--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I didn't know who to believe but one…" description: "\"“I didn't know who to believe but one thing I do know: when a man is living many claim relationships that are hardly so and after he dies, well, then i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/charles-bukowski-73_after-death_i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thi_914695.jpg" --- # I didn't know who to believe but one thing I do know: when… ![“I didn't know who to believe but one thing I do know: when a man is living many claim relationships that are hardly so and after he dies, well, then it's everybody's party.” quote by Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/charles-bukowski-73_after-death_i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thi_914695.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/charles-bukowski-73_after-death_i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thi_914695.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/charles-bukowski-73_after-death_i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thi_914695.jpg) > ““I didn't know who to believe but one thing I do know: when a man is living many claim relationships that are hardly so and after he dies, well, then it's everybody's party.”” [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. It reflects on how a man's many shallow relationships become meaningless after death, leaving only a collective celebration of his passing. **In simple terms:** Shallow ties lose meaning after death, leaving a communal party. Key Takeaway Value genuine connections. Themes relationships mortality meaninglessness Mood reflective melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - personal reflection - legacy - social gatherings - life assessment Key Concepts existentialism social rituals Questions to Reflect On - Do you prioritize depth over quantity? - How does death change social perception? A Different Perspective It may overlook the value of diverse relationships. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [After death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-death/) [After life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-life/) [Afterlife](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/afterlife/) [Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bukowski/) [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Fakery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fakery/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Irony](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irony/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Poem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poem/) [Poetry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poetry/) [Relationships](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/relationships/) ## Related quotes > [Opportunistic relationships can hardly be kept constant. The acquaintance of honorable people, even at a distance, does not add flowers in times of warmth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zhuge-liang/opportunistic-relationships-can-hardly-be-kept-constant-the/) [Zhuge Liang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zhuge-liang/) > [Not everybody is a party boy or was a party boy like I was.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-cernovich/not-everybody-is-a-party-boy-or-was-a-party-boy-like-i-was/) [Mike Cernovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-cernovich/) > [“Everybody at the party is a many sided polygon…Nonagon!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/they-might-be-giants/everybody-at-the-party-is-a-many-sided-polygon-nonagon/) They Might Be Giants > [“The dead do not need aspirin or sorrow, I suppose. but they might need rain. not shoes but a place to walk. not cigarettes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-dead-do-not-need-aspirin-or-sorrow-i-suppose-but-they-might-need/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Everybody dies but not everybody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/everybody-dies-but-not-everybody-lives/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm really tryina make it more than what it is 'cause everybody dies, but not everybody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-really-tryina-make-it-more-than-what-it-is-cause-everybody-dies/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm really tryna make it more than what it is, cuz everybody dies but not everybody lives!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-really-tryna-make-it-more-than-what-it-is-cuz-everybody-dies-but/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Cause everybody dies but not everybody lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/cause-everybody-dies-but-not-everybody-lives/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [All who see it say, "Well, you have favorable conditions here. Everything grows for you." Everything grows for everybody. Everything dies for everybody, too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-mitchell/all-who-see-it-say-well-you-have-favorable-conditions-here-everything/) [Henry Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-mitchell/) > [I'm really tring to make it more than what it is, cuz everybody dies but not everybody lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-really-tring-to-make-it-more-than-what-it-is-cuz-everybody-dies/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [Cause evrybody dies but no everybody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/cause-evrybody-dies-but-no-everybody-lives/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm really tryna make it more than what it is, cause everybody dies but not everybody lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-really-tryna-make-it-more-than-what-it-is-cause-everybody-dies/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm really trying to make it more than what it is because everybody dies,but not everybody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-really-trying-to-make-it-more-than-what-it-is-because-everybody/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm really trynna make it more than what it is cause everybody dies but not everybody lives](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-really-trynna-make-it-more-than-what-it-is-cause-everybody-dies/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) > [I'm just trying to make it more than what it is, cuz everybody dies but not everybody lives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/drake/i-m-just-trying-to-make-it-more-than-what-it-is-cuz-everybody-dies/) [Drake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/drake/) ## More by Charles Bukowski > [“sometimes when everything seems at its worst when all conspires and gnaws and the hours, days, weeks years seem wasted – stretched there upon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/sometimes-when-everything-seems-at-its-worst-when-all-conspires-and/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [well, death says, as he walks by, I'm going to get you anyhow no matter what you've been: writer, cab-driver, pimp, butcher, sky-diver, I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/well-death-says-as-he-walks-by-i-m-going-to-get-you-anyhow-no-matter/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“There is only one place to write and that is alone at a typewriter. A writer who has to go into the streets is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/there-is-only-one-place-to-write-and-that-is-alone-at-a-typewriter-a/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Even the stove and the refrigerator looked human, I mean good human - they seemed to have arms and voices and they said, hang…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/even-the-stove-and-the-refrigerator-looked-human-i-mean-good-human/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“nerves twitching in the sheets -- to face the sunlight again, that's clearly trouble. I like the city better when the neon lights are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/nerves-twitching-in-the-sheets-to-face-the-sunlight-again-that-s/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Their Love Is Average, Seeks Average But There Is Genius In Their Hatred”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/their-love-is-average-seeks-average-but-there-is-genius-in-their/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I climbed the stairway (there was no elevator) and put the key in. The door swung open. Somebody had changed all the furniture