---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: i never told the truth so i can never…"
description: "\"i never told the truth so i can never tell a lie...\" — Tom Waits"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/tom-waits-916_lying_i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-te_777628.jpg"
---

#  i never told the truth so i can never tell a lie...

![“i never told the truth so i can never tell a lie...” quote by Tom Waits](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/tom-waits-916_lying_i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-te_777628.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/tom-waits-916_lying_i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-te_777628.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/tom-waits-916_lying_i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-te_777628.jpg)

> “i never told the truth so i can never tell a lie...”

[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.

Admitting to never telling the truth paradoxically forces you into a lie, highlighting the impossibility of honesty without consequence.

**In simple terms:** Never telling truth leads to inevitable lies.

Key Takeaway

Consider the cost of constant deception.

Themes

honesty paradox integrity

Mood

reflective conflicted

Type

philosophical advice

When to use this quote

- personal relationships
- professional settings
- media interviews
- conflict resolution

Key Concepts

ethical dilemmas self‑deception

Questions to Reflect On

- Can you live authentically without fear?
- What would change if you chose truth?

A Different Perspective

Living a lie can erode trust and self‑esteem.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Tell Lie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tell-lie/) [Told](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told/) [Told Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-truth/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Tell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-tell/)

## Related quotes

> [To stretch the truth is to tell a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/to-stretch-the-truth-is-to-tell-a-lie/)

[Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/)

> [The first step toward telling the truth is to tell the whole lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/the-first-step-toward-telling-the-truth-is-to-tell-the-whole-lie/)

[Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/)

> [“But what do you say if you're asked a direct question and you can't tell the truth and you can't tell a lie?' 'You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/but-what-do-you-say-if-you-re-asked-a-direct-question-and-you-can-t/)

[Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/)

> [“I told you I'd do anything for you. That's the truth. The best truth I know.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aria-kane/i-told-you-i-d-do-anything-for-you-that-s-the-truth-the-best-truth-i/)

[Aria Kane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aria-kane/)

> [I've always told the truth. I think that's been part of the foundation of my career. I don't put myself above people. I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iyanla-vanzant/i-ve-always-told-the-truth-i-think-that-s-been-part-of-the-foundation/)

[Iyanla Vanzant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iyanla-vanzant/)

> [The victor will never be asked if he told the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-victor-will-never-be-asked-if-he-told-the-truth/)

[Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/)

> [“I wish someone had just told me the truth right up front, as soon as I was old enough to understand it. I wish…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-cline/i-wish-someone-had-just-told-me-the-truth-right-up-front-as-soon-as-i/)

[Ernest Cline](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-cline/)

> [I'd rather be told the truth than a good lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tommy-pham/i-d-rather-be-told-the-truth-than-a-good-lie/)

[Tommy Pham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tommy-pham/)

> [...Though I have told you the truth, I may not have told you all of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bilbo-baggins/though-i-have-told-you-the-truth-i-may-not-have-told-you-all-of-it/)

[Bilbo Baggins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bilbo-baggins/)

> [“Only after the words were spoken did she realize what she had said. "My sins are all your fault, Brodick, and if I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-garwood/only-after-the-words-were-spoken-did-she-realize-what-she-had-said-my/)

[Julie Garwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-garwood/)

> [“You know," I said to my sister later at the funeral. "I think Mom is telling the truth about losing us. We're never going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/you-know-i-said-to-my-sister-later-at-the-funeral-i-think-mom-is/)

[Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/)

> [“...so, what I told you was the truth. From acergtain point if view.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-what-i-told-you-was-the-truth-from-acergtain-point-if-view/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“It was hard to be honest, to open up, and reveal something that sounded crazy. Because once you told someone the truth, that person…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-cross/it-was-hard-to-be-honest-to-open-up-and-reveal-something-that-sounded/)

[Sarah Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-cross/)

> [You may have always been honest but you never told the full truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-may-have-always-been-honest-but-you-never-told-the-full-truth/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“…there’s nothing in this world that demands more caution than the truth. To tell the truth is like leeching one’s own heart...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/there-s-nothing-in-this-world-that-demands-more-caution-than-the/)

[Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/)

## 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 Lying quotes

> [There is something more important than any ultimate weapon. That is the ultimate position-the position of total control over Earth that lies somewhere out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyndon-b-johnson/there-is-something-more-important-than-any-ultimate-weapon-that-is/)

[Lyndon B. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyndon-b-johnson/)

> [Against his own will, almost, Will felt himself understanding; he would have done anything, he thought, told any lie, taken any risk, to make…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/against-his-own-will-almost-will-felt-himself-understanding-he-would/)

[Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/)

> [Heaven lies around us in our infancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-golding/heaven-lies-around-us-in-our-infancy/)

[William Golding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-golding/)

> [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/)

[Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/)

> [Half the misery of human life might be extinguished if men would alleviate the general curse they lie under by mutual offices of compassion,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-addison/half-the-misery-of-human-life-might-be-extinguished-if-men-would/)

[Joseph Addison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-addison/)

> [Jobs and money are never the primary cause of stress. Thinking, negative thinking causes stress. The real cause of all problems lie in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-proctor/jobs-and-money-are-never-the-primary-cause-of-stress-thinking/)

[Bob Proctor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-proctor/)

> [“People talk about books that write themselves, and it's a lie. Books don't write themselves. It takes thought and research and a backache and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-gaiman/people-talk-about-books-that-write-themselves-and-it-s-a-lie-books/)

[Neil Gaiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-gaiman/)

> [ \[Islam\] Leaves no room of human legislation in an Islamic state, because herein all legislative functions vest in God and the only function left… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abul-a-la-maududi/islam-leaves-no-room-of-human-legislation-in-an-islamic-state-because/)

[Abul A'la Maududi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abul-a-la-maududi/)

> [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/)

[Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/)

> [If the media is sending girls the message that their value lies in their bodies, this can only leave them feeling disempowered and distract…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-siebel-newsom/if-the-media-is-sending-girls-the-message-that-their-value-lies-in/)

[Jennifer Siebel Newsom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-siebel-newsom/)

> [I just can’t, Nick, okay? Now, please give me a second to lie here in silence and bleed.” – Caleb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherrilyn-kenyon/i-just-can-t-nick-okay-now-please-give-me-a-second-to-lie-here-in/)

[Sherrilyn Kenyon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherrilyn-kenyon/)

> [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/)

[Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/)

> [falsehood is not more unjustifiable than unsafe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fanny-burney/falsehood-is-not-more-unjustifiable-than-unsafe/)

[Fanny Burney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fanny-burney/)

> [There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/there-are-no-white-lies-there-is-only-the-blackest-of-destruction-and/)

[Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/)

> [It lies around us like a cloud- A world we do not see; Yet the sweet closing of an eye May bring us there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harriet-beecher-stowe/it-lies-around-us-like-a-cloud-a-world-we-do-not-see-yet-the-sweet/)

[Harriet Beecher Stowe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harriet-beecher-stowe/)

[Browse all 13,166 Lying quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "i never told the truth so i can never tell a lie...",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tom Waits"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-tell-a-lie/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Lying"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-tell-a-lie/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/tom-waits-916_lying_i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-te_777628.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/tom-waits-916_lying_i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-te_777628.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7f1/tom-waits-916_lying_i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-te_777628.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“i never told the truth so i can never tell a lie...” — 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 never told the truth so...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-tell-a-lie/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-waits/i-never-told-the-truth-so-i-can-never-tell-a-lie/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
