--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: They're selling postcards of the hanging." description: "\"They're selling postcards of the hanging.\" — Bob Dylan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/bob-dylan-168_hanging_they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging_1624805.jpg" --- # They're selling postcards of the hanging. ![“They're selling postcards of the hanging.” quote by Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/bob-dylan-168_hanging_they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging_1624805.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/bob-dylan-168_hanging_they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging_1624805.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/bob-dylan-168_hanging_they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging_1624805.jpg) > “They're selling postcards of the hanging.” [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Comments on the commercialization of tragedy, noting that even grim events become marketable souvenirs. **In simple terms:** Tragedy turned into cheap memorabilia. Key Takeaway Question the ethics of profiting from suffering. Themes commercialism morality tragedy Mood critical thought‑provoking Type political social commentary When to use this quote - tourism - news media - memorials Key Concepts ethical critique media exploitation Questions to Reflect On - Why do we buy reminders of pain? - How can we respect victims while remembering? A Different Perspective Commercial interest can desensitize audiences. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hanging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hanging/) [Law](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/law/) [Order](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/order/) [Postcards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postcards/) [Postcards Hanging](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/postcards-hanging-321170/) [Selling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling/) [Selling Postcards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/selling-postcards-321171/) ## Related quotes > [They're selling postcards of the hanging They're painting the passports brown The beauty parlor is filled with sailors The circus is in town Here…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging-they-re-painting-the/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just as in writing, there are novelistic and sort of pedestrian ways of telling a story, to write a postcard with your little pocket…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonas-mekas/just-as-in-writing-there-are-novelistic-and-sort-of-pedestrian-ways/) [Jonas Mekas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonas-mekas/) > [Because we do not sell photographs, we have no royalties on books, posters, postcards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christo/because-we-do-not-sell-photographs-we-have-no-royalties-on-books/) [Christo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christo/) > [I had everything you could collect. I had these Spice Girls postcards. I also had the stickers and Barbie girls. I had all five…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo/i-had-everything-you-could-collect-i-had-these-spice-girls-postcards/) [MO](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo/) > [“What happened to all the historical detritus in the world? Some of it made it into drawers of museums, okay, but what about all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reif-larsen/what-happened-to-all-the-historical-detritus-in-the-world-some-of-it/) [Reif Larsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reif-larsen/) > [“When I was a boy, I would read those postcards and know exactly why my father was doing what he was doing: he was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brock-clarke/when-i-was-a-boy-i-would-read-those-postcards-and-know-exactly-why-my/) [Brock Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brock-clarke/) > [Why is it so much easier to talk to a stranger? why do we feel we need to disconnect in order to connect? If…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/why-is-it-so-much-easier-to-talk-to-a-stranger-why-do-we-feel-we-need/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [“I've never heard of anybody getting rid of their prized Exile postcards, much less actually writing on them and sending them through the mail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-ve-never-heard-of-anybody-getting-rid-of-their-prized-exile/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“When I was a little girl, I used to sit in that two bedroom chattel house in Barbados and dream about America, the one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-j-forde/when-i-was-a-little-girl-i-used-to-sit-in-that-two-bedroom-chattel/) [Charmaine J Forde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-j-forde/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“As the postwoman waited, she dreamed of all the things she liked….Tiny postal stamps with colourful pictures. Thick postcards with exotic fragrances. Brown envelopes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/priyadarshini/as-the-postwoman-waited-she-dreamed-of-all-the-things-she-liked-tiny/) [Priyadarshini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/priyadarshini/) > [It is not without trepidation that I have appropriated the codes of the Sublime and the Picturesque in my work. After all, serious photographers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-pfahl/it-is-not-without-trepidation-that-i-have-appropriated-the-codes-of/) [John Pfahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-pfahl/) > [Ugster vinyl pumps, Partridge Family records, plastic daisy jewelry, old postcards. . . . It's a magpie Christmas market.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-lia-block/ugster-vinyl-pumps-partridge-family-records-plastic-daisy-jewelry-old/) [Francesca Lia Block](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-lia-block/) > [There just seems to be more acceptance now of other kinds of British films, than the picture-postcard ones.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-roth/there-just-seems-to-be-more-acceptance-now-of-other-kinds-of-british/) [Tim Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-roth/) > [When we're done simplifying the tax code, getting the lobbyist carve outs our of the tax code, lowering our rates and letting people have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ryan/when-we-re-done-simplifying-the-tax-code-getting-the-lobbyist-carve/) [Paul Ryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ryan/) ## More by Bob Dylan > [The hollow horn plays wasted words, proves to warn that he not busy being born is busy dying.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-hollow-horn-plays-wasted-words-proves-to-warn-that-he-not-busy/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't forget to support your public library.