--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First I think I was interested in the…" description: "\"First I think I was interested in the stories, and later on, I became more interested in the language itself, so the stories became almost secondary, b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/tom-robbins-169_background-music_first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-st_276918.jpg" --- # First I think I was interested in the stories, and later… ![“First I think I was interested in the stories, and later on, I became more interested in the language itself, so the stories became almost secondary, but it was kind of a background music for my life.” quote by Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/tom-robbins-169_background-music_first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-st_276918.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/tom-robbins-169_background-music_first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-st_276918.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/tom-robbins-169_background-music_first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-st_276918.jpg) > “First I think I was interested in the stories, and later on, I became more interested in the language itself, so the stories became almost secondary, but it was kind of a background music for my life.” [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He shifted focus from plot to language, treating stories as background music, emphasizing the power of words. **In simple terms:** Language became his main interest over story. Key Takeaway Prioritize expressive language. Themes literature language storytelling Mood reflective introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - writing workshops - editing - public speaking Key Concepts linguistic aesthetics narrative structure Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape your perception of stories? - Can language alone convey meaning without plot? A Different Perspective Story may lose narrative clarity. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Background music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/background-music/) [Backgrounds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/backgrounds/) [Firsts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/firsts/) [Interested Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-language-244107/) [Interested Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/interested-stories-1147850/) [Kind](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/kind/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Language Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language-stories-534977/) [Later Interested](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/later-interested-1406497/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [Stories Secondary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories-secondary-2695238/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) ## Related quotes > [As long as there are living human beings, there will be language and stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/as-long-as-there-are-living-human-beings-there-will-be-language-and/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [“What follows is the first in a collection of tales, primarily of one tixie family, who recorded their exploits more than two thousand years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-borden/what-follows-is-the-first-in-a-collection-of-tales-primarily-of-one/) [Jack Borden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-borden/) > [It was only later on that I became more interested in older music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-carter/it-was-only-later-on-that-i-became-more-interested-in-older-music/) [Elliott Carter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-carter/) > [it seems to me that later on neither I nor anyone else will be interested in the musings of a thirteen-year-old schoolgirl.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/it-seems-to-me-that-later-on-neither-i-nor-anyone-else-will-be/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [I'm very interested in the language of photography in relationship to painting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-opie/i-m-very-interested-in-the-language-of-photography-in-relationship-to/) [Catherine Opie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-opie/) > [I got really interested in the language used in blogs written by young girls - a young person's aggression, which is always lacking from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenny-hval/i-got-really-interested-in-the-language-used-in-blogs-written-by/) [Jenny Hval](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenny-hval/) > [I am interested in language because it wounds or seduces me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-barthes/i-am-interested-in-language-because-it-wounds-or-seduces-me/) [Roland Barthes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roland-barthes/) > [I'm very interested in language because it reflects our obsessions and ways of conceptualising the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-pinker/i-m-very-interested-in-language-because-it-reflects-our-obsessions/) [Steven Pinker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-pinker/) > [I'm interested in when language fails, when it is opaque.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-ligon/i-m-interested-in-when-language-fails-when-it-is-opaque/) [Glenn Ligon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-ligon/) > [Anyone interested in language ends up writing about the sociological issues around it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-crystal/anyone-interested-in-language-ends-up-writing-about-the-sociological/) [David Crystal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-crystal/) > [I just discovered when I was, oh, 12 or 13, that I was very interested in language - and this showed itself as poetry.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edwin-morgan/i-just-discovered-when-i-was-oh-12-or-13-that-i-was-very-interested/) [Edwin Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edwin-morgan/) > [I'm interested in stories. I think I'm a bit of a pathfinder.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-harlech/i-m-interested-in-stories-i-think-i-m-a-bit-of-a-pathfinder/) [Amanda Harlech](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-harlech/) > [I found that while it was interesting to travel around and take the photographs, I would find that I was more interested in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joshua-marston/i-found-that-while-it-was-interesting-to-travel-around-and-take-the/) [Joshua Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joshua-marston/) > [This is one of the reasons I'm so interested in stories. Because everyone has a story in their life, and when their story doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-lekman/this-is-one-of-the-reasons-i-m-so-interested-in-stories-because/) [Jens Lekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-lekman/) > [I'm interested in stories that aren't getting told: it's where my interests lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-waters/i-m-interested-in-stories-that-aren-t-getting-told-it-s-where-my/) [Sarah Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-waters/) ## More by Tom Robbins > [There are times when we can feel destiny close around us like a fist around a doorknob. Sure, we can resist. But a knob…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/there-are-times-when-we-can-feel-destiny-close-around-us-like-a-fist/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The world is a wonderfully weird place, consensual reality is significantly flawed, no institution can be trusted, certainty is a mirage, security a delusion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-world-is-a-wonderfully-weird-place-consensual-reality-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Anyone who maintains absolute standards of good and evil is dangerous. As dangerous as a maniac with a loaded revolver.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/anyone-who-maintains-absolute-standards-of-good-and-evil-is-dangerous/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“I believe in everything; nothing is sacred. I believe in nothing; everything is sacred. Ha Ha Ho Ho Hee Hee.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/i-believe-in-everything-nothing-is-sacred-i-believe-in-nothing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [A sense of humor...is superior to any religion so far devised.