--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I…" description: "\"“Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I know fairer far: Those are as beautiful again That in the water are; The pools and rivers wash so clean The tr..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/a-e-housman-2-12514_beauty_oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-k_936668.jpg" --- # Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I know fairer far… ![“Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I know fairer far: Those are as beautiful again That in the water are; The pools and rivers wash so clean The trees and clouds and air, The like on earth was never seen, And oh that I were there. These are the thoughts I often think As I stand gazing down In…” quote by A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/a-e-housman-2-12514_beauty_oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-k_936668.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/a-e-housman-2-12514_beauty_oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-k_936668.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/a-e-housman-2-12514_beauty_oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-k_936668.jpg) > ““Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I know fairer far: Those are as beautiful again That in the water are; The pools and rivers wash so clean The trees and clouds and air, The like on earth was never seen, And oh that I were there. These are the thoughts I often think As I stand gazing down In act upon the cressy brink To strip and dive and drown; But in the golden-sanded brooks And azure meres I spy A silly lad that longs and looks And wishes he were I.”” [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker admires distant, imagined beauty more than the immediate world, yearning to escape into an idealized realm. **In simple terms:** Longing for a perfect, far‑away place. Key Takeaway Seek wonder beyond the familiar. Themes longing beauty escape imagination nature Mood wistalgic hopeful contemplative Type poetic reflective philosophical When to use this quote - travel dreams - creative writing - personal reflection - mindful observation Key Concepts Romanticism idealization yearning Questions to Reflect On - What does the imagined perfect place represent for you? - How can you find beauty in the everyday? A Different Perspective Idealized visions may ignore present realities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beauty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Reflection](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflection/) [Reflections](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reflections/) [River](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/river/) [Scenery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scenery/) [Thoughts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thoughts/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [Late February days; and now, at last, Might you have thought that Winter's woe was past; So fair the sky was and so soft…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-morris/late-february-days-and-now-at-last-might-you-have-thought-that-winter/) [William Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-morris/) > [it in every fair face, every fair sky, every fair flower.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-in-every-fair-face-every-fair-sky-every-fair-flower/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Lake George is without comparison, the most beautiful water I ever saw; formed by a contour of mountains into a basin... finely interspersed with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/lake-george-is-without-comparison-the-most-beautiful-water-i-ever-saw/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [How beautiful the water is! To me 'tis wondrous fair-- No spot can ever lonely be If water sparkle there; It hath a thousand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-oakes-smith/how-beautiful-the-water-is-to-me-tis-wondrous-fair-no-spot-can-ever/) [Elizabeth Oakes Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-oakes-smith/) > [In a marshland amongst the crocodiles, there float beautiful water lilies! Even in the Hell, one can find the good and the beauty.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/in-a-marshland-amongst-the-crocodiles-there-float-beautiful-water/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) > [“Have you ever had a lyric from a really crappy song or advertising jingle get stuck in your head? Something that just won't go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-leatham/have-you-ever-had-a-lyric-from-a-really-crappy-song-or-advertising/) [Victoria Leatham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-leatham/) > [First Thoughts are the everyday thoughts. Everyone has those. Second Thoughts are the thoughts you think about the way you think. People who enjoy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/first-thoughts-are-the-everyday-thoughts-everyone-has-those-second/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Your life is a product of your thoughts, what you think about all day becomes the basis of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-brown/your-life-is-a-product-of-your-thoughts-what-you-think-about-all-day/) [Leon Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-brown/) > [“I sit alone and watch the clock Trying to collect my thoughts All I think about is you And so I cry myself to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/staind/i-sit-alone-and-watch-the-clock-trying-to-collect-my-thoughts-all-i/) Staind > [The thoughts we think and the words we speak creates our experiences.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-hay/the-thoughts-we-think-and-the-words-we-speak-creates-our-experiences/) [Louise Hay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-hay/) > [Remember, the thoughts that you think and the statements you make regarding yourself determine your mental attitude. If you have a worthwhile objective, find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-hill/remember-the-thoughts-that-you-think-and-the-statements-you-make/) [Napoleon Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-hill/) > [“Because mind is Cause and the world is Effect, we change the world by changing the thoughts we think about the world.