--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was born an Englishman and remained…" description: "\"He was born an Englishman and remained one for years.\" — Brendan Behan" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/brendan-behan-8832_born_he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-o_2071212.png" --- # He was born an Englishman and remained one for years. ![“He was born an Englishman and remained one for years.” quote by Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/brendan-behan-8832_born_he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-o_2071212.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/brendan-behan-8832_born_he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-o_2071212.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/brendan-behan-8832_born_he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-o_2071212.png) > “He was born an Englishman and remained one for years.” [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A man’s national identity can persist despite long residence elsewhere. **In simple terms:** Identity can stay the same despite time abroad. Key Takeaway Recognize the lasting influence of cultural roots. Themes identity nationality belonging Mood reflective nostalgic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - immigration - long‑term expatriation - personal history Key Concepts cultural persistence diaspora Questions to Reflect On - How does your heritage shape your self‑view? - Can identity change over time? A Different Perspective Identity may evolve with experience, not stay static. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Born](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) [Born Englishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born-englishman-3999337/) [England](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/england/) [Englishman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/englishman/) [Englishman Remained](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/englishman-remained-3999338/) [Englishmen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/englishmen/) [Remained Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/remained-years-2144030/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) ## Related quotes > [I arrived at the age of 19, 20 and remained five years at Chelsea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar/i-arrived-at-the-age-of-19-20-and-remained-five-years-at-chelsea/) [Oscar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar/) > [But the actual touch of her lingered, inside his heart. That remained. In all the years of his life ahead, the long years without…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-k-dick/but-the-actual-touch-of-her-lingered-inside-his-heart-that-remained/) [Philip K. Dick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-k-dick/) > [Into the face of the young man who sat on the terrace of the Hotel Magnifique at Cannes there had crept a look of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/into-the-face-of-the-young-man-who-sat-on-the-terrace-of-the-hotel/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [An Englishman never takes his collar off when he is writing. How can you expect him to show you his soul?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-mcfee/an-englishman-never-takes-his-collar-off-when-he-is-writing-how-can/) [William McFee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-mcfee/) > [The Englishman's strong point is his vigorous insularity; that of the American his power of adaptation. Each of these attitudes has its perils. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-wentworth-higginson/the-englishman-s-strong-point-is-his-vigorous-insularity-that-of-the/) [Thomas Wentworth Higginson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-wentworth-higginson/) > [The best-dressed man is an Italian who is trying to look English, or an Englishman who is trying to look Italian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diane-von-furstenberg/the-best-dressed-man-is-an-italian-who-is-trying-to-look-english-or/) [Diane von Furstenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/diane-von-furstenberg/) > [I am, as far as I can tell, about a month behind Lord Byron. In every town we stop at we discover innkeepers, postillions,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/i-am-as-far-as-i-can-tell-about-a-month-behind-lord-byron-in-every/) [Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/) > [The last great Englishman is low.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-lord-tennyson/the-last-great-englishman-is-low/) [Alfred Lord Tennyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-lord-tennyson/) > [The Englishman is under no constitutional obligation to believe that all men are created equal. The American agony is therefore scarcely intelligible, like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-updike/the-englishman-is-under-no-constitutional-obligation-to-believe-that/) [John Updike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-updike/) > [Within 18 months of my parents' marriage in 1900, my mother fell in love with an Englishman who would have described himself as a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-mellon/within-18-months-of-my-parents-marriage-in-1900-my-mother-fell-in/) [Paul Mellon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-mellon/) > [Englishmen hate Liberty and Equality too much to understand them. But every Englishman loves a pedigree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/englishmen-hate-liberty-and-equality-too-much-to-understand-them-but/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [An Englishman is content to say nothing when he has nothing to say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/an-englishman-is-content-to-say-nothing-when-he-has-nothing-to-say/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Put an Englishman into the garden of Eden, and he would find fault with the whole blasted concern; put a Yankee in, and he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/put-an-englishman-into-the-garden-of-eden-and-he-would-find-fault/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [Remember that those five hundred words an average Englishman uses are far from being the whole vocabulary of the language. You may learn another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mikes/remember-that-those-five-hundred-words-an-average-englishman-uses-are/) [George Mikes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mikes/) > [I am by nature the most intolerant and insular Englishman... If you happen to be a person like that and you learn from evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-dowding-1st-baron-dowding/i-am-by-nature-the-most-intolerant-and-insular-englishman-if-you/) [Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-dowding-1st-baron-dowding/) ## More by Brendan Behan > [Many a man has decided to stay alive not because of the will to live but because of the determination not to give assorted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/many-a-man-has-decided-to-stay-alive-not-because-of-the-will-to-live/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Pound notes are the best religion in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/pound-notes-are-the-best-religion-in-the-world/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [“It's a queer world, God knows, but the best we have to be going on with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/it-s-a-queer-world-god-knows-but-the-best-we-have-to-be-going-on-with/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There is no human situation so miserable that it cannot be made worse by the presence of a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-is-no-human-situation-so-miserable-that-it-cannot-be-made-worse/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I have a total irreverence for anything connected with society except that which makes the roads safer, the beer stronger, the food cheaper and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-have-a-total-irreverence-for-anything-connected-with-society-except/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I ruined my health drinking to other people's.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-ruined-my-health-drinking-to-other-people-s/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [“I respect kindness in human beings first of all, and kindness to animals. I don't respect the law; I have a total irreverence for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-respect-kindness-in-human-beings-first-of-all-and-kindness-to/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Other people have a nationality. The Irish and the Jews have a psychosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/other-people-have-a-nationality-the-irish-and-the-jews-have-a/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There is no such thing as bad publicity except your own obituary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-is-no-such-thing-as-bad-publicity-except-your-own-obituary/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [There's no bad publicity except an obituary.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/there-s-no-bad-publicity-except-an-obituary/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [The big difference between sex for money and sex for free is that sex for money usually costs a lot less.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/the-big-difference-between-sex-for-money-and-sex-for-free-is-that-sex/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [I saw a notice which said, 'Drink Canada Dry' and I've just started.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/i-saw-a-notice-which-said-drink-canada-dry-and-i-ve-just-started/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [All publicity is good, except an obituary notice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/all-publicity-is-good-except-an-obituary-notice/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Whatever you hold in contempt is your jailer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/whatever-you-hold-in-contempt-is-your-jailer/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) > [Message? What the hell do you think I am, a bloody postman?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/message-what-the-hell-do-you-think-i-am-a-bloody-postman/) [Brendan Behan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) [Explore all 77 Brendan Behan quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/) [Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/) [Browse all 11,606 Born quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/born/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "He was born an Englishman and remained one for years.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Brendan Behan" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-one-for-years/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Born" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-one-for-years/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/brendan-behan-8832_born_he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-o_2071212.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/brendan-behan-8832_born_he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-o_2071212.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4ea/brendan-behan-8832_born_he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-o_2071212.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was born an Englishman and remained one for years.” — Brendan Behan", "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": "Brendan Behan", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brendan-behan/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "He was born an Englishman and...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-one-for-years/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brendan-behan/he-was-born-an-englishman-and-remained-one-for-years/#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 } } ] } ```