I told my father I wanted to play the banjo, and so he saved the money and got ready to give me a banjo for my next birthday, and between that time and my birthday, I lost interest in the banjo and was playing guitar.

Browne’s anecdote captures a familiar dynamic of childhood desire and rapidly shifting identity: an intense wish for an instrument, followed by a quick change of heart as new interests emerge. The father’s careful saving underscores the seriousness with which adults may treat a child’s request, while the child’s pivot from banjo to guitar highlights how aspiration can be provisional and exploratory rather than fixed. Read as a small parable about artistic development, the quote suggests that musicianship often begins not with a straight-line “calling” but with experimentation, imitation, and the discovery of what feels natural. It also gestures toward the bittersweet mismatch between parental sacrifice and youthful restlessness.