Creativity Quote by Joan Jett

“I feel like it’s my job to carry the torch” lands with the blunt clarity of someone who came up in a scene that didn’t leave much room for women to be merely “talented.” Joan Jett isn’t talking about abstract inspiration; she’s talking about continuity, survival, and the unglamorous work of refusing to disappear.

The phrase “my job” is doing heavy lifting. It frames artistry as labor and responsibility, not self-expression as a lifestyle accessory. Jett’s career has been a long argument with gatekeepers: from The Runaways’ teen-girl provocation to her early rejections and eventual DIY persistence, she built a model of rock stardom that doesn’t rely on permission. So the “torch” isn’t just rock itself, but a specific lineage of defiance: women playing loud guitars without being filed into novelty, punk attitude without being softened into “edge,” autonomy without being recast as attitude problems.

There’s subtextual fatigue here, too. Carrying a torch implies darkness around you; it implies that the path still isn’t lit. It’s pride with a hint of indictment: if someone like Jett still feels the duty, the culture still hasn’t fully institutionalized what she proved decades ago. The line works because it’s both personal mission statement and quiet critique of the industry’s short memory. She’s not claiming to be the flame. She’s claiming to keep it from going out.