Time & Perspective Quote by Ethel Merman

Ambition, here, isn’t a midlife reinvention or a carefully branded “journey.” It’s a childhood fact, stated with the blunt confidence of someone who never pretended to be above wanting the spotlight. When Ethel Merman says she’s been “ambitious to be a somebody” since age five, she’s puncturing the polite myth that greatness just “happens” to the deserving. She wanted it early, she admits it plainly, and she doesn’t apologize.

The phrasing matters. “Somebody” is wonderfully unspecific: not a doctor, not a scholar, not even explicitly a star. Just visible, undeniable, counted. That vagueness makes the line feel both relatable and a little ruthless. It’s the dream of being known before you even know what you’ll be known for. And coming from Merman, the ultimate Broadway belter whose voice could bulldoze an orchestra, it reads less like a confession than a mission statement.

There’s also a gendered edge. For a woman born in 1908, openly staking a claim to public importance runs against the era’s expectations of modesty and containment. Merman’s career persona was often brassy, unembarrassed, too loud to ignore; this quote backs that up as a lifelong posture, not a stage act.

Subtextually, she’s defending show business as real labor fueled by real desire. The intent isn’t to inspire with virtue; it’s to justify hunger. In a culture that rewards women for being “chosen,” Merman insists she chose herself first.