--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I had my way, I would build a lethal…" description: "\"If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and a Cinematograph working brightly..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/d-h-lawrence-426_band_if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-c_28800.jpg" --- # If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as… ![“If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and a Cinematograph working brightly; then I'd go out in the back streets and main streets and bring them in, all the sick, the halt, and the maimed; I would lead them gently, and…” quote by D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/d-h-lawrence-426_band_if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-c_28800.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/d-h-lawrence-426_band_if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-c_28800.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cc8/d-h-lawrence-426_band_if-i-had-my-way-i-would-build-a-lethal-c_28800.jpg) > “If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and a Cinematograph working brightly; then I'd go out in the back streets and main streets and bring them in, all the sick, the halt, and the maimed; I would lead them gently, and they would smile me a weary thanks; and the band would softly bubble out the 'Hallelujah Chorus'.” [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A surreal vision of a grand, compassionate sanctuary where suffering is gathered and soothed by art and music, suggesting redemption through collective empathy. **In simple terms:** A fantastical refuge that heals the wounded with beauty. Key Takeaway Compassion can transform suffering into shared grace. Themes Compassion Redemption Art as healing Collective responsibility Surrealism Mood Melancholic Hopeful Type Visionary Philosophical When to use this quote - War-torn cities - Hospitals overwhelmed by casualties - Refugee camps - Disaster aftermath Key Concepts Human suffering Sanctuary Music Cinema Practical Applications - Designing therapeutic spaces that combine visual and auditory art to aid recovery. Questions to Reflect On - How might society create real‑world equivalents of this imagined sanctuary? - What limits exist when art is used as a sole remedy for deep trauma? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/band/) [Band Softly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/band-softly-420173/) [Bigs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bigs/) [Bubbles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/bubbles/) [Chamber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chamber/) [Chorus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chorus/) [Crystals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crystals/) [Hallelujah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallelujah/) [Hallelujah Chorus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hallelujah-chorus-420174/) [Halt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/halt/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Lead Gently](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lead-gently-420176/) [Main street](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/main-street/) [Military](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military/) [Military Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/military-band-420175/) [My way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/my-way/) [Palaces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/palaces/) [Sick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sick/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Streets](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/streets/) [Thanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thanks/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) [Weary](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weary/) ## Related quotes > [In a thousand voices singing the Hallelujah Chorus in Handel's "Messiah," it is possible to distinguish the leading voices, but the differences of training…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-addams/in-a-thousand-voices-singing-the-hallelujah-chorus-in-handel-s/) [Jane Addams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-addams/) > [“(On the book "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me") Coming on like the Hallelujah Chorus done by 200 kazoo players…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-pynchon/on-the-book-been-down-so-long-it-looks-like-up-to-me-coming-on-like/) [Thomas Pynchon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-pynchon/) > [“All of her hormones had sat bolt upright and immediately launched into a stirring rendition of the Hallelujah Chorus.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jayne-ann-krentz/all-of-her-hormones-had-sat-bolt-upright-and-immediately-launched/) [Jayne Ann Krentz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jayne-ann-krentz/) > [O let me lead her gently o'er the brook, Watch her half-smiling lips and downward look; O let me for one moment touch her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-keats/o-let-me-lead-her-gently-o-er-the-brook-watch-her-half-smiling-lips/) [John Keats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-keats/) > [For He hath prepared for them a City! Hallelujah? He's got a City for you & me where you're not going to have any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-berg/for-he-hath-prepared-for-them-a-city-hallelujah-he-s-got-a-city-for/) [David Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-berg/) > [“You say I took the name in vain I don't even know the name But if I did, well, really, what's it to you?…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/you-say-i-took-the-name-in-vain-i-don-t-even-know-the-name-but-if-i/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [He who obeys the command 'Rejoice in the Lord' has a Hallelujah in his soul every minute of the day and night.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-c-dixon/he-who-obeys-the-command-rejoice-in-the-lord-has-a-hallelujah-in-his/) [A. C. Dixon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-c-dixon/) > [The curses of the ungodly are more pleasing to God's ears than the hallelujahs of the pious](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther/the-curses-of-the-ungodly-are-more-pleasing-to-god-s-ears-than-the/) [Martin Luther](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther/) > [I think sometimes we can use spirituality as a vehicle to go closer to the things that frighten us and sometimes we can use…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-foreman/i-think-sometimes-we-can-use-spirituality-as-a-vehicle-to-go-closer/) [Jon Foreman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-foreman/) > [I feel like shouting, hallelujah, all the time, when I think that I ever I knew Joseph Smith, the Prophet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigham-young/i-feel-like-shouting-hallelujah-all-the-time-when-i-think-that-i-ever/) [Brigham Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigham-young/) > [In old age the consolation of hope is reserved for the tenderness of parents, who commence a new life in their children, the faith…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-gibbon/in-old-age-the-consolation-of-hope-is-reserved-for-the-tenderness-of/) [Edward Gibbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-gibbon/) > [“Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory” (Rev. 19:6–7). On into eternity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-david-tripp/hallelujah-for-the-lord-our-god-the-almighty-reigns-let-us-rejoice/) [Paul David Tripp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-david-tripp/) > [Hallelujah, there's forgiveness in the wind. Hallelujah, it's time to let go and let the love in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hallelujah-there-s-forgiveness-in-the-wind-hallelujah-it-s-time-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [This world is full of conflicts and full of things that cannot be reconciled. But there are moments when we can... reconcile and embrace…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-cohen/this-world-is-full-of-conflicts-and-full-of-things-that-cannot-be/) [Leonard Cohen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-cohen/) > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) ## More by D. H. Lawrence > [Not I, not I, but the wind that blows through me! A fine wind is blowing the new direction of Time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/not-i-not-i-but-the-wind-that-blows-through-me-a-fine-wind-is-blowing/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [and Venus among the fishes skips and is a she-dolphin she is the gay, delighted porpoise sporting with love and the sea she is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/and-venus-among-the-fishes-skips-and-is-a-she-dolphin-she-is-the-gay/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Now it is autumn and the falling fruit and the long journey towards oblivion. The apples falling like great drops of dew to bruise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/now-it-is-autumn-and-the-falling-fruit-and-the-long-journey-towards/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [We have to hate our immediate predecessors to get free of their authority.