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-forget-to-support-your-public-library/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [You don't count the dead, when god's on your side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/you-don-t-count-the-dead-when-god-s-on-your-side/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She makes love just like a woman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-makes-love-just-like-a-woman/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Silvio, I gotta go, find out something only dead men know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/silvio-i-gotta-go-find-out-something-only-dead-men-know/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I don't really have a retirement plan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-don-t-really-have-a-retirement-plan/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Just a reminder, if you tell anyone about what happened with Jonah last night, I'll destroy all of my writing and never play music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/just-a-reminder-if-you-tell-anyone-about-what-happened-with-jonah/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Little red wagon, little red bike, I ain’t no monkey but I know what I like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/little-red-wagon-little-red-bike-i-ain-t-no-monkey-but-i-know-what-i/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Twenty years of schooling and they put you on the day shift - look out out kid, they keep it all hid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/twenty-years-of-schooling-and-they-put-you-on-the-day-shift-look-out/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The drunken politician leaps upon the street where mothers weep, and the saviors who are fast asleep, they wait for you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-drunken-politician-leaps-upon-the-street-where-mothers-weep-and/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Your eyes are like two jewels in the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/your-eyes-are-like-two-jewels-in-the-sky/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [I gotta friend who spends his life, stabbing my picture with a bowie knife. Dreams of strangling me with a scarf, when my name…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/i-gotta-friend-who-spends-his-life-stabbing-my-picture-with-a-bowie/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [She speaks with a stutter and she and she walks with a hop. I don't know why I love her, but I just can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/she-speaks-with-a-stutter-and-she-and-she-walks-with-a-hop-i-don-t/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [The man in the coon skin cap in the pig pen wants eleven dollar bills, you've only got ten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/the-man-in-the-coon-skin-cap-in-the-pig-pen-wants-eleven-dollar-bills/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [Don't put my faith in nobody, not even a scientist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/don-t-put-my-faith-in-nobody-not-even-a-scientist/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) [Explore all 1,018 Bob Dylan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) ## More Hanging quotes > [We were so poor as kids. I didn't even see a bathtub, running water, hot water, commode - we didn't have any of that.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-robertson/we-were-so-poor-as-kids-i-didn-t-even-see-a-bathtub-running-water-hot/) [Phil Robertson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-robertson/) > [On 'Workaholics,' I feel like I'm just hanging out with my buddies being filmed, but on 'Mindy,' I'm around professional funny people who act.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anders-holm/on-workaholics-i-feel-like-i-m-just-hanging-out-with-my-buddies-being/) [Anders Holm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anders-holm/) > [I've been working with a holistic specialist, trying to bring my body into balance, and part of making that happen is putting my mom's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/corbin-bernsen/i-ve-been-working-with-a-holistic-specialist-trying-to-bring-my-body/) [Corbin Bernsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/corbin-bernsen/) > [“hangover is better than hanging…!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felix-a-samuel/hangover-is-better-than-hanging/) [felix a samuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felix-a-samuel/) > [The thing about 'Doctor Who' is it's chased around the world, so there's 50 fans hanging out at every location.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-riley/the-thing-about-doctor-who-is-it-s-chased-around-the-world-so-there-s/) [Tom Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-riley/) > [We've never managed, either one of us, to get all the way into life. We're hanging on to the outside for all we're worth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-bowles/we-ve-never-managed-either-one-of-us-to-get-all-the-way-into-life-we/) [Paul Bowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-bowles/) > [You don't even want to look in the mirror after you've had a baby, because your stomach is just hanging there like a Shar-Pei.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cindy-crawford/you-don-t-even-want-to-look-in-the-mirror-after-you-ve-had-a-baby/) [Cindy Crawford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cindy-crawford/) > [I think there's a lot of wonderful comics that leave you hanging in a state of apprehension or anxiety before alleviating that tension with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-think-there-s-a-lot-of-wonderful-comics-that-leave-you-hanging-in-a/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [“music puts me in touch with life's energy and death still hanging like an old crow on the vines of my mind”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hanna-abi-akl/music-puts-me-in-touch-with-life-s-energy-and-death-still-hanging/) [Hanna Abi Akl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hanna-abi-akl/) > [I moved to L.A. and really didn't dig living there until I found places like Koreatown and Little Tokyo. I really like hanging out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stump/i-moved-to-l-a-and-really-didn-t-dig-living-there-until-i-found/) [Patrick Stump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stump/) > [If I told my 14-year-old self that I'd be hanging out with Keith Richards talking about records, my head would've exploded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-neville/if-i-told-my-14-year-old-self-that-i-d-be-hanging-out-with-keith/) [Morgan Neville](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-neville/) > [“You can't move forward if you're still hanging on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sue-fitzmaurice/you-can-t-move-forward-if-you-re-still-hanging-on/) [Sue Fitzmaurice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sue-fitzmaurice/) > [“Hanging on to stuff doesn’t keep us more connected to people, places, or past moments. Our memories do that, so we can let go.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meg-meeker/hanging-on-to-stuff-doesn-t-keep-us-more-connected-to-people-places/) [Meg Meeker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meg-meeker/) > [When I write songs, it's very random. I get influenced by the most random things! Sometimes it just comes to me in my sleep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roshon-fegan/when-i-write-songs-it-s-very-random-i-get-influenced-by-the-most/) [Roshon Fegan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roshon-fegan/) > [For instance, I always have one hanging in Budapest in the mayors office.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-curtis/for-instance-i-always-have-one-hanging-in-budapest-in-the-mayors/) [Tony Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-curtis/) [Browse all 538 Hanging quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hanging/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "They're selling postcards of the hanging.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Bob Dylan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Hanging" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/bob-dylan-168_hanging_they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging_1624805.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/bob-dylan-168_hanging_they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging_1624805.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fb7/bob-dylan-168_hanging_they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging_1624805.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“They're selling postcards of the hanging.” — Bob Dylan", "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": "Bob Dylan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "They're selling postcards of the hanging.", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/they-re-selling-postcards-of-the-hanging/#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 } } ] } ```