--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The trombones crunched redgold under my…" description: "\"The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling throu..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/anthony-burgess-1167_bed_the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my_374118.jpg" --- # The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my… ![“The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like…” quote by Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/anthony-burgess-1167_bed_the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my_374118.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/anthony-burgess-1167_bed_the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my_374118.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/anthony-burgess-1167_bed_the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my_374118.jpg) > “The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now, came the violin solo above all the other strings, and those strings were like a cage of silk around my bed. Then flute and oboe bored, like worms of like platinum, into the thick thick toffee gold and silver. I was in such bliss, my brothers.” [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A vivid, chaotic description of sensory overload, blending musical and fantastical imagery to convey ecstatic wonder. **In simple terms:** Intense sensory overload and awe. Key Takeaway Embrace the chaos of imagination. Themes imagination sensory overload wonder music fantasy Mood ecstatic overwhelmed curious Type poetic descriptive imaginative When to use this quote - creative writing - artistic inspiration - mindful meditation - dream analysis - experimental music Key Concepts surrealism poetic description synesthetic metaphor Questions to Reflect On - What emotions does this vivid imagery evoke? - How can such sensory detail enhance storytelling? A Different Perspective The imagery may be too dense for some readers, limiting accessibility. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bird/) [Bliss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bliss/) [Bored](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bored/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Candy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/candy/) [Gold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold/) [Gold and silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gold-and-silver/) [Gravity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gravity/) [Gulliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gulliver/) [Guts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guts/) [Nonsense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nonsense/) [Oboes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oboes/) [Silver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/silver/) [Spaceships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spaceships/) [Thunder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thunder/) [Toffee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/toffee/) [Violin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/violin/) [Wine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wine/) [Wise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wise/) [Wonder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wonder/) ## Related quotes > [“Oh it was gorgeousness and gorgeosity made flesh. The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/oh-it-was-gorgeousness-and-gorgeosity-made-flesh-the-trombones/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [In my opinion, the trombone is the true head of the family of wind instruments, which I have named the 'epic' one. It possesses…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hector-berlioz/in-my-opinion-the-trombone-is-the-true-head-of-the-family-of-wind/) [Hector Berlioz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hector-berlioz/) > [“You make me feel like honey and trombones.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anis-mojgani/you-make-me-feel-like-honey-and-trombones/) [Anis Mojgani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anis-mojgani/) > [Never look at the trombones. You'll only encourage them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-look-at-the-trombones-you-ll-only-encourage-them/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [Never look at the trombones, it only encourages them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-wagner/never-look-at-the-trombones-it-only-encourages-them/) [Richard Wagner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-wagner/) > [I certainly hear the Trombones Unlimited version of "Daydream" in a lot of elevators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-sebastian/i-certainly-hear-the-trombones-unlimited-version-of-daydream-in-a-lot/) [John Sebastian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-sebastian/) > [Never look at the trombones, you'll just encourage them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-strauss/never-look-at-the-trombones-you-ll-just-encourage-them/) [Richard Strauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-strauss/) > [But the stuff that I do is more like all the comic roles like in The Merry Widow and Die Fledermaus and I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-graae/but-the-stuff-that-i-do-is-more-like-all-the-comic-roles-like-in-the/) [Jason Graae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-graae/) > [Spent the fortnight gone in the music room reworking my year's fragments into a 'sextet for overlapping soloists': piano, clarinet, 'cello, flute, oboe, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-mitchell/spent-the-fortnight-gone-in-the-music-room-reworking-my-year-s/) [David Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-mitchell/) > [I guess I just look at talent as a very subjective thing. I mean, if you never tried playing an oboe, how do you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-soderbergh/i-guess-i-just-look-at-talent-as-a-very-subjective-thing-i-mean-if/) [Steven Soderbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-soderbergh/) > [And that unusual squawking sound is actually the mating call of the the rare...oh, it's just an oboe player.