"It accumulates over the years and I've led so many bands of my own now and forced myself into new situations... You would hope that you play better and better - until you just get too feeble to do it anymore"
About this Quote
The revealing phrase is "forced myself into new situations". That’s intent, not nostalgia. Summers is pointing to reinvention as a discipline, a self-imposed discomfort that keeps craft from turning into muscle-memory autopilot. For someone forever associated with The Police, the subtext is almost combative: don’t confuse the story the audience tells about you with the work you’re still doing. Growth requires new contexts, not just more reps inside the old ones.
Then he lands the punch with "until you just get too feeble to do it anymore". It’s blunt, unsentimental, and human. The line strips away the fantasy of endless creative ascent and replaces it with a musician’s real horizon: the body is part of the instrument, and time collects its debt. The emotional power comes from that balance of optimism and constraint - the hope of getting better, paired with the clear-eyed knowledge that the window closes. It’s not fear-mongering; it’s a reason to stay curious now.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Summers, Andy. (2026, January 16). It accumulates over the years and I've led so many bands of my own now and forced myself into new situations... You would hope that you play better and better - until you just get too feeble to do it anymore. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-accumulates-over-the-years-and-ive-led-so-many-138010/
Chicago Style
Summers, Andy. "It accumulates over the years and I've led so many bands of my own now and forced myself into new situations... You would hope that you play better and better - until you just get too feeble to do it anymore." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-accumulates-over-the-years-and-ive-led-so-many-138010/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"It accumulates over the years and I've led so many bands of my own now and forced myself into new situations... You would hope that you play better and better - until you just get too feeble to do it anymore." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/it-accumulates-over-the-years-and-ive-led-so-many-138010/. Accessed 21 Feb. 2026.