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/a-sense-of-humor-is-superior-to-any-religion-so-far-devised/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Love is the ultimate outlaw. It just won't adhere to any rules. The most any of us can do is to sign on as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/love-is-the-ultimate-outlaw-it-just-won-t-adhere-to-any-rules-the-2/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“The glue that holds the natural world together appears to be a harmonious balance of opposites: day and night, light and dark, winter and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-glue-that-holds-the-natural-world-together-appears-to-be-a/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Zippers are primal and modern at the very same time. On the one hand, your zipper is primitive and reptilian, on the other, mechanical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/zippers-are-primal-and-modern-at-the-very-same-time-on-the-one-hand/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“religion is a paramount contributor to human misery. It is not merely the opium of the masses, it is the cyanide.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/religion-is-a-paramount-contributor-to-human-misery-it-is-not-merely/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [She continued weeping until the heat of her tear water, the sheer velocity of its flow, finally obscured the already vague circumstances of its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/she-continued-weeping-until-the-heat-of-her-tear-water-the-sheer/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [The bottom line is that (a) people are never perfect, but love can be, (b) that is the one and only way that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-bottom-line-is-that-a-people-are-never-perfect-but-love-can-be-b/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Virtually every advancement made by our species since civilization first peeked out of its nest of stone has been initiated by lone individuals, mavericks…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/virtually-every-advancement-made-by-our-species-since-civilization/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [When we accept small wonders, we qualify ourselves to imagine great wonders.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/when-we-accept-small-wonders-we-qualify-ourselves-to-imagine-great/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Explore all 994 Tom Robbins quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) ## More Background music quotes > [“And the way I loved her was like nothing else. This, I decided, was the love all other loves were measured against. They say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-center/and-the-way-i-loved-her-was-like-nothing-else-this-i-decided-was-the/) [Katherine Center](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-center/) > [When I'm not doing readings, I just spend a lot of time alone and try to meditate. Going for walks in nature is also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-henry/when-i-m-not-doing-readings-i-just-spend-a-lot-of-time-alone-and-try/) [Tyler Henry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-henry/) > [“The trouble with life is that, unlike movies, it doesn't have background music. We never know how we're supposed to feel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-gardner/the-trouble-with-life-is-that-unlike-movies-it-doesn-t-have/) [Lewis Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-gardner/) > [One of the biggest challenges in the past for me in working on the networks was that audiences have grown accustomed to television being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-sorkin/one-of-the-biggest-challenges-in-the-past-for-me-in-working-on-the/) [Aaron Sorkin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-sorkin/) > [I don't just sing the song, I also sing the background music and the guitar solo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-don-t-just-sing-the-song-i-also-sing-the-background-music-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love when I reach Marcus on the phone and as he says hello, I can hear the music he's listening to in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mccafferty/i-love-when-i-reach-marcus-on-the-phone-and-as-he-says-hello-i-can/) [Megan McCafferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mccafferty/) > [“My eyes pop out when I catch a glimpse of how much leg she's showing. She's wearing her shortest mini skirt, the one that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janine-caldwell/my-eyes-pop-out-when-i-catch-a-glimpse-of-how-much-leg-she-s-showing/) [Janine Caldwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janine-caldwell/) > [“They were looking for a builder to construct the home they thought they wanted, but he was the architect, coming with a new plan…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright/they-were-looking-for-a-builder-to-construct-the-home-they-thought/) [N.T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright/) > [“He never really voice pure, raw outrage to me about Watergate or what it represented. The crimes and abuses were background music. Nixon was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-woodward/he-never-really-voice-pure-raw-outrage-to-me-about-watergate-or-what/) [Bob Woodward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-woodward/) > [“« I guess I tend to think that important events should be solemn, and very grand, with muted violins playing in the background. It´s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-guess-i-tend-to-think-that-important-events-should-be-solemn-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The neo-conservative critics of leftist critics of mass culture ridicule the protest against Bach as background music in the kitchen, against Plato and Hegel,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-neo-conservative-critics-of-leftist-critics-of-mass-culture/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [“One of the tragedies of real life is that there is no background music.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annie-proulx/one-of-the-tragedies-of-real-life-is-that-there-is-no-background-music/) [Annie Proulx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annie-proulx/) > [People sort of imagine Chris Morris and me sitting somewhere dark, with dripping taps and chilling background music. 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Most of us can recall instances…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-wolfe/it-is-not-surprising-that-music-can-incite-a-broad-range-of-emotions/) [Patricia Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-wolfe/) [Browse all 71 Background music quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/background-music/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "First I think I was interested in the stories, and later on, I became more interested in the language itself, so the stories became almost secondary, but it was kind of a background music for my life.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Robbins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-stories-and-later-on-i-became/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Background music" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-stories-and-later-on-i-became/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/tom-robbins-169_background-music_first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-st_276918.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/tom-robbins-169_background-music_first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-st_276918.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/07c/tom-robbins-169_background-music_first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-st_276918.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“First I think I was interested in the stories, and later on, I became more interested in the language…” — Tom Robbins", "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 Robbins", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "First I think I was interested...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-stories-and-later-on-i-became/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/first-i-think-i-was-interested-in-the-stories-and-later-on-i-became/#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 } } ] } ```