--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: but it's so hard to dance that way when…" description: "\"but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music.\" — Tom Waits" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg" --- # but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and… ![“but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg) > “but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music.” [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Dancing feels impossible when external conditions are harsh and supportive elements like music are absent, highlighting the need for conducive environments. **In simple terms:** Hard to dance without music or warmth. Key Takeaway Create supportive conditions before acting. Themes environment motivation creativity Mood determined reflective Type artistic motivational When to use this quote - performance - exercise - creative projects - social events Key Concepts psychology artistic expression Questions to Reflect On - How can you find rhythm despite adversity? - What internal resources can replace missing external cues? A Different Perspective It may ignore personal resilience. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) ## Related quotes > [“That's how we all use music. We put in on when we need it, and it's extremely important in our lives. You put on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-satriani-strange-beautiful-music-a-musical-memoir/that-s-how-we-all-use-music-we-put-in-on-when-we-need-it-and-it-s/) Joe Satriani, Strange Beautiful Music: A Musical Memoir > [Wont be standing at the freaking bus stop in December when it's way too cold. Checking to see if your really at your Chris…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mya/wont-be-standing-at-the-freaking-bus-stop-in-december-when-it-s-way/) [Mya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mya/) > [Men ask the way to Cold Mountain, Cold Mountain: there's no through trail.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanshan/men-ask-the-way-to-cold-mountain-cold-mountain-there-s-no-through/) [Hanshan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanshan/) > [I'd never sell my soul 'cause I'm way too cold Motherfucker, ballin' outta control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-40/i-d-never-sell-my-soul-cause-i-m-way-too-cold-motherfucker-ballin/) E-40 > [To be able to dance is my way of speaking out. It has helped me so much to deal with all the things I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michaela-deprince/to-be-able-to-dance-is-my-way-of-speaking-out-it-has-helped-me-so/) [Michaela DePrince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michaela-deprince/) > [Dance, this is the way they'd love If they knew how misery loved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fall-out-boy/dance-this-is-the-way-they-d-love-if-they-knew-how-misery-loved-me/) [Fall Out Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fall-out-boy/) > [When you're writing about difficult things and darker issues, it's nice to offer some sort of light at the end of the tunnel. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-lekman/when-you-re-writing-about-difficult-things-and-darker-issues-it-s/) [Jens Lekman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-lekman/) > [Growing up as a little, introverted boy, dance was the only way I could communicate. For me, it's the greatest language - no words.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyssa-edwards/growing-up-as-a-little-introverted-boy-dance-was-the-only-way-i-could/) [Alyssa Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyssa-edwards/) > [I love to make people dance; it's a way of bringing people together regardless of religion, nationality, sexuality, belief.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-guetta/i-love-to-make-people-dance-it-s-a-way-of-bringing-people-together/) [David Guetta](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-guetta/) > [Dance is a way of connecting and finding a moment with someone. It really is something special and unique that you don't find in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-holker/dance-is-a-way-of-connecting-and-finding-a-moment-with-someone-it/) [Allison Holker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-holker/) > [If I'm walking on thin ice, I might as well dance my way across](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mercedes-lackey/if-i-m-walking-on-thin-ice-i-might-as-well-dance-my-way-across/) [Mercedes Lackey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mercedes-lackey/) > [Swing is so much more than a dance, it's a way of life. The music gets stuck in your mind and the dance is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-hope/swing-is-so-much-more-than-a-dance-it-s-a-way-of-life-the-music-gets/) Nicholas Hope > [“Well, that depends, I suppose. I heard someone once say that men dance the same way they have sex. So, if you want everyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-mead/well-that-depends-i-suppose-i-heard-someone-once-say-that-men-dance/) [Richelle Mead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-mead/) > [I'm going to dance my way to heaven, because I've already been through Hell..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nishan-panwar/i-m-going-to-dance-my-way-to-heaven-because-i-ve-already-been-through/) [Nishan Panwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nishan-panwar/) > [Its hard to dance with a devil on your back so shake it off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-hard-to-dance-with-a-devil-on-your-back-so-shake-it-off/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Tom Waits > [Most of us have the residue of thousands of songs in our ears, that if you end up songwriting, I think you're mostly smoking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-us-have-the-residue-of-thousands-of-songs-in-our-ears-that-if/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Bill Hicks - blowtorch, excavator, truthsayer, and brain specialist. He will correct your vision. Others will drive on the road he built.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/bill-hicks-blowtorch-excavator-truthsayer-and-brain-specialist-he/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Don't plant your days they turn into weeds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/don-t-plant-your-days-they-turn-into-weeds/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“T’ain’t no sin to take off your skin, and dance around in your bones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/t-ain-t-no-sin-to-take-off-your-skin-and-dance-around-in-your-bones/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [“an all time favorite: "The large print giveth, the small print taketh away.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/an-all-time-favorite-the-large-print-giveth-the-small-print-taketh/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'll tell you all my secrets but I lie about my past…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-ll-tell-you-all-my-secrets-but-i-lie-about-my-past/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [For a songwriter, you don't really go to songwriting school; you learn by listening to tunes. And you try to understand them and take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/for-a-songwriter-you-don-t-really-go-to-songwriting-school-you-learn/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm trying to learn how to write faster.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-trying-to-learn-how-to-write-faster/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The world is a hellish place, and bad writing is destroying the quality of our suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-world-is-a-hellish-place-and-bad-writing-is-destroying-the/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I'm always looking for sounds that are pleasing at the time. The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-m-always-looking-for-sounds-that-are-pleasing-at-the-time-the-sound/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I was born in the back seat of a Yellow Cab in a hospital loading zone and with the meter still running. I emerged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-was-born-in-the-back-seat-of-a-yellow-cab-in-a-hospital-loading/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [There's not much difference between what I appear to be on stage and what I am. I think people like that, that I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/there-s-not-much-difference-between-what-i-appear-to-be-on-stage-and/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [Most of the things you absorb you will ultimately secrete.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/most-of-the-things-you-absorb-you-will-ultimately-secrete/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The devil knows the Bible like the back of his hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/the-devil-knows-the-bible-like-the-back-of-his-hand/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [I bark my voice out through a closed throat, pretty much. It's more, perhaps, like a dog in some ways. It does have its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-bark-my-voice-out-through-a-closed-throat-pretty-much-it-s-more/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) [Explore all 328 Tom Waits quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) ## More Cold quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [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/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/) Jimy Williams > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when-it-s-cold-and-there-s-no-music/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when-it-s-cold-and-there-s-no-music/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1d9/tom-waits-916_cold_but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when_2945514.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“but it's so hard to dance that way when it's cold and there's no music.” — Tom Waits", "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 Waits", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "but it's so hard to dance...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when-it-s-cold-and-there-s-no-music/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/but-it-s-so-hard-to-dance-that-way-when-it-s-cold-and-there-s-no-music/#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 } } ] } ```