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Creativity Quote by Ron Wood

"What can I say, I'm an alcoholic. It's what I do"

About this Quote

A shrug that lands like a gut punch: Ron Wood turns confession into a catchphrase, packaging addiction in the same offhand tone you might use for being “the messy one” in the band. It’s funny in the bleak way rock mythology is funny - the genre has long treated self-destruction as occupational branding, a kind of backstage credential. The line’s power comes from how it collapses agency into identity. “I’m an alcoholic” isn’t just diagnosis; it’s a job description. “It’s what I do” converts compulsion into routine, even craft, as if drinking were part of the Stones’ touring rider.

The intent reads like damage control and self-protection at once. By stating it plainly, Wood preempts moralizing: you can’t scandalize someone who scandalizes himself first. There’s also the performance of toughness, the old masculine script where vulnerability has to arrive disguised as banter. The subtext is resignation: if alcoholism is “what I do,” then change threatens not only pleasure but selfhood. That’s the trap of celebrity addiction narratives - recovery isn’t just quitting a substance; it’s rewriting the persona that the public (and often the industry) has rewarded.

Context matters: Wood came up in an era when British rock culture treated excess as both rebellion and marketing. In that ecosystem, admitting addiction can sound less like a plea and more like a brand refresh. The line’s sting is how it exposes the thin seam between honesty and alibi: a moment of clarity that also doubles as permission.

Quote Details

TopicWitty One-Liners
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Citation Formats

APA Style (7th ed.)
Wood, Ron. (2026, January 16). What can I say, I'm an alcoholic. It's what I do. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-can-i-say-im-an-alcoholic-its-what-i-do-89785/

Chicago Style
Wood, Ron. "What can I say, I'm an alcoholic. It's what I do." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-can-i-say-im-an-alcoholic-its-what-i-do-89785/.

MLA Style (9th ed.)
"What can I say, I'm an alcoholic. It's what I do." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/what-can-i-say-im-an-alcoholic-its-what-i-do-89785/. Accessed 12 Feb. 2026.

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About the Author

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Ron Wood (born June 1, 1947) is a Musician from United Kingdom.

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