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Creativity Quote by Jimi Hendrix

"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded"

About this Quote

Hendrix frames mastery as a bruising relationship, not a glow-up montage. The guitar isn’t a “dream”; it’s a stubborn object that pushes back, a daily friction point that can make even the gifted feel like a fraud. When he says you’ll “hate the guitar,” he’s puncturing the mythology that talent is effortless, especially the mythology that surrounded him as a once-in-a-generation natural. The line is permission-giving: if you’re angry at the instrument, you’re not disqualified, you’re in the actual process.

The intent is practical advice, but it’s also a quiet self-portrait. Hendrix’s playing sounded like liberation, yet it was built on repetition, sore hands, and the claustrophobia of chasing a sound you can hear in your head but can’t yet pull from the strings. “Stick with it” is less motivational poster than survival strategy, the ethic behind the spectacle.

Context matters: Hendrix came up through the grind of the Chitlin’ Circuit, as a sideman expected to be flawless on command, then rocketed into a British scene eager to exoticize and consume him. That whiplash creates pressure to seem inexhaustible. This quote demystifies the virtuoso and shifts the reward away from applause toward intimacy: the moment the instrument stops being an opponent and starts becoming a voice. The subtext is almost tender - commitment is how you earn that conversation.

Quote Details

TopicNever Give Up
SourceHelp us find the source
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Hendrix, Jimi. (2026, January 15). Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/sometimes-you-want-to-give-up-the-guitar-youll-41387/

Chicago Style
Hendrix, Jimi. "Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded." FixQuotes. January 15, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/sometimes-you-want-to-give-up-the-guitar-youll-41387/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"Sometimes you want to give up the guitar, you'll hate the guitar. But if you stick with it, you're gonna be rewarded." FixQuotes, 15 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/sometimes-you-want-to-give-up-the-guitar-youll-41387/. Accessed 4 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

Jimi Hendrix

Jimi Hendrix (November 27, 1942 - September 18, 1970) was a Musician from USA.

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