--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: ...some hours later they were down at the…" description: "\"“...some hours later they were down at the railroad tracks standing close together by the switch lights. The huge night moved overhead scattering drops..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/anne-carson-1985_night_some-hours-later-they-were-down-at-the-r_2635305.png" --- # ...some hours later they were down at the railroad tracks… ![“...some hours later they were down at the railroad tracks standing close together by the switch lights. The huge night moved overhead scattering drops of itself.” quote by Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/anne-carson-1985_night_some-hours-later-they-were-down-at-the-r_2635305.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/anne-carson-1985_night_some-hours-later-they-were-down-at-the-r_2635305.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3ac/anne-carson-1985_night_some-hours-later-they-were-down-at-the-r_2635305.png) > ““...some hours later they were down at the railroad tracks standing close together by the switch lights. The huge night moved overhead scattering drops of itself.”” [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Nighttime scenes blur reality, showing how darkness can both conceal and reveal hidden emotions. **In simple terms:** Night hides and reveals. Key Takeaway Notice what darkness reveals. Themes night perception emotion Mood melancholic poetic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - loneliness - travel - grief - reflection Key Concepts existentialism phenomenology Questions to Reflect On - How does darkness affect your perception? - What emotions surface at night? A Different Perspective Interpretations can vary widely. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Night](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) [Railroad tracks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/railroad-tracks/) ## Related quotes > [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/) Mother Jones > [People don't like railroad tracks near them? We'll see how they feel when the percentage of U.S. citizens who can afford to drive a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-howard-kunstler/people-don-t-like-railroad-tracks-near-them-we-ll-see-how-they-feel/) [James Howard Kunstler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-howard-kunstler/) > [The ability to rebound is in inverse proportion to the distance your house is from the nearest railroad tracks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-meyer/the-ability-to-rebound-is-in-inverse-proportion-to-the-distance-your/) [Don Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-meyer/) > [I lived a few miles outside of a tiny town in central Oklahoma. I would often run amok though the fields of wheat, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-manning/i-lived-a-few-miles-outside-of-a-tiny-town-in-central-oklahoma-i/) [Chelsea Manning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-manning/) > [“Between the railroad tracks suicidal flowers grow. .”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-n-g-mez-de-la-serna/between-the-railroad-tracks-suicidal-flowers-grow/) [Ramón Gómez de la Serna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-n-g-mez-de-la-serna/) > [Separation of the Church and State is like a railroad track. It cannot be close to one another, neither can it be distant, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaime-sin/separation-of-the-church-and-state-is-like-a-railroad-track-it-cannot/) Jaime Sin > [It is still news to her that passion could steer her wrong though she went down, a thousand times strung out across railroad tracks,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-di-prima/it-is-still-news-to-her-that-passion-could-steer-her-wrong-though-she/) [Diane di Prima](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-di-prima/) > [You cannot tie your fiance to the railroad track of self-reflection and personal improvement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-dickinson/you-cannot-tie-your-fiance-to-the-railroad-track-of-self-reflection/) [Amy Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-dickinson/) > [There was one moment, and it happened in school. I had a big final exam - we were supposed to write a 20-page report…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-burton/there-was-one-moment-and-it-happened-in-school-i-had-a-big-final-exam/) [Tim Burton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-burton/) > [Now I need to take a piece of wood and make it sound like the railroad track, but I also had to make it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/les-paul/now-i-need-to-take-a-piece-of-wood-and-make-it-sound-like-the/) [Les Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/les-paul/) > [When I was a little kid, I used to walk miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles of railroad tracks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pam-houston/when-i-was-a-little-kid-i-used-to-walk-miles-and-miles-and-miles-and/) [Pam Houston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pam-houston/) > [“Given a little wine, you will find folks are the same no matter what side of the railroad tracks they came from.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nancy-b-brewer/given-a-little-wine-you-will-find-folks-are-the-same-no-matter-what/) [Nancy B. Brewer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nancy-b-brewer/) > [My father was a logger. He cut timber and hauled it out of the woods and had a sawmill. They sawed it into lumber.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-stanley/my-father-was-a-logger-he-cut-timber-and-hauled-it-out-of-the-woods/) [Ralph Stanley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-stanley/) > [I started composting in 1970 by taking my food scraps out behind where I lived and burying them in a hole next to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-begley-jr/i-started-composting-in-1970-by-taking-my-food-scraps-out-behind/) [Ed Begley, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-begley-jr/) > [It's the same things your whole life. 'Clean up your room!', 'Stand up straight!', 'Pick up your feet!', 'Take it like a man!', 'Be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-connors/it-s-the-same-things-your-whole-life-clean-up-your-room-stand-up/) [Philip Connors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-connors/) ## More by Anne Carson > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Town of the Dragon Vein If you wake up too early listen for it. A sort of inverted whistling the sound of sound. Being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/town-of-the-dragon-vein-if-you-wake-up-too-early-listen-for-it-a-sort/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“You could take the entirety of the common sense of humans and put it in the palm of your hand and still have room…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/you-could-take-the-entirety-of-the-common-sense-of-humans-and-put-it/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Could you visit me in dreams? That would cheer me. Sweet to see friends in the night, however short the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/could-you-visit-me-in-dreams-that-would-cheer-me-sweet-to-see-friends/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“He had