--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I guess I've always lived upside down…" description: "\"I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have.\" — Tom Waits" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/tom-waits-916_upside_i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-wh_479218.jpg" --- # I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I… ![“I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have.” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/tom-waits-916_upside_i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-wh_479218.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/tom-waits-916_upside_i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-wh_479218.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/tom-waits-916_upside_i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-wh_479218.jpg) > “I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have.” [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. Feeling powerless over unattainable desires leads to a distorted self‑view. **In simple terms:** Desire for the impossible flips perspective. Key Takeaway Accept limits, focus on attainable goals. Themes desire frustration self‑perception Mood melancholic reflective Type ly philosophical When to use this quote - career ambition - relationships - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts psychology existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What desires are truly within reach? - How does acceptance change motivation? A Different Perspective Unrealistic expectations can cause chronic dissatisfaction. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Lived Upside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lived-upside-2726879/) [Upside](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upside/) [Upside down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upside-down/) [Upside Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upside-want-2726880/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Want Things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want-things-256643/) ## Related quotes > [I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have. My wife actually thinks I have a syndrome called Reality…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-when-i-want-things-i-can-t-have-2/) [Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-waits/) > [The poster boy for our superabled future is Oscar Pistorius, an increasingly famous South African sprinter who happens to have had both of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-h-wilson/the-poster-boy-for-our-superabled-future-is-oscar-pistorius-an/) [Daniel H. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-h-wilson/) > [I'm interested when things are upside down - because there are so many possibilities in that one moment. There is a lot that is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-deavere-smith/i-m-interested-when-things-are-upside-down-because-there-are-so-many/) [Anna Deavere Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-deavere-smith/) > [In my world, I read resumes upside down, so I start with personal interests. So if somebody doesn't have believable, interesting interests, they're not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bing-gordon/in-my-world-i-read-resumes-upside-down-so-i-start-with-personal/) [Bing Gordon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bing-gordon/) > [When you're playing upside down, it takes twice the strength.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-lee/when-you-re-playing-upside-down-it-takes-twice-the-strength/) [Tommy Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-lee/) > [It was Hurricane Sandy that not only decimated parts of my district but pushed me to the brink of my frustrations with the game…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-runyan/it-was-hurricane-sandy-that-not-only-decimated-parts-of-my-district/) [Jon Runyan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-runyan/) > [When I was in high school, I lettered in math. The only thing that was important was football. There were two other letters that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-m-kelley/when-i-was-in-high-school-i-lettered-in-math-the-only-thing-that-was/) [David M. Kelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-m-kelley/) > [As much as I love to dive into the action early, I think the hero's journey is important - the idea that the reader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kami-garcia/as-much-as-i-love-to-dive-into-the-action-early-i-think-the-hero-s/) [Kami Garcia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kami-garcia/) > [You could have a zillion Facebook followers. Those people don't buy records. It's about a hundred to one...Record companies, they don't have any money,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-corgan/you-could-have-a-zillion-facebook-followers-those-people-don-t-buy-2/) [Billy Corgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-corgan/) > [Instead of resisting to changes, surrender. Let life be with you, not against you. If you think ‘My life will be upside down’ don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-resisting-to-changes-surrender-let-life-be-with-you-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Bottom is bottom, even if it is turned upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/bottom-is-bottom-even-if-it-is-turned-upside-down/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [Everything here at St. Aggie's is upside down and inside out. It's our job not to get moon blinked and to stand right side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/everything-here-at-st-aggie-s-is-upside-down-and-inside-out-it-s-our/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [In an upside down world, with all the rules being rewritten as the game goes on and spectators invading the pitch, it is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-more/in-an-upside-down-world-with-all-the-rules-being-rewritten-as-the/) [Kenneth More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-more/) > [Love sometimes wants to do us a great favor: hold us upside down