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-irwin/and-that-unusual-squawking-sound-is-actually-the-mating-call-of-the/) [Steve Irwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-irwin/) > [Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is now fourteen, and, while he gives little sign of doing what Lord Rochester planned to do at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lane/harry-potter-daniel-radcliffe-is-now-fourteen-and-while-he-gives/) [Anthony Lane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lane/) > [The oboe's a horn made of wood. I'd play you a tune if I could, But the reeds are a pain, And the fingering's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/the-oboe-s-a-horn-made-of-wood-i-d-play-you-a-tune-if-i-could-but-the/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [The oboe sounds like a clarinet with a cold.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-borge/the-oboe-sounds-like-a-clarinet-with-a-cold/) [Victor Borge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-borge/) > [All music is what awakes from you when you are reminded by the instruments. It is not the violins and the cornets-it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walt-whitman/all-music-is-what-awakes-from-you-when-you-are-reminded-by-the/) [Walt Whitman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walt-whitman/) ## More by Anthony Burgess > [If you expect the worst from a person you can never be disappointed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/if-you-expect-the-worst-from-a-person-you-can-never-be-disappointed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Life is a wretched gray Saturday, but it has to be lived through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/life-is-a-wretched-gray-saturday-but-it-has-to-be-lived-through/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A novelist should not be too intelligent either, although... he may be permitted to be an intellectual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-novelist-should-not-be-too-intelligent-either-although-he-may-be/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“A man who serves language, however imperfectly, should always serve truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-man-who-serves-language-however-imperfectly-should-always-serve/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [All human life is here, but the Holy Ghost seems to be somewhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/all-human-life-is-here-but-the-holy-ghost-seems-to-be-somewhere-else/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Rome's just a city like anywhere else. A vastly overrated city, I'd say. It trades on belief just as Stratford trades on Shakespeare.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/rome-s-just-a-city-like-anywhere-else-a-vastly-overrated-city-i-d-say/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The important thing is moral choice. Evil has to exist along with good, in order that moral choice may operate. Life is sustained by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-important-thing-is-moral-choice-evil-has-to-exist-along-with-good/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Civilised my syphilised yarbles.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/civilised-my-syphilised-yarbles/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The downtrodden are the great creators of slang.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-downtrodden-are-the-great-creators-of-slang/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [Without class differences, England would cease to be the living theatre it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/without-class-differences-england-would-cease-to-be-the-living/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [The ideal reader of my novels is a lapsed Catholic and failed musician, short-sighted, colour-blind, auditorily biased, who has read the books that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-ideal-reader-of-my-novels-is-a-lapsed-catholic-and-failed/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [... A CLOCKWORK ORANGE- and I said: 'That's a fair gloopy title. Who ever heard of a clockwork orange?' Then I read a malenky…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-clockwork-orange-and-i-said-that-s-a-fair-gloopy-title-who-ever/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [A work of fiction should be, for its author, a journey into the unknown, and the prose should convey the difficulties of the journey.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/a-work-of-fiction-should-be-for-its-author-a-journey-into-the-unknown/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“They don't go into what is the cause of goodness, so why of the other shop? If lewdies are good that's because they like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/they-don-t-go-into-what-is-the-cause-of-goodness-so-why-of-the-other/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) > [“By definition, a human being is endowed with free will. He can use this to choose between good and evil. If he can only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/by-definition-a-human-being-is-endowed-with-free-will-he-can-use-this/) [Anthony Burgess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) [Explore all 261 Anthony Burgess quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/) ## More Bed quotes > [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/) > [Your idea of fidelity is not having more than one man in bed at the same time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-raphael/your-idea-of-fidelity-is-not-having-more-than-one-man-in-bed-at-the/) [Frederic