Walter Pater said that all the arts aspire to the condition of music, but I’ve always felt that music aspires to the condition of words.

John Ashbery
About This Quote

Upon hearing the quote, “I’ve always felt that music aspires to the condition of words,” this comes to mind. When headphones are plugged into our ears, we can easily become oblivious to everything around us. We can become so absorbed in the music playing inside our heads that we forget about the world outside. The quote, “music aspires to the condition of words,” puts the idea of words in music in a new light.

Music is created through words; it is words that make music possible. Right now, you are probably thinking about how this relates to writing poetry or writing songs. However, you could reread this quote and find that it applies to every form of art.

Music is an art form. It is an art form because words are involved. Yet artists sometimes forget this connection.

They forget that music is made using words; they forget that lyrics are essential parts of their song or poem or painting or drawing or sculpture. If they don’t write the lyrics, they cannot sing their song; if they don’t paint their picture, they cannot share their masterpiece with others; if they don’t sculpt their statue, it cannot be seen by all.

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  2. And, in the end The love you takeis equal to the love you make. - Paul Mccartney
  3. Life, he realize, was much like a song. In the beginning there is mystery, in the end there is confirmation, but it's in the middle where all the emotion resides to make the whole thing worthwhile. - Nicholas Sparks
  4. You're like a song that I heard when I was a little kid but forgot I knew until I heard it again. - Maggie Stiefvater
  5. Live your truth. Express your love. Share your enthusiasm. Take action towards your dreams. Walk your talk. Dance and sing to your music. Embrace your blessings. Make today worth remembering. - Steve Maraboli
More Quotes By John Ashbery
  1. The first year was like icing. Then the cake started to show through …
  2. I'm heading for a clean-named placelike Wisconsin, and mad as a jack-o'-lantern, will get therewithout help and nosy proclivities.
  3. A little bunny or some kind of ferret was probablythere too, and bore witness as only rodents can.
  4. Its a bit mad. Too bad, I mean, that getting to know each just for a fleeting second Must be replaced by unperfect knowledge of the featureless whole Like some pocket history of the world, so general As to constitute a sob or wail
  5. Things can harden meaningfully in the moment of indecision
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