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/because-mind-is-cause-and-the-world-is-effect-we-change-the-world-by/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [Success does not depend upon the size of ur mind it always depend upon the size of ur thoughts so think big for big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/success-does-not-depend-upon-the-size-of-ur-mind-it-always-depend/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [You cannot will yourself to be happy while believing that you have no right to happiness, or that you are unworthy of it. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-roberts/you-cannot-will-yourself-to-be-happy-while-believing-that-you-have-no/) [Jane Roberts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-roberts/) > [I keep my thoughts to myself, and I think that's one of the best ways to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tito-jackson/i-keep-my-thoughts-to-myself-and-i-think-that-s-one-of-the-best-ways/) [Tito Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tito-jackson/) ## More by A.E. Housman > [“I to my perils Of cheat and charmer Came clad in armour By stars benign. Hope lies to mortals And most believe her, But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/i-to-my-perils-of-cheat-and-charmer-came-clad-in-armour-by-stars/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“There pass the careless people That call their souls their own: Here by the road I loiter, How idle and alone. Ah, past the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/there-pass-the-careless-people-that-call-their-souls-their-own-here/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Smart lad, to slip betimes away From fields where glory does not stay And early though the laurel grows It withers quicker than the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/smart-lad-to-slip-betimes-away-from-fields-where-glory-does-not-stay/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Oh on my breast in days hereafter Light the earth should lie, Such weight to bear is now the air, So heavy hangs the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-on-my-breast-in-days-hereafter-light-the-earth-should-lie-such/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Oh many a peer of England brews Livelier liquor than the Muse, And malt does more than Milton can To justify God’s ways to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-many-a-peer-of-england-brews-livelier-liquor-than-the-muse-and/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“In my own shire, if I was sad Homely comforters I had: The earth, because my heart was sore, Sorrowed for the son she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/in-my-own-shire-if-i-was-sad-homely-comforters-i-had-the-earth/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“If it chance your eye offends you, Pluck it out lad, and be sound: 'Twill hurt, but here are salves to friend you, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/if-it-chance-your-eye-offends-you-pluck-it-out-lad-and-be-sound-twill/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“They say my verse is sad: no wonder. Its narrow measure spans Rue for eternity, and sorrow Not mine, but man's This is for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/they-say-my-verse-is-sad-no-wonder-its-narrow-measure-spans-rue-for/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Diffugere Nives Horace, Odes, iv, 7 The snows are fled away, leaves on the shaws And grasses in the mead renew their birth, The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/diffugere-nives-horace-odes-iv-7-the-snows-are-fled-away-leaves-on/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“The time you won your town the race We chaired you through the market-place; Man and boy stood cheering by, And home we brought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/the-time-you-won-your-town-the-race-we-chaired-you-through-the-market/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Along the field as we came by A year ago, my love and I, The aspen over stile and stone Was talking to itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/along-the-field-as-we-came-by-a-year-ago-my-love-and-i-the-aspen-over/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Knowledge is good, method is good, but one thing beyond all others is necessary; and that is to have a head, not a pumpkin,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/knowledge-is-good-method-is-good-but-one-thing-beyond-all-others-is/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“It nods and curtseys and recovers When the wind blows above, The nettle on the graves of lovers That hanged themselves for love. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/it-nods-and-curtseys-and-recovers-when-the-wind-blows-above-the/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Iniquity it is; but pass the can. My lad, no pair of kings our mothers bore; Our only portion is the estate of man:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/iniquity-it-is-but-pass-the-can-my-lad-no-pair-of-kings-our-mothers/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) > [“Who made the world I cannot tell; 'Tis made, and here I am in hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/who-made-the-world-i-cannot-tell-tis-made-and-here-i-am-in-hell/) [A.E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) [Explore all 54 A.E. Housman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/) ## More Beauty quotes > [We do not want nowadays temples of worship and outward rites and ceremonies. What we really want is an Asram. We want a place…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/we-do-not-want-nowadays-temples-of-worship-and-outward-rites-and/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [How could anybody confuse truth with beauty, I thought as I looked at