I’ve never… when I was having songs on the airwaves, and that sort of thing, I never felt a sense of pressure anywhere except from myself, to do things the way I wanted to do them; to feel authentic; to feel like I was presenting my true self to the world.

Meaning of the quote

This quote is about a musician named Mary Chapin Carpenter. She says that when her songs were being played on the radio, she never felt pressure from anyone else to change the way she made her music. Instead, the only pressure she felt was from herself, to stay true to her own style and be authentic in how she presented herself to the world. She wanted to make sure that the music she shared with people was a reflection of her true self.

About Mary Chapin Carpenter

Mary Chapin Carpenter is an acclaimed American country and folk music singer-songwriter who rose to fame in the 1990s. She has won multiple Grammy Awards and has charted 27 times on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts, with her 1994 single ‘Shut Up and Kiss Me’ being her only number-one hit. Carpenter’s musical style is influenced by contemporary country and folk, often featuring feminist themes in her self-written songs.

More about the author

More quotes from Mary Chapin Carpenter

There’s timing. And then there’s also certain people at the record company who worked incredibly hard and were incredibly enthusiastic about what I was doing.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

It’s a pretty frantic world that we live in.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

I went to college and I never allowed myself to think for an instant that I would have this chance to do this.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

So I came home and I had a resume and everything, but the only job experience I had was just playing in bars and clubs on my summers off. So, I was temping and stuff during the day and playing music at night.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

About age ten, we moved from the place where I was born, moved overseas.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

I don’t think you need to dumb down to a child, you merely have to be clear, you know?

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

I don’t really remember my folks singing to us, but they read to us.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

I think that every new record is a chance to… I think what it is for me is my heart and soul at that moment in time… I’ve always felt that just being able to make a record is a privilege.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

It’s a marvelous feeling when someone says ‘I want to do this song of yours’ because they’ve connected to it. That’s what I’m after.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

I’ve never… when I was having songs on the airwaves, and that sort of thing, I never felt a sense of pressure anywhere except from myself, to do things the way I wanted to do them; to feel authentic; to feel like I was presenting my true self to the world.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

I was a liberal arts junkie and I figured, well, I’ll go work for somebody somewhere. All I knew was that I was going to have to come home and figure it out.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

Emmy Lou Harris introduced me to the work of the Vietnam Veterans of America foundation and the Campaign for a Land Mine Free World.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

You know, I didn’t have enough money to quit my day job… the myth of the major label deal. Nowadays, you have a tour bus and a stylist and all this stuff. But back then, no way.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

I kept thinking, I went to college and I have to get a real job.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

My sisters and I were fortunate to travel through Asia and Europe at very young ages. We confronted extraordinary beauty in Athens and unspeakable poverty in India.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

Dreamland is a book, but it’s my song in book form. It’s translated itself into a different medium.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

It’s like the code of living by yourself. People who are single know what I’m talking about. You eat standing up, reading the paper. Or you say to yourself, this isn’t even cutting it, I’m taking a TV dinner and I’m getting in bed here.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

You know, that single girl life and that sense of isolation – that doesn’t leave you just like that. And that’s what that song is about. I remember that, and that is imprinted on me, that sense.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

So I think that if I do feel more freedom right now in my career, it’s not so much because I have less at stake but more a sense that I’ve learned more.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

When I think of the artists I admire and seek out musically. It’s because I’m curious about where they’re going to go the next time they have a chance to put a record out. It’s not about where I find them on the radio dial, or how many records they’re selling.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

I’m a liberal arts junkie.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)

As far as feeling freedom in my career now versus five years ago… I think if I feel any more free it’s simply because of the experiences that I’ve had, and the wisdom I’ve accumulated from that time.

Mary Chapin Carpenter

American singer-songwriter (b. 1958)