QuoteProject
The cities swept about me like dead leaves, leaves that were brightly colored but torn away from the branches. I would have stopped, but I was pursued by something. It always came upon me unawares, taking me altogether by surprise. Perhaps it was a familiar bit of music. Perhaps it was only a piece of transparent glass.
Tennessee Williams
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

This quote reflects the feeling of being overwhelmed by life's experiences and the unexpected nature of memories and emotions.

Tennessee Williams captures a poignant moment of introspection where the narrator feels swept away by the hustle and bustle of city life, akin to colorful leaves that have lost their connection to their source. This imagery symbolizes the transient beauty of moments past and the unexpected triggers that evoke nostalgia, illustrating how memories and feelings can catch us off-guard, sometimes evoking feelings of loss and longing for what has been left behind.

Themes

MemoriesNostalgiaCitiesChangeLifeMusicSurprise

In practice

Example use cases

During a reflective speech at a gathering, one might use this quote to express the fleeting nature of life moments.

More from Tennessee Williams

Maggie, we're through with lies and liars in this house. Lock the door.
Tennessee WilliamsRead
Time rushes towards us with its hospital tray of infinitely varied narcotics, even while it is preparing us for its inevitably fatal operation.
Tennessee WilliamsRead
Show me a person who hasn´t known any sorrow and I´ll show you a superficial.
Tennessee WilliamsRead
Success and failure are equally disastrous.
Tennessee WilliamsRead
The rest of my days I'm going to spend on the sea. And when I die, I'm going to die on the sea. You know what I shall die of? I shall die of eating an unwashed grape. One day out on the ocean I will die — with my hand in the hand of some nice-looking ship's doctor, a very young one with a small blond moustache and a big silver watch.
Tennessee WilliamsRead
Life is partly what we make it, and partly what it is made by the friends we choose.
Tennessee WilliamsRead

Similar quotes

There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about.
Oscar WildeRead
The man who believes that the secrets of the world are forever hidden lives in mystery and fear. Superstition will drag him down." -The Judge
Cormac MccarthyRead
I believed that there was a God because I was told it by my grandmother and later by other adults. But when I found that I knew not only that there was God but that I was a child of God, when I understood that, when I comprehended that, more than that, when I internalized that, ingested that, I became courageous.
Maya AngelouRead
And I don't really have anyone upon whom I want to rain down my wrath," I said, because in truth I didn't. I always felt like you had to be important to have enemies. Example: Historically, Germany has had more enemies than Luxembourg, Margo Roth Spiegelman was Germany. And Great Britain. And the United States. And czarist Russia. Me, I'm Luxembourg. Just sitting around, tending sheep, and yodeling.
John GreenRead
If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.
Billy WilderRead
Heaven and Earth last for ever. Why do Heaven and Earth last for ever? They are unborn, so ever living. The sage stays behind, thus he is ahead. He is detached, thus at one with all. Through selfless action, he attains fulfillment.
LaoziRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.