---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: when the cities are gone and all the…"
description: "\"“when the cities are gone and all the ruckus has died away. when sunflowers push up through the concrete and asphalt of the forgotten interstate freewa..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/edward-abbey-254_sand-dunes_when-the-cities-are-gone-and-all-the-ruc_1755756.jpg"
---

#  when the cities are gone and all the ruckus has died away…

![“when the cities are gone and all the ruckus has died away. when sunflowers push up through the concrete and asphalt of the forgotten interstate freeways. when the Kremlin & the Pentagon are turned into nursing homes for generals, presidents, & other such shit heads. when the glass-aluminum sky…” quote by Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/edward-abbey-254_sand-dunes_when-the-cities-are-gone-and-all-the-ruc_1755756.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/edward-abbey-254_sand-dunes_when-the-cities-are-gone-and-all-the-ruc_1755756.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b76/edward-abbey-254_sand-dunes_when-the-cities-are-gone-and-all-the-ruc_1755756.jpg)

> ““when the cities are gone and all the ruckus has died away. when sunflowers push up through the concrete and asphalt of the forgotten interstate freeways. when the Kremlin & the Pentagon are turned into nursing homes for generals, presidents, & other such shit heads. when the glass-aluminum sky scraper tombs of Phoenix, AZ barely show above the sand dunes. why then, by God, maybe free men & wild women on horses can roam the sagebrush canyonlands in freedom...and dance all night to the music of fiddles! banjos! steel guitars! by the light of a reborn moon!””

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

When civilization collapses, nature reclaims freedom, allowing true joy and music to flourish.

**In simple terms:** Nature returns freedom after society falls.

Key Takeaway

Embrace simplicity and natural joy.

Themes

nature freedom rebirth music

Mood

nostalgic hopeful

Type

poetic inspirational

When to use this quote

- hiking
- camping
- musical gatherings

Key Concepts

post‑apocalypse urban decay renewal cultural critique

Questions to Reflect On

- What would you miss in a world without cities?
- How can we protect nature without catastrophe?

A Different Perspective

It romanticizes destruction and ignores human suffering.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Sand dunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sand-dunes/) [Wild women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wild-women/)

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> [To a person who expects every desert to be barren sand dunes, the Sonoran must come as a surprise. Not only are there no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-spinelli/to-a-person-who-expects-every-desert-to-be-barren-sand-dunes-the/)

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> [“As soon as she releases me, Galen grabs my hand and I don't even have time to gasp before he snatches me to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-banks/as-soon-as-she-releases-me-galen-grabs-my-hand-and-i-don-t-even-have-2/)

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> [I have always loved the desert. One sits down on a desert sand dune, sees nothing, hears nothing. Yet through the silence something throbs,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoine-de-saint-exup-ry/i-have-always-loved-the-desert-one-sits-down-on-a-desert-sand-dune/)

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> [Every ripple on the ocean, every leaf on every tree, every sand dune in the desert, every power we never see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sting/every-ripple-on-the-ocean-every-leaf-on-every-tree-every-sand-dune-in/)

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> [I'm especially drawn to the sand dunes. I love driving around and exploring them by dune buggy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/i-m-especially-drawn-to-the-sand-dunes-i-love-driving-around-and/)

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> [“I sat up a bit and looked out over the railing toward the ocean. The sight always took my breath away. The dark green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothea-benton-frank/i-sat-up-a-bit-and-looked-out-over-the-railing-toward-the-ocean-the/)

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## More by Edward Abbey

> [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/)

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> [Apuleius married a rich widow, then wrote \_The Golden Ass\_.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/apuleius-married-a-rich-widow-then-wrote-the-golden-ass/)

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> [Except for the scale of the operation, there was nothing unusual about Hitler's massacre of the Jews. Genocide's an old tradition, as human as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/except-for-the-scale-of-the-operation-there-was-nothing-unusual-about/)

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> [By the age of eighteen, a human has acquired enough joy and heartache to provide the food of reflection for a century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/by-the-age-of-eighteen-a-human-has-acquired-enough-joy-and-heartache/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [“Our institutions are too big; they represent not the best but the worst characteristics of human beings. By submitting to huge hierarchies of power,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/our-institutions-are-too-big-they-represent-not-the-best-but-the/)

[Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/)

> [No man-made structure in all of American history has been hated so much, by so many, for so long, with such good reason, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/no-man-made-structure-in-all-of-american-history-has-been-hated-so/)

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> [Where all pretend to be thinking alike, it's likely that no one is thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/where-all-pretend-to-be-thinking-alike-it-s-likely-that-no-one-is/)

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> [Nobody has so many friends that he can afford to lose one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/nobody-has-so-many-friends-that-he-can-afford-to-lose-one/)

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> [“But why, the questioner insists, why do people like you pretend to love uninhabited country so much? Why this cult of wilderness? Why the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/but-why-the-questioner-insists-why-do-people-like-you-pretend-to-love/)

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> [All revolutions have failed? Perhaps. But rebellion for good cause is self- justifying -- a good in itself. Rebellion transforms slaves into human beings,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/all-revolutions-have-failed-perhaps-but-rebellion-for-good-cause-is/)

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> [Reason has seldom failed us because it has seldom been tried.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/reason-has-seldom-failed-us-because-it-has-seldom-been-tried/)

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