--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Outlaws, like lovers, poets, and…" description: "\"Outlaws, like lovers, poets, and tubercular composers who cough blood onto piano keys, do their finest work in the slippery rays of the moon.\" — Tom Ro..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/tom-robbins-169_blood_outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular_2436273.jpg" --- # Outlaws, like lovers, poets, and tubercular composers who… ![“Outlaws, like lovers, poets, and tubercular composers who cough blood onto piano keys, do their finest work in the slippery rays of the moon.” quote by Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/tom-robbins-169_blood_outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular_2436273.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/tom-robbins-169_blood_outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular_2436273.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/tom-robbins-169_blood_outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular_2436273.jpg) > “Outlaws, like lovers, poets, and tubercular composers who cough blood onto piano keys, do their finest work in the slippery rays of the moon.” [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. Creative individuals thrive in unconventional, moonlit settings, producing their best work. **In simple terms:** Artists work best in strange, night‑time atmospheres. Key Takeaway Embrace odd environments for inspiration. Themes creativity night unconventional Mood whimsical reflective Type inspirational philosophical When to use this quote - writing - music composition - late‑night brainstorming Key Concepts artistic expression inspiration Questions to Reflect On - What unusual conditions spark your creativity? - How do you balance chaos with discipline? A Different Perspective Not all work benefits from such settings; practicality may suffer. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Composer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/composer/) [Lovers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lovers/) [Moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/moon/) [Outlaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlaw/) [Outlaws](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/outlaws/) [Piano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano/) [Piano keys](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/piano-keys/) [Poet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poet/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) ## Related quotes > [“So, what happens next to a couple of outlaws like us, hopped up on caffeine and sugar, and on the lam?" "I figure it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-kadrey/so-what-happens-next-to-a-couple-of-outlaws-like-us-hopped-up-on/) [Richard Kadrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-kadrey/) > [“Incomprehensible is the height of your spirit both in heroical resolution and matters of conceit. Unreprievably perishes that book whatsoever to wastepaper, which on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-nashe/incomprehensible-is-the-height-of-your-spirit-both-in-heroical/) [Thomas Nashe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-nashe/) > [Ladies love outlaws, like babies love stray dogs. Ladies touch babies like a banker touches gold, outlaws touch ladies somewhere deep down in their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/waylon-jennings/ladies-love-outlaws-like-babies-love-stray-dogs-ladies-touch-babies/) [Waylon Jennings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/waylon-jennings/) > [People who stand near the water in the darkness are either lovers or poets. Or else ... one of that great gray number who've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-borchert/people-who-stand-near-the-water-in-the-darkness-are-either-lovers-or/) [Wolfgang Borchert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-borchert/) > [“Criminals, because they’re plagued with guilt, often will surrender and go quietly. Outlaws, because they’re pure, never will.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/criminals-because-they-re-plagued-with-guilt-often-will-surrender-and/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“As long as there are fuses, no walls are safe. As long as every wall is threatened, the world can happen. Outlaws are can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/as-long-as-there-are-fuses-no-walls-are-safe-as-long-as-every-wall-is/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [When freedom is outlawed, only outlaws will be free.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/when-freedom-is-outlawed-only-outlaws-will-be-free/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [Outlaws are can openers in the supermarket of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/outlaws-are-can-openers-in-the-supermarket-of-life/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“Outlaws are not members of society. However, they may be important to society.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/outlaws-are-not-members-of-society-however-they-may-be-important-to/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) > [“He squints at the screen. “So, would you call yourself a… hmmm, that doesn’t sound appropriate… a ‘nasty come hungry bottom dumpster bitch’?” I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-j-klune/he-squints-at-the-screen-so-would-you-call-yourself-a-hmmm-that-doesn/) [T.J. Klune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-j-klune/) > [Touch me ‘til my ribs become piano keys, ‘til there is sheet music scrolled across the inside of my lungs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-gibson/touch-me-til-my-ribs-become-piano-keys-til-there-is-sheet-music/) [Andrea Gibson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-gibson/) > [PIANO, n. A parlor utensil for subduing the impenitent visitor. It is operated by depressing the keys of the machine and the spirits of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/piano-n-a-parlor-utensil-for-subduing-the-impenitent-visitor-it-is/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The piano keys are black and white but they sound like a million colors in your mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maria-cristina-mena/the-piano-keys-are-black-and-white-but-they-sound-like-a-million/) Maria Cristina Mena > [“I remember not belonging. I was always Summer’s older sister—the plain one with the red hair and a gap between her front teeth. