--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What a miserable thing life is: you're…" description: "\"What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough.\" — Bertolt Brecht" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/bertolt-brecht-1065_clover_what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-li_2377824.jpg" --- # What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover… ![“What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough.” quote by Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/bertolt-brecht-1065_clover_what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-li_2377824.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/bertolt-brecht-1065_clover_what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-li_2377824.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/bertolt-brecht-1065_clover_what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-li_2377824.jpg) > “What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough.” [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Life feels miserable when one's environment is inadequate, like living in a field of clover that isn’t good enough. **In simple terms:** Unsatisfactory surroundings cause unhappiness. Key Takeaway Seek environments that fulfill you. Themes existential discontent environment expectation satisfaction Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - career choices - living conditions - relationship dynamics - personal growth Key Concepts Brechtian critique alienation social commentary Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your life feel like 'bad clover'? - Can you improve surroundings or mindset? A Different Perspective Not all dissatisfaction stems from environment alone. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good enough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-enough/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Miserable](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/miserable/) ## Related quotes > [What a miserable thing life is: you're in clover; only the clover isn't good enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-in-clover-only-the-clover-isn-t/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Life is a miserable thing. I have decided to spend my life thinking about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/life-is-a-miserable-thing-i-have-decided-to-spend-my-life-thinking/) [Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/) > [“I'm miserable but the thing is that I want to be miserable. It's kind of nice. Like a comfortable sweater that you put on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/autumn-doughton/i-m-miserable-but-the-thing-is-that-i-want-to-be-miserable-it-s-kind/) [Autumn Doughton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/autumn-doughton/) > [Listening to Chris Moyles on Radio 1 is the most miserable thing any human being can do, but attending awards ceremonies isn't far behind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-smith/listening-to-chris-moyles-on-radio-1-is-the-most-miserable-thing-any/) [Arthur Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-smith/) > [You can't always look at life as a miserable thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-jackson/you-can-t-always-look-at-life-as-a-miserable-thing/) [Peter Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-jackson/) > [Vain is equivalent to empty; thus vanity is so miserable a thing, that one cannot give it a worse name than its own. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-chamfort/vain-is-equivalent-to-empty-thus-vanity-is-so-miserable-a-thing-that/) [Nicolas Chamfort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-chamfort/) > [It is a miserable thing to live in suspense; it is the life of the spider.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-swift/it-is-a-miserable-thing-to-live-in-suspense-it-is-the-life-of-the/) [Jonathan Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-swift/) > [It is a most miserable thing to feel ashamed of home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dickens/it-is-a-most-miserable-thing-to-feel-ashamed-of-home/) [Charles Dickens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dickens/) > [“To be wounded or die at the hands of one who is meant to love you. Is there a more miserable thing in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhiannon-hart/to-be-wounded-or-die-at-the-hands-of-one-who-is-meant-to-love-you-is/) Rhiannon Hart > [“crimson and clover”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-hamilton/crimson-and-clover/) Grant Hamilton > [“She stopped by an empty field, the soil abandoned, gone to mustard weed and grass. Lush bundles of crimson clover lined the fence. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/she-stopped-by-an-empty-field-the-soil-abandoned-gone-to-mustard-weed/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [My best friend is like a 4 leaf clover , 1 of a kind and already taken (;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moores/my-best-friend-is-like-a-4-leaf-clover-1-of-a-kind-and-already-taken/) [Sarah Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moores/) > [Pop just didn't have enough substance for me. All this nyah-nyah-nyah, you know, 'Paper Tiger' and 'Hold the Ladder, James' and 'Crimson and Clover.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-allman/pop-just-didn-t-have-enough-substance-for-me-all-this-nyah-nyah-nyah/) [Gregg Allman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-allman/) > [“Ilse and I hunted all over the old orchard today for a four-leaved clover and couldn't find one. Then I found one in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/ilse-and-i-hunted-all-over-the-old-orchard-today-for-a-four-leaved/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [I was in a vintage pub rock band called Clover in the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/i-was-in-a-vintage-pub-rock-band-called-clover-in-the-1970s/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) ## More by Bertolt Brecht > [Their peace and their war Are like wind and storm. War grows from their peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/their-peace-and-their-war-are-like-wind-and-storm-war-grows-from/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Boy Meets Girl, So What?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/boy-meets-girl-so-what/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Some party hack decreed that the people had lost the government's confidence and could only regain it with redoubled effort. If that is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/some-party-hack-decreed-that-the-people-had-lost-the-government-s/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Art is not a mirror held up to reality but a hammer with which to shape it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/art-is-not-a-mirror-held-up-to-reality-but-a-hammer-with-which-to/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [People remain what they are even if their faces fall apart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/people-remain-what-they-are-even-if-their-faces-fall-apart/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Go make yourself a plan And be a shining light. Then make yourself a second plan, For neither will come right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/go-make-yourself-a-plan-and-be-a-shining-light-then-make-yourself-a/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Fearful is the seductive power of goodness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/fearful-is-the-seductive-power-of-goodness/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Hungry man, reach for the book: it is a weapon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/hungry-man-reach-for-the-book-it-is-a-weapon/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [There are some with brains and some without. It makes for a better division of labour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/there-are-some-with-brains-and-some-without-it-makes-for-a-better/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“When the sharks the sharks devour Little fishes have their hour.