--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have…" description: "\"If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music.\" — Tom Petty" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/tom-petty-2030_bells_if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have_1638630.png" --- # If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at… ![“If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music.” quote by Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/tom-petty-2030_bells_if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have_1638630.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/tom-petty-2030_bells_if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have_1638630.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/tom-petty-2030_bells_if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have_1638630.png) > “If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music.” [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even if forced into a low‑status job, the desire to pursue music persists, showing passion over circumstance. **In simple terms:** Passion for music outweighs job status. Key Takeaway Prioritize creative passions despite practical work. Themes passion career music determination Mood determined hopeful Type musical personal When to use this quote - night shifts - music practice - career choices - financial necessity Key Concepts artistic drive working class dreams Questions to Reflect On - What would you do if your job conflicted with your art? - How can you sustain creativity in demanding work? A Different Perspective Economic constraints may limit opportunities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bells/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Tacos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tacos/) ## Related quotes > [When I decided to be a musician I reckoned that that was going to be the way of less profit, less money. I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/when-i-decided-to-be-a-musician-i-reckoned-that-that-was-going-to-be/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [Believe it or not, Mexican cooking, for those of you who have not gone farther south than Taco Bell, uses a lot of vegetables.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/believe-it-or-not-mexican-cooking-for-those-of-you-who-have-not-gone/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) > [I admired the earnestness of these people, many of whom had joined Greenpeace and marched for noble things in their youth. But I didn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-rich/i-admired-the-earnestness-of-these-people-many-of-whom-had-joined/) [Simon Rich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-rich/) > [The decorator of Las Colimas must have been a great admirer of both early Aztec and late Taco Bell architectural styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/the-decorator-of-las-colimas-must-have-been-a-great-admirer-of-both/) [Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/) > [A lot of American companies are now moving into Iraq. Iraq now has Pizza Hut, Subway, Taco Bell and Popeye's fried chicken. So, great,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/a-lot-of-american-companies-are-now-moving-into-iraq-iraq-now-has/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [This is interesting. Researchers have found that people who drive drunk are more dangerous on the road than drivers who are high on marijuana.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-fallon/this-is-interesting-researchers-have-found-that-people-who-drive/) [Jimmy Fallon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-fallon/) > [I love Taco Bell. Whenever I go there, I could get anything on the menu and be totally happy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-massoglia/i-love-taco-bell-whenever-i-go-there-i-could-get-anything-on-the-menu/) [Chris Massoglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-massoglia/) > [The country of Mexico has just gotten its first Taco Bell. You're Welcome. Finally, Mexicans will have access to... Mexican food. Bon appetit. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/the-country-of-mexico-has-just-gotten-its-first-taco-bell-you-re/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [Taco Bell is going to start selling nachos and chicken nuggets wrapped in a tortilla. In other words, thank God we're going to keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conan-o-brien/taco-bell-is-going-to-start-selling-nachos-and-chicken-nuggets/) [Conan O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conan-o-brien/) > [I had only two jobs my entire life Taco Bell for six months and Kroger's Food store for one day!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dante-hall/i-had-only-two-jobs-my-entire-life-taco-bell-for-six-months-and/) [Dante Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dante-hall/) > [I was going to say he's aimless," the witch replied. "I know he's a bit old to be old to living at home with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-buckley/i-was-going-to-say-he-s-aimless-the-witch-replied-i-know-he-s-a-bit/) [Michael Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-buckley/) > [The way America sees Mexico, if they have any sense of it, is like Taco Bell. Our countries are neighbors, and the only hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/the-way-america-sees-mexico-if-they-have-any-sense-of-it-is-like-taco/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [When I started playing music at East Tennessee State University I would sit on a stool with a tip jar in front of me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-chesney/when-i-started-playing-music-at-east-tennessee-state-university-i/) [Kenny Chesney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-chesney/) > [I'm totally normal. I think it's obnoxious when people demand limos or bodyguards. I eat at McDonald's or Taco Bell. My parents always taught…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paris-hilton/i-m-totally-normal-i-think-it-s-obnoxious-when-people-demand-limos-or/) [Paris Hilton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paris-hilton/) > [My favorite thing from Taco Bell is the Doritos Locos Tacos Supreme.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trippie-redd/my-favorite-thing-from-taco-bell-is-the-doritos-locos-tacos-supreme/) [Trippie Redd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trippie-redd/) ## More by Tom Petty > [Where the sky begins, the horizon ends, despite the best intentions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/where-the-sky-begins-the-horizon-ends-despite-the-best-intentions/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [As time goes by, you seem to weed out the things that were making your life hard.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/as-time-goes-by-you-seem-to-weed-out-the-things-that-were-making-your/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [I would never put my songs in a commercial.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/i-would-never-put-my-songs-in-a-commercial/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [Take back your insurance, baby, nothing is guaranteed. Take back your acid rain, let your TV bleed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/take-back-your-insurance-baby-nothing-is-guaranteed-take-back-your/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [The great thing about the Wilburys was that none of us had to take the heat by ourselves. I was just a member of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/the-great-thing-about-the-wilburys-was-that-none-of-us-had-to-take/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [I don't believe in censorship, but I do believe that an artist has to take some moral responsibility for what he or she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/i-don-t-believe-in-censorship-but-i-do-believe-that-an-artist-has-to/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [Any time you're making a living at what you love to do, you're blessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/any-time-you-re-making-a-living-at-what-you-love-to-do-you-re-blessed/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [A rebel without a clue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/a-rebel-without-a-clue/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [If you look around at America, that's one of its biggest problems is you have corporations that can never be pleased at a profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/if-you-look-around-at-america-that-s-one-of-its-biggest-problems-is/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [Even the losers get lucky sometimes. Even the losers keep a little bit of pride. They get lucky sometimes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/even-the-losers-get-lucky-sometimes-even-the-losers-keep-a-little-bit/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [If you stretch your imagination, I'll tell you all a tale, about a time when everything wasn't up for sale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/if-you-stretch-your-imagination-i-ll-tell-you-all-a-tale-about-a-time/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [Buy me a drink, sing me a song; take me as I come, cause I can't stay long.