him. Truth came with sunken eyes, bony or scarred, decayed. Its…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-fitch/how-could-anybody-confuse-truth-with-beauty-i-thought-as-i-looked-at/) [Janet Fitch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-fitch/) > [A thing of beauty is a joy for ever;It's loveliness increase;it will never pass into nothingness;but still will keep a bower quiet for us,and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/a-thing-of-beauty-is-a-joy-for-ever-it-s-loveliness-increase-it-will/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [To fathom the power, to witness the beauty, to bathe in the fountain, to swing on the spiral of our divinity, and still be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tool/to-fathom-the-power-to-witness-the-beauty-to-bathe-in-the-fountain-to/) [Tool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tool/) > [The term "black metal" has become a lot looser, or can include a larger range of sounds and extra-musical aesthetics, not just Satan and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colin-marston/the-term-black-metal-has-become-a-lot-looser-or-can-include-a-larger/) [Colin Marston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colin-marston/) > [“We've all met people who are beautiful on the outside, however, when they open their mouths to speak, they have nothing of substance to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-c-young/we-ve-all-met-people-who-are-beautiful-on-the-outside-however-when/) [Susan C. Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-c-young/) > [There are various orders of beauty, causing men to make fools of themselves in various styles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/there-are-various-orders-of-beauty-causing-men-to-make-fools-of/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [To me, the beauty of a quilt or a dress lies within the stitches and the thought of the person who made them. When…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie/to-me-the-beauty-of-a-quilt-or-a-dress-lies-within-the-stitches-and/) [Natalie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie/) > [“do not misunderstand person by beauty You really do not know its real or Mask on dirty thoughts”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohammed-zaki-ansari/do-not-misunderstand-person-by-beauty-you-really-do-not-know-its-real/) [Mohammed Zaki Ansari](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohammed-zaki-ansari/) > [“I already love in you your beauty, but I am only beginning to love in you that which is eternal and ever precious –…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/i-already-love-in-you-your-beauty-but-i-am-only-beginning-to-love-in/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [The more perfect the sight is the more delightful the beautiful object. The more perfect the appetite, the sweeter the food. The more musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-baxter/the-more-perfect-the-sight-is-the-more-delightful-the-beautiful/) [Richard Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-baxter/) > [Call her beautiful a million times and she won't believe you. Call her ugly once, and she will never forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tumblr/call-her-beautiful-a-million-times-and-she-won-t-believe-you-call-her/) Tumblr > [Time can but make her beauty over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/time-can-but-make-her-beauty-over-again/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [ The social \[media channel\] isn't about beauty contests and popularity contests. They're a distortion, a caricature of the real thing. It's about trust, connection,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umair-haque/the-social-media-channel-isn-t-about-beauty-contests-and-popularity/) [Umair Haque](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umair-haque/) > [“What about you? What do you do?” I needed to ask questions, draw him out. I needed to find out all the information I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-avery-ellison/what-about-you-what-do-you-do-i-needed-to-ask-questions-draw-him-out/) [Kate Avery Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-avery-ellison/) [Browse all 24,662 Beauty quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beauty/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I know fairer far: Those are as beautiful again That in the water are; The pools and rivers wash so clean The trees and clouds and air, The like on earth was never seen, And oh that I were there. These are the thoughts I often think As I stand gazing down In act upon the cressy brink To strip and dive and drown; But in the golden-sanded brooks And azure meres I spy A silly lad that longs and looks And wishes he were I.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "A.E. Housman" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-know-fairer-far-those-are-as/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beauty" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-know-fairer-far-those-are-as/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/a-e-housman-2-12514_beauty_oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-k_936668.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/a-e-housman-2-12514_beauty_oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-k_936668.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ccb/a-e-housman-2-12514_beauty_oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-k_936668.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I know fairer far: Those are as beautiful again That in the water are…” — A.E. Housman", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "A.E. Housman", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman-2/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Oh fair enough are sky and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-know-fairer-far-those-are-as/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman-2/oh-fair-enough-are-sky-and-plain-but-i-know-fairer-far-those-are-as/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```