de-cadenet/) ## More by Stephen King > [Shall there be truth between us, as two men? Not as friends, but as enemies and equals?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/shall-there-be-truth-between-us-as-two-men-not-as-friends-but-as/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [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/) > [“October 3, 2017 The clown, Hagarty said, looked like a cross between Ronald McDonald and that old TV clown, Bozo—or so he thought at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/october-3-2017-the-clown-hagarty-said-looked-like-a-cross-between/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Eddie saw great things and near misses. Albert Einstein as a child, not quite struck by a run-away milk-wagon as he crossed a street.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/eddie-saw-great-things-and-near-misses-albert-einstein-as-a-child-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It hurt, of course, but more often than not the best things do, I've found.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/it-hurt-of-course-but-more-often-than-not-the-best-things-do-i-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The idea that creative endeavor and mind-altering substances are entwined is one of the great pop-intellectual myths of our time... Creative people probably do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-idea-that-creative-endeavor-and-mind-altering-substances-are/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west blask-satin thunderheads continued to stack up.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-sun-had-burned-through-and-the-day-had-gone-from-dull-to-dazzling/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“God, you had enough time to have been through it three times. You've been through my stuff. I bet you over and let one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/god-you-had-enough-time-to-have-been-through-it-three-times-you-ve/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Flakes of snow swirled and danced across the porch. The Overlook faced it as it had for nearly three-quarters of a century, its darkened…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/flakes-of-snow-swirled-and-danced-across-the-porch-the-overlook-faced/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“In that instant it all seemed to come clear to him- it came in a grisly flash of light, and he realized that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/in-that-instant-it-all-seemed-to-come-clear-to-him-it-came-in-a/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Who gets to be best-liked in any community? Who is the most trusted? Why, the man who does the dirty job, of course, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/who-gets-to-be-best-liked-in-any-community-who-is-the-most-trusted/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“¿Lo ves, tonto? Volvió a regañarse. Tú lo inventaste todo, gato asustado. No fue más que tu imaginación, gato asustado, gato asustado... No te…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/lo-ves-tonto-volvi-a-rega-arse-t-lo-inventaste-todo-gato-asustado-no/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Death . . . but not for you. That was what Walter, clever as Satan even at the end, had said. A lawyer’s answer . . . so close to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/death-but-not-for-you-that-was-what-walter-clever-as-satan-even-at/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [The ghost story movie that scared me the most was The Changeling with George C. Scott. I think that's sometimes overlooked, but it's a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/the-ghost-story-movie-that-scared-me-the-most-was-the-changeling-with/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [“Climb aboard, Jonesy. I'm going to send you up where the air is rare and the view is much more than fair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/climb-aboard-jonesy-i-m-going-to-send-you-up-where-the-air-is-rare/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) [Explore all 3,589 Stephen King quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) ## More Father quotes > [Whatever meaning 'Annie's Song' had for me on a personal level, there was also a larger context. It could just as easily have been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-denver/whatever-meaning-annie-s-song-had-for-me-on-a-personal-level-there/) [John Denver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-denver/) > [Of all the people who have affected my life and influenced the choices I've made, none has been more important than my father. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teddy-atlas/of-all-the-people-who-have-affected-my-life-and-influenced-the/) [Teddy Atlas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teddy-atlas/) > [(knitting while on a motorcycle) "For several years she knitted in secret (my father would not approve; she was to concentrate on motorcycling and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-zimmermann/knitting-while-on-a-motorcycle-for-several-years-she-knitted-in/) [Elizabeth Zimmermann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-zimmermann/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [My parents were not musical, and they were not effervescent people; everything was very quiet. The music that I played was loud; it used…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-mclean/my-parents-were-not-musical-and-they-were-not-effervescent-people/) [Don McLean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-mclean/) > [“My father called twice and left a voicemail—who does that?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-erickson/my-father-called-twice-and-left-a-voicemail-who-does-that/) [Megan Erickson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-erickson/) > [My father longed for a better life for us, and when I was nine he got a job as a heart surgeon in Belfast.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-melua/my-father-longed-for-a-better-life-for-us-and-when-i-was-nine-he-got/) [Katie Melua](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-melua/) > [I guess, it's a father's dream for his daughter to be known around the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liza-soberano/i-guess-it-s-a-father-s-dream-for-his-daughter-to-be-known-around-the/) [Liza Soberano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liza-soberano/) > [The old men of the village of Mahotière say that the Mistress of the Water is a mulatto woman. At midnight she comes out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-roumain/the-old-men-of-the-village-of-mahoti-re-say-that-the-mistress-of-the/) [Jacques Roumain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-roumain/) > [“I don’t know. We all have to bear things, Ari. All of us. Your father has to bear the war and what it did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-know-we-all-have-to-bear-things-ari-all-of-us-your-father-has/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“This was, I sometimes thought, the last gift my father gave me. And the best: His death stood out as the supreme-o excuse for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-stahl/this-was-i-sometimes-thought-the-last-gift-my-father-gave-me-and-the/) [Jerry Stahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-stahl/) > [My father was very encouraging.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paolo-nutini/my-father-was-very-encouraging/) [Paolo Nutini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paolo-nutini/) > [I'm a strange mixture of my mother's curiosity; my father, who grew up the son of the manse in a Presbyterian family, who had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupert-murdoch/i-m-a-strange-mixture-of-my-mother-s-curiosity-my-father-who-grew-up/) [Rupert Murdoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupert-murdoch/) > [It is a sweet thing that we serve a dissatisfied God who has destinations in mind for us that we would never choose for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/it-is-a-sweet-thing-that-we-serve-a-dissatisfied-god-who-has/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Liesel observed the strangeness of her foster father's eyes. They were made of kindness, and silver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/markus-zusak/liesel-observed-the-strangeness-of-her-foster-father-s-eyes-they-were/) [Markus Zusak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/markus-zusak/) [Browse all 19,784 Father quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“But my father needed a job so he could finish a play he was working on . . .”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen King" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-finish-a-play-he-was-working-on/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Father" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-finish-a-play-he-was-working-on/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/stephen-king-13_father_but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-f_2529653.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/stephen-king-13_father_but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-f_2529653.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f3/stephen-king-13_father_but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-f_2529653.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But my father needed a job so he could finish a play he was working on . . .” — Stephen King", "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": "Stephen King", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“But my father needed a job...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-finish-a-play-he-was-working-on/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-my-father-needed-a-job-so-he-could-finish-a-play-he-was-working-on/#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 } } ] } ```