Skip to main content

Creativity Quote by Keith Richards

"Hey, we just enjoy it. I think we think we're getting the hang of this thing, you know?"

About this Quote

There is a whole survival manual smuggled into that casual shrug of a sentence. Keith Richards is talking like a guy leaning on the bar after last call, not like one of the central architects of modern rock. That mismatch is the point: the Stones’ legend is so inflated that the only believable posture is understatement. “We just enjoy it” isn’t innocence; it’s a deflection that keeps the myth from turning into a museum plaque.

The real payload sits in “this thing.” Richards refuses to name it: fame, longevity, addiction, the machinery of touring, the weird civic role of being The Rolling Stones. Calling it “this thing” turns an empire into a hobby, a way of protecting the private self from the public narrative. It’s also a sly jab at the expectation that artists must provide meaning, wisdom, or a clean arc. Richards offers craft without sanctimony.

“I think we think” is a miniature band dynamic in six words: consensus and uncertainty, a collective identity that’s always been part of the Stones’ power. It hints at the improvisational ethic behind their sound: you don’t solve rock; you keep playing until the groove settles. “Getting the hang” lands as comedy because it’s absurdly modest for a career spanning decades, but it’s also truthful. Rock is built on repetition that’s never quite mastered, only re-entered nightly.

Context matters: Richards has long been cast as both pirate and survivor. This quote rewrites that story as competence disguised as luck - a refusal to be inspirational, which, paradoxically, is what makes him convincing.

Quote Details

TopicMusic
SourceHelp us find the source
Cite

Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Richards, Keith. (2026, January 17). Hey, we just enjoy it. I think we think we're getting the hang of this thing, you know? FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/hey-we-just-enjoy-it-i-think-we-think-were-25951/

Chicago Style
Richards, Keith. "Hey, we just enjoy it. I think we think we're getting the hang of this thing, you know?" FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/hey-we-just-enjoy-it-i-think-we-think-were-25951/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Hey, we just enjoy it. I think we think we're getting the hang of this thing, you know?" FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/hey-we-just-enjoy-it-i-think-we-think-were-25951/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.

More Quotes by Keith Add to List
Keith Richards on music mastery and enjoyment
Click to enlarge Portrait | Landscape

About the Author

England Flag

Keith Richards (born December 18, 1943) is a Musician from England.

22 more quotes available

View Profile

Similar Quotes

Bill Griffith, Cartoonist