"I just loved the guitar when it came along. I loved it. The banjo was something I really liked, but when the guitar came along, to me that was my first love in music"
About this Quote
Doc Watson frames the guitar not as an upgrade but as a romance, and that choice of language matters. “First love” is a way of granting the instrument agency: the guitar doesn’t just enter his life, it “comes along,” like a person walking into the room and rearranging your priorities. In a few plainspoken lines, Watson sketches the hinge moment many working musicians recognize but rarely articulate so cleanly: the shift from liking an instrument to building an identity around it.
The banjo sits here as a respectful earlier chapter, not a rival. He “really liked” it, a phrase that signals craft, tradition, even community. But “loved” repeats with almost stubborn simplicity, as if the feeling is too foundational to dress up. That repetition is the subtext: the guitar isn’t about novelty; it’s about recognition. Watson’s sound, his touch, his future were already latent, waiting for the right tool to make them audible.
Context sharpens the stakes. Watson comes out of an American roots ecosystem where instruments carry class and geography: banjo as old-time lineage; guitar as the bridge between front-porch tradition and a broader, radio-ready modernity. Calling the guitar his “first love in music” quietly explains how a blind, rural North Carolina player became a defining voice in folk and bluegrass revival culture. The guitar didn’t just fit his hands; it widened the room he could play in.
The banjo sits here as a respectful earlier chapter, not a rival. He “really liked” it, a phrase that signals craft, tradition, even community. But “loved” repeats with almost stubborn simplicity, as if the feeling is too foundational to dress up. That repetition is the subtext: the guitar isn’t about novelty; it’s about recognition. Watson’s sound, his touch, his future were already latent, waiting for the right tool to make them audible.
Context sharpens the stakes. Watson comes out of an American roots ecosystem where instruments carry class and geography: banjo as old-time lineage; guitar as the bridge between front-porch tradition and a broader, radio-ready modernity. Calling the guitar his “first love in music” quietly explains how a blind, rural North Carolina player became a defining voice in folk and bluegrass revival culture. The guitar didn’t just fit his hands; it widened the room he could play in.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Doc Watson — quote listed on Wikiquote (Doc Watson page); original primary source not cited on that page. |
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