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/buy-me-a-drink-sing-me-a-song-take-me-as-i-come-cause-i-can-t-stay/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [I never could have dreamed that her heart was so wicked, but I keep coming back because it's so hard to kick it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/i-never-could-have-dreamed-that-her-heart-was-so-wicked-but-i-keep/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [She's a good girl, crazy about Elvis, loves horses, and her boyfriend, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/she-s-a-good-girl-crazy-about-elvis-loves-horses-and-her-boyfriend-too/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) > [I'm more interested in what I'm going to leave behind me than in making a big hit record. I've refined what I do for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/i-m-more-interested-in-what-i-m-going-to-leave-behind-me-than-in/) [Tom Petty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) [Explore all 190 Tom Petty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/) ## More Bells quotes > [You’re crazy,” said her best friend, Angela, as the bell rang to signal five minutes before the first class on the first day back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-rees-brennan/you-re-crazy-said-her-best-friend-angela-as-the-bell-rang-to-signal/) [Sarah Rees Brennan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-rees-brennan/) > [Your name is a golden bell hung in my heart. I would break my body to pieces to call you once by your name.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-s-beagle/your-name-is-a-golden-bell-hung-in-my-heart-i-would-break-my-body-to/) [Peter S. Beagle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-s-beagle/) > [“Suddenly the air was full of that deep clangor of bells which periodically covers Rome with a roof of silver.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edith-wharton/suddenly-the-air-was-full-of-that-deep-clangor-of-bells-which/) [Edith Wharton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edith-wharton/) > [Hercules used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most horrible sound he could-" said Percy "Percy... Chiron's collection!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/hercules-used-noise-brass-bells-he-scared-them-away-with-the-most/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [Above the clouds I lift my wing To hear the bells of Heaven ring; Some of their music, though my fights be wild, To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-clarence-stedman/above-the-clouds-i-lift-my-wing-to-hear-the-bells-of-heaven-ring-some/) [Edmund Clarence Stedman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-clarence-stedman/) > [“But it’s bells at twenty-seven thousand feet as the plane breaks into the clear again, as its motion steadies again; it is bells; it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/but-it-s-bells-at-twenty-seven-thousand-feet-as-the-plane-breaks-into/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [You run the football for toughness. You run the ball to tell your opponent that you're as tough as they are. But you throw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-glanville/you-run-the-football-for-toughness-you-run-the-ball-to-tell-your/) Jerry Glanville > [In cloths cheap handsomeness, doth bear the bell.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-herbert/in-cloths-cheap-handsomeness-doth-bear-the-bell/) [George Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-herbert/) > [Man preys on man; and you mourn for the idle tapestry that decorated a gothic pillar, and the dronish bell that summoned the fat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft/man-preys-on-man-and-you-mourn-for-the-idle-tapestry-that-decorated-a/) [Mary Wollstonecraft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft/) > [The Bell curve is a fact of life. The blacks on average score 85 per cent on IQ and it is accurate, nothing to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-kuan-yew/the-bell-curve-is-a-fact-of-life-the-blacks-on-average-score-85-per/) [Lee Kuan Yew](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-kuan-yew/) > [There is nothing better for me than to bring the bells in, in Scotland.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharleen-spiteri/there-is-nothing-better-for-me-than-to-bring-the-bells-in-in-scotland/) [Sharleen Spiteri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharleen-spiteri/) > [Now see that noble and most sovereign reason, Like sweet bells jangled, out of tune and harsh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/now-see-that-noble-and-most-sovereign-reason-like-sweet-bells-jangled/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [ I became an instant fan of the show \[Underground\] seconds into the opening frames of the pilot. When that drone shot carried us through… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aisha-hinds/i-became-an-instant-fan-of-the-show-underground-seconds-into-the/) [Aisha Hinds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aisha-hinds/) > [This world o' God's is brighter Than we ever dream or know; Its burdens growin' lighter- An' it's Love that makes 'em so! An'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-lebby-stanton/this-world-o-god-s-is-brighter-than-we-ever-dream-or-know-its-burdens/) [Frank Lebby Stanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-lebby-stanton/) > [Believe it or not, Mexican cooking, for those of you who have not gone farther south than Taco Bell, uses a lot of vegetables.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-cisneros/believe-it-or-not-mexican-cooking-for-those-of-you-who-have-not-gone/) [Sandra Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-cisneros/) [Browse all 790 Bells quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bells/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Petty" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have-still-been-out-at-night/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bells" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have-still-been-out-at-night/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/tom-petty-2030_bells_if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have_1638630.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/tom-petty-2030_bells_if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have_1638630.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a08/tom-petty-2030_bells_if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have_1638630.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If I'd had to work at Taco Bell I'd have still been out at night trying to play music.” — Tom Petty", "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": "Tom Petty", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-petty/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If I'd had to work at...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have-still-been-out-at-night/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-petty/if-i-d-had-to-work-at-taco-bell-i-d-have-still-been-out-at-night/#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 } } ] } ```