Raphael](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-raphael/) > [The beginning of love is all about the butterflies, but the end of it is when you can't get out of bed in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/the-beginning-of-love-is-all-about-the-butterflies-but-the-end-of-it/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [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/) > [I wish I had as much in bed as I get in the newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-ronstadt/i-wish-i-had-as-much-in-bed-as-i-get-in-the-newspapers/) [Linda Ronstadt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-ronstadt/) > [ Leave a cavity behind the \[wall\] facings, and on the inside build walls two feet thick, made of red dimension stone or burnt brick… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/leave-a-cavity-behind-the-wall-facings-and-on-the-inside-build-walls/) [Marcus Vitruvius Pollio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-vitruvius-pollio/) > [Why couldn't Jesus command us to obsess over everything, to try to control and manipulate people, to try not to breathe at all, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-lamott/why-couldn-t-jesus-command-us-to-obsess-over-everything-to-try-to/) [Anne Lamott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-lamott/) > [“To all the secret writers, late-night painters, would-be singers, lapsed and scared artists of every stripe, dig out your paintbrush, or your flute, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shauna-niequist/to-all-the-secret-writers-late-night-painters-would-be-singers-lapsed/) [Shauna Niequist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shauna-niequist/) > [“In the parking lot, she drove and parked in a dark area with no other cars around. She reclined her seat, and listened to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tao-lin/in-the-parking-lot-she-drove-and-parked-in-a-dark-area-with-no-other/) [Tao Lin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tao-lin/) > [It wasn't really touching to be young; it was touching not to be young, because you had less of life left. Touching to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rose-macaulay/it-wasn-t-really-touching-to-be-young-it-was-touching-not-to-be-young/) [Rose Macaulay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rose-macaulay/) > [I have to meditate before I go to bed, always. I have to let the day go and let the eternal in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bellamy-young/i-have-to-meditate-before-i-go-to-bed-always-i-have-to-let-the-day-go/) [Bellamy Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bellamy-young/) > [Sometimes by a woodland stream he watched the water rush over the pebbled bed, its tiny modulations of bounce and flow. A woman's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/salman-rushdie/sometimes-by-a-woodland-stream-he-watched-the-water-rush-over-the/) [Salman Rushdie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/salman-rushdie/) > [I think life is full of challenges and problems. I don't believe that anyone is perfect. We all make mistakes. It's not a bed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-mansell/i-think-life-is-full-of-challenges-and-problems-i-don-t-believe-that/) [Nigel Mansell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-mansell/) > [When I saw him I thought I could curl up inside him and go to sleep and never wake up." "Men are no good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/when-i-saw-him-i-thought-i-could-curl-up-inside-him-and-go-to-sleep/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I always wanted to be a movie star. I thought it meant being famous and having breakfast in bed. I didn't know you had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-allyson/i-always-wanted-to-be-a-movie-star-i-thought-it-meant-being-famous/) [June Allyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-allyson/) Browse all 4,159 Bed quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed, and there by the door the timps rolling through my guts and out again crunched like candy thunder. Oh, it was wonder of wonders. And then, a bird of like rarest spun heavenmetal, or like silvery wine flowing in a spaceship, gravity all nonsense now, came the violin solo above all the other strings, and those strings were like a cage of silk around my bed. Then flute and oboe bored, like worms of like platinum, into the thick thick toffee gold and silver. I was in such bliss, my brothers.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Anthony Burgess" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my-bed-and-behind-my-gulliver/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Bed" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my-bed-and-behind-my-gulliver/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/anthony-burgess-1167_bed_the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my_374118.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/anthony-burgess-1167_bed_the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my_374118.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/65c/anthony-burgess-1167_bed_the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my_374118.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The trombones crunched redgold under my bed, and behind my gulliver the trumpets three-wise silverflamed…” — Anthony Burgess", "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": "Anthony Burgess", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-burgess/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The trombones crunched redgold under my...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my-bed-and-behind-my-gulliver/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-burgess/the-trombones-crunched-redgold-under-my-bed-and-behind-my-gulliver/#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 } } ] } ```