around,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-climbed-the-stairway-there-was-no-elevator-and-put-the-key-in-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“Strangers when you meet, strangers when you part -a gymnasium of bodies namelessly masturbating each other. People with no morals often considered themselves more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/strangers-when-you-meet-strangers-when-you-part-a-gymnasium-of-bodies/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I like to change liquor stores frequently because the clerks got to know your habits if you went in night and day and bought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-like-to-change-liquor-stores-frequently-because-the-clerks-got-to/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I was like a turd that drew flies instead of like a flower that butterflies and bees desired. I wanted to live alone,I felt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-was-like-a-turd-that-drew-flies-instead-of-like-a-flower-that/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [It's 4:30 in the morning, it's always 4:30 in the morning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/it-s-4-30-in-the-morning-it-s-always-4-30-in-the-morning/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I had no feeling for the things so many others needed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-had-no-feeling-for-the-things-so-many-others-needed/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“I am sick with caring.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-am-sick-with-caring/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I went home each night dizzy and sick. He was murdering me with the sound of his voice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-went-home-each-night-dizzy-and-sick-he-was-murdering-me-with-the/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [“the nights you fight best are when all the weapons are pointed at you, when all the voices hurl their insults while the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/the-nights-you-fight-best-are-when-all-the-weapons-are-pointed-at-you/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) [Explore all 1,492 Charles Bukowski quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) ## More After death quotes > [The world of imagination is the world of eternity. It is the divine bosom into which we shall all go after death of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-blake/the-world-of-imagination-is-the-world-of-eternity-it-is-the-divine/) [William Blake](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-blake/) > [After death there is nothing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seneca-the-younger/after-death-there-is-nothing/) [Seneca the Younger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seneca-the-younger/) > [For days after death hair and fingernails continue to grow, but phone calls taper off.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-carson/for-days-after-death-hair-and-fingernails-continue-to-grow-but-phone/) [Johnny Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-carson/) > [ Now they \[the Powers\] have started the aggression, and the extinction of our nation is imminent. If we just fold our arms and yield… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/empress-dowager-cixi/now-they-the-powers-have-started-the-aggression-and-the-extinction-of/) Empress Dowager Cixi > [You're a religious man, ... You believe in God and life after death. I also believe. When we come to the other world and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-wiesenthal/you-re-a-religious-man-you-believe-in-god-and-life-after-death-i-also/) [Simon Wiesenthal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-wiesenthal/) > [And after death something new begins, over which all the powers of the world of death can have no more control.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/and-after-death-something-new-begins-over-which-all-the-powers-of-the/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [If the Soul sees, after death , what passes on this earth , and watches over the welfare of those it loves, then must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-pike/if-the-soul-sees-after-death-what-passes-on-this-earth-and-watches/) [Albert Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-pike/) > [When we see the many grave-stones which have fallen in, which have been defaced by the footsteps of the congregation, which lie buried under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/when-we-see-the-many-grave-stones-which-have-fallen-in-which-have/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [It is for all men that come into the world once to die; and after death the judgment! And since death is a debt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rumbold/it-is-for-all-men-that-come-into-the-world-once-to-die-and-after/) [Richard Rumbold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rumbold/) > [What we should be after death, we have to attain in life, i.e. holiness and bliss. Here on earth the Kingdom of God begins.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paracelsus/what-we-should-be-after-death-we-have-to-attain-in-life-i-e-holiness/) [Paracelsus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paracelsus/) > [(After death.) So few people who come across, possess awareness of any kind. All they bring along with them are worthless values. All they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-matheson/after-death-so-few-people-who-come-across-possess-awareness-of-any/) [Richard Matheson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-matheson/) > [I think I have fairly heard and fairly weighed the evidence on both sides, and I remain an utter disbeliever in almost all that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfred-russel-wallace/i-think-i-have-fairly-heard-and-fairly-weighed-the-evidence-on-both/) [Alfred Russel Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfred-russel-wallace/) > [I want people to emphasize life before death as opposed to life after death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayaan-hirsi-ali/i-want-people-to-emphasize-life-before-death-as-opposed-to-life-after/) [Ayaan Hirsi Ali](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayaan-hirsi-ali/) > [I thought of the priest who'd told me that many religions hold that it is easier to be closely connected to people we love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-berg/i-thought-of-the-priest-who-d-told-me-that-many-religions-hold-that/) [Elizabeth Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-berg/) > [“And a soul would run by a living being, touch them softly on the shoulder or cheek, and continue on its way to heaven.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-sebold/and-a-soul-would-run-by-a-living-being-touch-them-softly-on-the/) [Alice Sebold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-sebold/) [Browse all 303 After death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/after-death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I didn't know who to believe but one thing I do know: when a man is living many claim relationships that are hardly so and after he dies, well, then it's everybody's party.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Charles Bukowski" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thing-i-do-know-when-a-man-is/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "After death" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thing-i-do-know-when-a-man-is/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/charles-bukowski-73_after-death_i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thi_914695.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/charles-bukowski-73_after-death_i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thi_914695.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/863/charles-bukowski-73_after-death_i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thi_914695.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I didn't know who to believe but one thing I do know: when a man is living many claim relationships that are…” — Charles Bukowski", "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": "Charles Bukowski", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I didn't know who to believe...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thing-i-do-know-when-a-man-is/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/i-didn-t-know-who-to-believe-but-one-thing-i-do-know-when-a-man-is/#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 } } ] } ```