"I just want to keep doing what I feel"
About this Quote
The subtext is a refusal of permission culture. He isn't asking whether the next record is marketable, whether the playlist economy will reward it, whether a political moment demands a slogan. He's anchoring his work to sensation and intuition - the messy, non-quantifiable stuff that labels, critics, and algorithms can't easily optimize. That simplicity is strategic: it disarms the usual questions about genre, sales, and relevance by treating them as secondary to the act itself.
Context matters because Harper's career has always lived in the in-between: blues, folk, rock, gospel, protest music, often in the same breath. When an artist moves that way, they're routinely told to "focus", which is code for "be legible". This line pushes back against legibility as a requirement. It's not romantic mysticism; it's an insistence that authenticity isn't a pose but a practice - one maintained by staying close to the feeling that started the song before the world got a vote.
Quote Details
| Topic | Live in the Moment |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Harper, Ben. (2026, January 17). I just want to keep doing what I feel. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-just-want-to-keep-doing-what-i-feel-69859/
Chicago Style
Harper, Ben. "I just want to keep doing what I feel." FixQuotes. January 17, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-just-want-to-keep-doing-what-i-feel-69859/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I just want to keep doing what I feel." FixQuotes, 17 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-just-want-to-keep-doing-what-i-feel-69859/. Accessed 13 Feb. 2026.







