Quitters never win? Dawes' Taylor Goldmith rethinks this refrain

By Brian Schwarz, MAED

I quit.

We paid for 10 piano lessons, but Eddie quit after the first one!

He quits everything.

Quitters never win.

Sound familiar? 

In American culture, quitting typically is viewed as negative. And for good reason. Nothing is learned without struggle. Quitting in the midst of struggle leads to weakness in character. Those who quit fail to learn, right?

Or is this only a perception? Could it be that quitting is itself the result of taking action upon learning? Is it possible there is more to the story for those unafraid to quit?

Artists perceive the world differently than mainstream thinkers do, so it makes sense that an artist may see quitting as being positive. That is the case with Taylor Goldsmith, lead singer of the band Dawes, as revealed in the lyrics of the band's new single, Quitter, which Goldsmith co-wrote with fellow musician Blake Mills.

The song Quitter ponders whether some things are, in fact, worth quitting. Perhaps, quitting even signals wisdom, which is itself an essential component of character development. Knowing what is worth quitting, and when to leave old habits behind...now that's a lesson worth learning!

Here's a sample of the lyrics:

Quit living in the past if all you end up doing
Is practicing apologies you won't make

Quit filling up your glass if it's mixing and churning
With the feelings you are trying to escape

Quit committing these sins and absolving them again
As if it matters when you do or when you don't

You're gonna have to quit everything, until you find one thing you won't

Think about the message Goldsmith is trying to convey with these lyrics:

Quit filling up your glass if it's mixing and churning

With the feelings you are trying to escape.

The message is simple and clear, right? Stop doing a habit (in this example, drinking too much alcohol) if the habit always brings you negative consequences (pervasive sad thoughts about the past)!

Sage advice, don't you agree? Perhaps it's a lesson the artist learned the hard way, by refusing to quit old habits before they did him some harm.

Check out the live performance of Quitter below, but Google Dawes Quitter lyrics to read the lyrics first. Keep track of new vocabulary you learn from the lyrics, and strive to use them in your daily life.

If the video embedded here doesn't play, watch Dawes perform the new single, Quitter, here!, but please return to comment! Let's keep this conversation learning...and as always, thanks for learning with me!!!