a respect for facts maybe this was one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/he-had-a-respect-for-facts-maybe-this-was-one/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“She stumbled then and Geryon caught her other arm, it was like a handful of autumn. He felt huge and wrong. When is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/she-stumbled-then-and-geryon-caught-her-other-arm-it-was-like-a/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“M: ... but everytime I start in everytime I everytime you see I would have to tell the whole story all over again or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/m-but-everytime-i-start-in-everytime-i-everytime-you-see-i-would-have/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“On the Rules of Perspective A bad trick. Mistake. Dishonesty. These are the views of Braque. Why? Braque rejected perspective. Why? Someone who spends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/on-the-rules-of-perspective-a-bad-trick-mistake-dishonesty-these-are/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [We participate in the creation of the world by decreating ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/we-participate-in-the-creation-of-the-world-by-decreating-ourselves/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Look at me. This is nobility in a man: to bear what falls from the gods and not say No.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/look-at-me-this-is-nobility-in-a-man-to-bear-what-falls-from-the-gods/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Well, they said, these are the pies we have . It was a proverb.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/well-they-said-these-are-the-pies-we-have-it-was-a-proverb/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [What is a quote? A quote (cognate with quota) is a cut, a section, a slice of someone's orange. You suck the slice, toss…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/what-is-a-quote-a-quote-cognate-with-quota-is-a-cut-a-section-a-slice/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Up against another human being one's own procedures take on definition](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/up-against-another-human-being-one-s-own-procedures-take-on-definition/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Philosophy - hopeless. Yet it gives me hope.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/philosophy-hopeless-yet-it-gives-me-hope/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [“Grief and rage--you need to contain that, to put a frame around it, where it can play itself out without you or your kin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/grief-and-rage-you-need-to-contain-that-to-put-a-frame-around-it/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Explore all 193 Anne Carson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) ## More Night quotes > [I don't drink much anymore, but when I traveled with Frank Sinatra, God rest his soul, I used to drink like I could do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/don-rickles/i-don-t-drink-much-anymore-but-when-i-traveled-with-frank-sinatra-god/) [Don Rickles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/don-rickles/) > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [Don’t you just hate nights like that, when you think over every mistake you’ve made, every hurt you’ve received, every bit of meanness you’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlaine-harris/don-t-you-just-hate-nights-like-that-when-you-think-over-every/) [Charlaine Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlaine-harris/) > [At the end of night, before you close your eyes, be content with what you've done and be proud of who you are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-almond/at-the-end-of-night-before-you-close-your-eyes-be-content-with-what/) [Steve Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-almond/) > [The cooler days have brought a wistful mood upon him. The smell of coalsmoke in the air at night. Old times, dead years. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cormac-mccarthy/the-cooler-days-have-brought-a-wistful-mood-upon-him-the-smell-of/) [Cormac McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cormac-mccarthy/) > [One of the deepest and strangest of all human moods is the mood which will suddenly strike us perhaps in a garden at night,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/one-of-the-deepest-and-strangest-of-all-human-moods-is-the-mood-which/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't like working all hours of the night and having an unreliable working pattern.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-giacchino/i-don-t-like-working-all-hours-of-the-night-and-having-an-unreliable/) [Michael Giacchino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-giacchino/) > [When man of slender visits you / Nothing on earth that one can do / In well he’ll hide, or watery hole / And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-goldstein/when-man-of-slender-visits-you-nothing-on-earth-that-one-can-do-in/) [Jack Goldstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-goldstein/) > [Home is behind, the world ahead, And there are many paths to tread Through shadows to the edge of night, Until the stars are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/home-is-behind-the-world-ahead-and-there-are-many-paths-to-tread/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“After nine nights must come ten and every desperate meeting only leaves you desperate for another. There is never enough to eat, never enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeanette-winterson/after-nine-nights-must-come-ten-and-every-desperate-meeting-only/) [Jeanette Winterson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeanette-winterson/) > [“The universe contains any amount of horrible ways to be woken up, such as the noise of the mob breaking down the front door,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/the-universe-contains-any-amount-of-horrible-ways-to-be-woken-up-such/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [I didn't get how big it was until I went home, turned on the television and saw it on all the news, and later…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/i-didn-t-get-how-big-it-was-until-i-went-home-turned-on-the/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [“We drive west the rest of the night, away from where the sun will come up, trying to outrace it, trying not to see…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-palahniuk/we-drive-west-the-rest-of-the-night-away-from-where-the-sun-will-come/) [Chuck Palahniuk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-palahniuk/) > [Bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Take what I cannot give: my heart, body, thoughts, time, abilities, money, health, strength,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-prentiss/bring-into-captivity-every-thought-to-the-obedience-of-christ-take/) [Elizabeth Prentiss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-prentiss/) [Browse all 17,282 Night quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/night/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“...some hours later they were down at the railroad tracks standing close together by the switch lights. 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