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodee-neathery/i-remember-not-belonging-i-was-always-summer-s-older-sister-the-plain/) [JoDee Neathery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodee-neathery/) > [One's own free unfettered choice, one's own caprice-however wild it may be, one's own fancy worked up at times to frenzy-is that very "most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fyodor-dostoevsky/one-s-own-free-unfettered-choice-one-s-own-caprice-however-wild-it/) [Fyodor Dostoevsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fyodor-dostoevsky/) ## 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 Blood quotes > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Ye youths and virgins, when your generous blood Has drunk the warmth of fifteen summers, now The loves invite; now to new rapture wakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-armstrong/ye-youths-and-virgins-when-your-generous-blood-has-drunk-the-warmth/) [John Armstrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-armstrong/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Don't trust everyone, because one day you will shed tears of blood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunshine/don-t-trust-everyone-because-one-day-you-will-shed-tears-of-blood/) [SunShine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunshine/) > [I have no intention of retiring. Even my blood sugar is better when I'm working.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-stritch/i-have-no-intention-of-retiring-even-my-blood-sugar-is-better-when-i/) [Elaine Stritch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-stritch/) > [What about you three, where are you going?" Even before Halt answered, Will knew what he was going to say. But that didn't make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-flanagan/what-about-you-three-where-are-you-going-even-before-halt-answered/) [John Flanagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-flanagan/) > [A day without blood is like a day without sunshine!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-lee-ermey/a-day-without-blood-is-like-a-day-without-sunshine/) [R. Lee Ermey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-lee-ermey/) > [Time hath not yet so dried this blood of mine, Nor age so eat up my invention, Nor fortune made such havoc of my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/time-hath-not-yet-so-dried-this-blood-of-mine-nor-age-so-eat-up-my/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [“...I wore his blood for clothing, on my legs and thighs and hands: a dry, stiff, brown garment with no warmth in it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/i-wore-his-blood-for-clothing-on-my-legs-and-thighs-and-hands-a-dry/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [ T\]he church is not a place. It's not a building. It's not a preaching point. It's not a spiritual service provider. It's a people… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-dever/t-he-church-is-not-a-place-it-s-not-a-building-it-s-not-a-preaching/) [Mark Dever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-dever/) > [I don't think you should ever say, 'This is the last time'. Music isn't like that. You'll be sitting there not wishing to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-daltrey/i-don-t-think-you-should-ever-say-this-is-the-last-time-music-isn-t/) [Roger Daltrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-daltrey/) > [In this choice of inheritance we have given to our frame of polity the image of a relation in blood; binding up the constitution…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edmund-burke/in-this-choice-of-inheritance-we-have-given-to-our-frame-of-polity/) [Edmund Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edmund-burke/) > [I think cricket is there in Usain Bolt's blood. Since I got to watch from close quarters, it was amazing to see him run…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harbhajan-singh/i-think-cricket-is-there-in-usain-bolt-s-blood-since-i-got-to-watch/) [Harbhajan Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harbhajan-singh/) > [Holy shadows of the dead, I'm not to blame for your cruel and bitter fate, but the accursed rivalry which brought sister nations and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-the-great/holy-shadows-of-the-dead-i-m-not-to-blame-for-your-cruel-and-bitter/) [Alexander the Great](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-the-great/) > [“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/) Browse all 6,234 Blood quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Outlaws, like lovers, poets, and tubercular composers who cough blood onto piano keys, do their finest work in the slippery rays of the moon.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Robbins" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular-composers-who-cough-blood/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Blood" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular-composers-who-cough-blood/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/tom-robbins-169_blood_outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular_2436273.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/tom-robbins-169_blood_outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular_2436273.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0e2/tom-robbins-169_blood_outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular_2436273.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Outlaws, like lovers, poets, and tubercular composers who cough blood onto piano keys, do their finest work…” — 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": "Outlaws, like lovers, poets, and tubercular...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular-composers-who-cough-blood/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/outlaws-like-lovers-poets-and-tubercular-composers-who-cough-blood/#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 } } ] } ```