and shake all the nonsense out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/love-sometimes-wants-to-do-us-a-great-favor-hold-us-upside-down-and/) [Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/) > [I like wearing necklaces, because it lets me know when I'm upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-like-wearing-necklaces-because-it-lets-me-know-when-i-m-upside-down/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) ## 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 Upside quotes > [I like wearing necklaces, because it lets me know when I'm upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-hedberg/i-like-wearing-necklaces-because-it-lets-me-know-when-i-m-upside-down/) [Mitch Hedberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-hedberg/) > [Love sometimes wants to do us a great favor: hold us upside down and shake all the nonsense out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hafez/love-sometimes-wants-to-do-us-a-great-favor-hold-us-upside-down-and/) [Hafez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hafez/) > [Turn that frown upside down](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/migzylou/turn-that-frown-upside-down/) [Migzylou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/migzylou/) > [“If you're great, you can stay that way and people will believe in you, swear by you, turn the world upside down for you.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-miller/if-you-re-great-you-can-stay-that-way-and-people-will-believe-in-you/) [Henry Miller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-miller/) > [I've never been one to throw clubs, break clubs, or use bad language on the golf course. I've played with golfers who've done that,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucas-black/i-ve-never-been-one-to-throw-clubs-break-clubs-or-use-bad-language-on/) [Lucas Black](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucas-black/) > [Having fewer unhealthy days and, in turn, more days when you have the energy to get things done is probably the global constant through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/having-fewer-unhealthy-days-and-in-turn-more-days-when-you-have-the/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [In an upside down world, with all the rules being rewritten as the game goes on and spectators invading the pitch, it is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-more/in-an-upside-down-world-with-all-the-rules-being-rewritten-as-the/) [Kenneth More](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-more/) > [Everything here at St. Aggie's is upside down and inside out. It's our job not to get moon blinked and to stand right side…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-lasky/everything-here-at-st-aggie-s-is-upside-down-and-inside-out-it-s-our/) [Kathryn Lasky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-lasky/) > [Bottom is bottom, even if it is turned upside down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-vaughan/bottom-is-bottom-even-if-it-is-turned-upside-down/) [Bill Vaughan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-vaughan/) > [As I have found out, recognition has its upside, its downside and – you may say – its backside.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pippa-middleton/as-i-have-found-out-recognition-has-its-upside-its-downside-and-you/) [Pippa Middleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pippa-middleton/) > [Instead of resisting to changes, surrender. Let life be with you, not against you. If you think ‘My life will be upside down’ don’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/instead-of-resisting-to-changes-surrender-let-life-be-with-you-not/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Things that are back to front are often easier to comprehend if they are upside down as well. In life as in politics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/things-that-are-back-to-front-are-often-easier-to-comprehend-if-they/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [“You're not a nuthatch, Laurie." "Oh, but I am. I'm totally upside down. I'm a very backward kind of guy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslea-tash/you-re-not-a-nuthatch-laurie-oh-but-i-am-i-m-totally-upside-down-i-m/) [Leslea Tash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslea-tash/) > [Now, when anything 'bad' happens, I remember that everything that ever happens to me has within it the seeds of something better. I look…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-canfield/now-when-anything-bad-happens-i-remember-that-everything-that-ever/) [Jack Canfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-canfield/) > [When I die burry me upside down so the world can kiss my ass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-die-burry-me-upside-down-so-the-world-can-kiss-my-ass/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) [Browse all 131 Upside quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/upside/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Tom Waits" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-when-i-want-things-i-can-t-have/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Upside" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-when-i-want-things-i-can-t-have/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/tom-waits-916_upside_i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-wh_479218.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/tom-waits-916_upside_i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-wh_479218.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/9f1/tom-waits-916_upside_i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-wh_479218.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I guess I've always lived upside down when I want things I can't have.” — 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": "I guess I've always lived upside...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-when-i-want-things-i-can-t-have/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-guess-i-ve-always-lived-upside-down-when-i-want-things-i-can-t-have/#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 } } ] } ```