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/we-have-to-hate-our-immediate-predecessors-to-get-free-of-their/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Reach me a gentian, give me a torch! Let me guide myself with the blue, forked torch of a flower down the darker and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/reach-me-a-gentian-give-me-a-torch-let-me-guide-myself-with-the-blue/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The war is dreadful. It is the business of the artist to follow it home to the heart of the individual fighters - not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-war-is-dreadful-it-is-the-business-of-the-artist-to-follow-it/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The nearer a conception comes towards finality, the nearer does the dynamic relation, out of which this concept has arisen, draw to a close.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-nearer-a-conception-comes-towards-finality-the-nearer-does-the/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [It is our business to go as we are impelled.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-is-our-business-to-go-as-we-are-impelled/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Ours is essentially a tragic age, so we refuse to take it tragically.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/ours-is-essentially-a-tragic-age-so-we-refuse-to-take-it-tragically/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If only we could live two lives: the first in which to make one's mistakes, and the second in which to profit by them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-only-we-could-live-two-lives-the-first-in-which-to-make-one-s/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [They say geniuses mostly have great mothers. They mostly have sad fates.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/they-say-geniuses-mostly-have-great-mothers-they-mostly-have-sad-fates/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [When one jumps over the edge, one is bound to land somewhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/when-one-jumps-over-the-edge-one-is-bound-to-land-somewhere/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [The living moment is everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/the-living-moment-is-everything/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [If a woman's got nothing but her fair fame to feed on, why, it's thin tack, and a donkey would die of it!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-a-woman-s-got-nothing-but-her-fair-fame-to-feed-on-why-it-s-thin/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Shall I tell you what you have that other men don't?… It's the courage of your own tenderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/shall-i-tell-you-what-you-have-that-other-men-don-t-it-s-the-courage/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) [Explore all 570 D. H. Lawrence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) ## More Band quotes > [The reason I was drawn to the Band Perry was because they have a knack for doing rollicking country music that can sound a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/the-reason-i-was-drawn-to-the-band-perry-was-because-they-have-a/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [There is something to be said though when you have 4 or 5 guys playing with no net, there is a sense of urgency,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-mendoza/there-is-something-to-be-said-though-when-you-have-4-or-5-guys/) [Marco Mendoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-mendoza/) > [My Nirvana experience was much different than the other three guys. For me, it was really new and exciting. I was just a guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-smear/my-nirvana-experience-was-much-different-than-the-other-three-guys/) [Pat Smear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-smear/) > [I think my music has always been a mixture, depending on whom I'm working with - what band, what musicians, what producer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/i-think-my-music-has-always-been-a-mixture-depending-on-whom-i-m/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) > [As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-beecham/as-you-ll-never-hear-the-thing-again-my-boy-why-not-throw-in-a-couple/) [Thomas Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-beecham/) > [I've always made sure that I tour with bands that people aren't expecting me to tour with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-ve-always-made-sure-that-i-tour-with-bands-that-people-aren-t/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [There is more to me than just having been in the Runaways. And even though I'm really, really proud of what the band accomplished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-fuchs/there-is-more-to-me-than-just-having-been-in-the-runaways-and-even/) [Jackie Fuchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-fuchs/) > [I like the bad-boy types. Generally the guy I'm attracted to is the guy in the club with all the tattoos and nail polish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-like-the-bad-boy-types-generally-the-guy-i-m-attracted-to-is-the/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [Bass guitar is the engine of the band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/bass-guitar-is-the-engine-of-the-band/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [I just became accustomed to being all the members of the band. That was something that was really exciting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-collier/i-just-became-accustomed-to-being-all-the-members-of-the-band-that/) [Jacob Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-collier/) > [I guess because we're essentially a two-man band, we're attracting Wham's crowd. But Wham! are more of a businessman's band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/i-guess-because-we-re-essentially-a-two-man-band-we-re-attracting/) [Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/) > [I'm about as privileged as you can get. I'm a white, male, heterosexual front man of a rock band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-reynolds/i-m-about-as-privileged-as-you-can-get-i-m-a-white-male-heterosexual/) [Dan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-reynolds/) > [I'd been playing in bands for something like seven years at this point. And we were always trying to get ahead, trying to rehearse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aerosmith/i-d-been-playing-in-bands-for-something-like-seven-years-at-this/) [Aerosmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aerosmith/) > [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) [Browse all 6,497 Band quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/band/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If I had my way, I would build a lethal chamber as big as the Crystal Palace, with a military band playing softly, and a Cinematograph working brightly; then I'd go out in the back streets and main streets and bring them in, all the sick, the halt, and the maimed; I would lead them gently, and they would smile me a weary thanks; and the band would softly bubble out the 'Hallelujah Chorus'.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "D. H. 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