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/when-the-sharks-the-sharks-devour-little-fishes-have-their-hour/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“In my poetry a rhyme Would seem to me almost insolent. Inside me contend Delight at the apple tree in blossom And horror at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/in-my-poetry-a-rhyme-would-seem-to-me-almost-insolent-inside-me/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [“The law was made for one thing alone,for the exploitation of those who don't understand it, or are prevented by naked misery from obeying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/the-law-was-made-for-one-thing-alone-for-the-exploitation-of-those/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [From the start it has been the theatre's business to entertain people ... it needs no other passport than fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/from-the-start-it-has-been-the-theatre-s-business-to-entertain-people/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [Whenever there are great virtues, it's a sure sign something's wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/whenever-there-are-great-virtues-it-s-a-sure-sign-something-s-wrong/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [First feed the face, then talk right and wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/first-feed-the-face-then-talk-right-and-wrong/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) [Explore all 260 Bertolt Brecht quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) ## More Clover quotes > [I was in a vintage pub rock band called Clover in the 1970s.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/huey-lewis/i-was-in-a-vintage-pub-rock-band-called-clover-in-the-1970s/) [Huey Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/huey-lewis/) > [“Ilse and I hunted all over the old orchard today for a four-leaved clover and couldn't find one. Then I found one in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-m-montgomery/ilse-and-i-hunted-all-over-the-old-orchard-today-for-a-four-leaved/) [L.M. Montgomery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-m-montgomery/) > [Pop just didn't have enough substance for me. All this nyah-nyah-nyah, you know, 'Paper Tiger' and 'Hold the Ladder, James' and 'Crimson and Clover.'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-allman/pop-just-didn-t-have-enough-substance-for-me-all-this-nyah-nyah-nyah/) [Gregg Allman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-allman/) > [My best friend is like a 4 leaf clover , 1 of a kind and already taken (;](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-moores/my-best-friend-is-like-a-4-leaf-clover-1-of-a-kind-and-already-taken/) [Sarah Moores](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-moores/) > [“She stopped by an empty field, the soil abandoned, gone to mustard weed and grass. Lush bundles of crimson clover lined the fence. At…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rene-denfeld/she-stopped-by-an-empty-field-the-soil-abandoned-gone-to-mustard-weed/) [Rene Denfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rene-denfeld/) > [“crimson and clover”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grant-hamilton/crimson-and-clover/) Grant Hamilton > [“I put the lover in clover. Especially if there are four leaves.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-put-the-lover-in-clover-especially-if-there-are-four-leaves/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Running was Clover's favorite thing to do, after reading. She loved the way the cement felt hard and unforgiving under her feet until she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shaunta-grimes/running-was-clover-s-favorite-thing-to-do-after-reading-she-loved-the/) Shaunta Grimes > [A good guy is like a four leaf clover. Lucky to have but hard to find.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-good-guy-is-like-a-four-leaf-clover-lucky-to-have-but-hard-to-find/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I've always been drawn to the four-leaf clover. It's deeply significant to my sister and me, so much so that we both have had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-imbruglia/i-ve-always-been-drawn-to-the-four-leaf-clover-it-s-deeply/) [Natalie Imbruglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/natalie-imbruglia/) > [“There, Clover found the "gardens and great trees and old cottages...so beautiful" that seeing them exhausted her. It was as if, she joked with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/natalie-dykstra/there-clover-found-the-gardens-and-great-trees-and-old-cottages-so/) Natalie Dykstra > [“I'm looking over a four-leaf clover that I overlooked before.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/i-m-looking-over-a-four-leaf-clover-that-i-overlooked-before/) [Jerry Spinelli](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-spinelli/) > [What a miserable thing life is: you're in clover; only the clover isn't good enough.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-in-clover-only-the-clover-isn-t/) [Bertolt Brecht](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/) > [I love discovering new young brands and watching these fashion lines take off, like Peter Pilotto, Christopher Kane, and Clover Canyon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-jacobs/i-love-discovering-new-young-brands-and-watching-these-fashion-lines/) [Gillian Jacobs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-jacobs/) > [If you meet a cross-eyed person you must plunge into the grass, alongside the chilly ants, fish through the green fingernails and come up…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-sexton/if-you-meet-a-cross-eyed-person-you-must-plunge-into-the-grass/) [Anne Sexton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-sexton/) Browse all 42 Clover quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bertolt Brecht" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-living-in-clover-only-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Clover" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-living-in-clover-only-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/bertolt-brecht-1065_clover_what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-li_2377824.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/bertolt-brecht-1065_clover_what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-li_2377824.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f01/bertolt-brecht-1065_clover_what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-li_2377824.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What a miserable thing life is: you're living in clover, only the clover isn't good enough.” — Bertolt Brecht", "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": "Bertolt Brecht", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bertolt-brecht/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What a miserable thing life is:...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-living-in-clover-only-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bertolt-brecht/what-a-miserable-thing-life-is-you-re-living-in-clover-only-the/#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 } } ] } ```