--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh Jake,\" Brett said, \"We could have had…" description: "\"Oh Jake,\" Brett said, \"We could have had such a damned good time together.\" Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his bat..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/ernest-hemingway-83_car_oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-suc_2384038.jpg" --- # Oh Jake," Brett said, "We could have had such a damned… ![“Oh Jake," Brett said, "We could have had such a damned good time together." Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me. Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?” quote by Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/ernest-hemingway-83_car_oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-suc_2384038.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/ernest-hemingway-83_car_oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-suc_2384038.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/ernest-hemingway-83_car_oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-suc_2384038.jpg) > “Oh Jake," Brett said, "We could have had such a damned good time together." Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me. Yes," I said. "Isn't it pretty to think so?” [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A fleeting moment of intimacy is contrasted with looming authority, highlighting tension between desire and societal constraints. **In simple terms:** Desire meets control. Key Takeaway Cherish moments before they’re interrupted. Themes love conflict authority intimacy Mood tense reflective Type literary dramatic When to use this quote - Romantic encounter - traffic stop - public space Key Concepts Existentialism social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - How do external forces shape personal connections? - What does the police presence symbolize? A Different Perspective The scene may romanticize power dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good times](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-times/) [Policemen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policemen/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-together/) ## Related quotes > [“I settled back. Brett moved close to me. We sat up close against each other. I put my arm around her and she rested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-settled-back-brett-moved-close-to-me-we-sat-up-close-against-each/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Inside the car Brett said to me, “Let’s go, the last time they left us in the car it ended badly.” I agreed. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-gordon-smith/inside-the-car-brett-said-to-me-let-s-go-the-last-time-they-left-us/) J. Gordon Smith > [My godfather was a Chicago policeman, and I've always looked at law enforcement as a challenging and interesting job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-odenkirk/my-godfather-was-a-chicago-policeman-and-i-ve-always-looked-at-law/) [Bob Odenkirk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-odenkirk/) > [In keeping people straight, principle is not as powerful as a policeman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abel-hermant/in-keeping-people-straight-principle-is-not-as-powerful-as-a-policeman/) Abel Hermant > [“He firmly pulled her body against his and he brushed her lips with his. Staring into her eyes, he lightly slid his tongue across…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laney-smith/he-firmly-pulled-her-body-against-his-and-he-brushed-her-lips-with/) Laney Smith > [One policeman may be a friend, but two are the Law.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-allingham/one-policeman-may-be-a-friend-but-two-are-the-law/) [Margery Allingham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-allingham/) > [I have never paid a policeman myself. I have never sanctioned, knowingly sanctioned, a payment to a police officer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebekah-brooks/i-have-never-paid-a-policeman-myself-i-have-never-sanctioned/) [Rebekah Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebekah-brooks/) > [I know the police cause you trouble They cause trouble everywhere But when you die and go to heaven You find no policeman there](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/woody-guthrie/i-know-the-police-cause-you-trouble-they-cause-trouble-everywhere-but/) [Woody Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/woody-guthrie/) > [A Jewish man pulls up to the curb and asks the policeman, "Can I park here?" "No" says the cop. "What about all these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henny-youngman/a-jewish-man-pulls-up-to-the-curb-and-asks-the-policeman-can-i-park/) [Henny Youngman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henny-youngman/) > [Listen, Dundy, it's been a long time since I burst into tears because a policeman didn't like me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dashiell-hammett/listen-dundy-it-s-been-a-long-time-since-i-burst-into-tears-because-a/) [Dashiell Hammett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dashiell-hammett/) > [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/) > [“Police not enforcing laws results in a high crime rate that is formally reported as a low crime rate in police statistics.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/police-not-enforcing-laws-results-in-a-high-crime-rate-that-is/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [He was a long, stripy policeman, who flowed out of his uniform at odd spots, as if Nature, setting out to make a constable,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-g-wodehouse-2/he-was-a-long-stripy-policeman-who-flowed-out-of-his-uniform-at-odd/) [P. G. Wodehouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-g-wodehouse-2/) > [Follow your inclinations with due regard to the policeman round the corner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/follow-your-inclinations-with-due-regard-to-the-policeman-round-the/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [The policeman on the beat or in the patrol car makes more decisions and exercises broader discretion affecting the daily lives of people every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-e-burger/the-policeman-on-the-beat-or-in-the-patrol-car-makes-more-decisions/) [Warren E. Burger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-e-burger/) ## More by Ernest Hemingway > [Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/wine-is-one-of-the-most-civilized-things-in-the-world-and-one-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“There was no wind, and, outside now of the warm air of the cave, heavy with smoke of both tobacco and charcoal, with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/there-was-no-wind-and-outside-now-of-the-warm-air-of-the-cave-heavy/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“It was not brilliant bull-fighting. It was only perfect bull-fighting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/it-was-not-brilliant-bull-fighting-it-was-only-perfect-bull-fighting/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [One cat just leads to another. The place is so damned big it doesn't really seem as though there were many cats until you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/one-cat-just-leads-to-another-the-place-is-so-damned-big-it-doesn-t/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Creation's probably overrated. After all, God made the world in only six days and rested on the seventh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/creation-s-probably-overrated-after-all-god-made-the-world-in-only/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“Viva my husband who was Mayor of this town”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/viva-my-husband-who-was-mayor-of-this-town/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“The earth gets tired of being exploited.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/the-earth-gets-tired-of-being-exploited/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [What is moral is what you feel good after, and what is immoral is what you feel bad after.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/what-is-moral-is-what-you-feel-good-after-and-what-is-immoral-is-what/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“We drove out along the coast road. There was the green of the headlands, the white, red-roofed villas, patches of forest, and the ocean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/we-drove-out-along-the-coast-road-there-was-the-green-of-the/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [As a Nobel Prize winner I cannot but regret that the award was never given to Mark Twain, nor to Henry James, speaking only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/as-a-nobel-prize-winner-i-cannot-but-regret-that-the-award-was-never/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [Oh, darling, I've been so miserable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-darling-i-ve-been-so-miserable/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [I read my own books sometimes to cheer me when it is hard to write, and then I remember that it was always difficult,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/i-read-my-own-books-sometimes-to-cheer-me-when-it-is-hard-to-write/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“You find everything on earth at Harry's." "Yes, my Colonel. Except, possibly, happiness." "I'll damn well find happiness, too," the Colonel assured him. "Happiness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/you-find-everything-on-earth-at-harry-s-yes-my-colonel-except/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“No. It's bad for me. Cole Porter wrote the words and the music. This knowledge that you're going mad for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/no-it-s-bad-for-me-cole-porter-wrote-the-words-and-the-music-this/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) > [“everything kills everything else in some way. Fishing kills me exactly as it keeps me alive. The boy keeps me alive, he thought. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/everything-kills-everything-else-in-some-way-fishing-kills-me-exactly/) [Ernest Hemingway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) [Explore all 1,464 Ernest Hemingway quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/) ## More Car quotes > [If you restore a car, and you're making money, then you're doing it wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-leno/if-you-restore-a-car-and-you-re-making-money-then-you-re-doing-it/) [Jay Leno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-leno/) > [I understand that it's the music that keeps me alive... That's my lifeblood. And to give that up for, like, the TV, the cars,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-springsteen/i-understand-that-it-s-the-music-that-keeps-me-alive-that-s-my/) [Bruce Springsteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bruce-springsteen/) > [My embarrassing confession is that my father is a 'Camelot: The Musical' obsessive. So as a child, when we were going to visit relatives…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-chibnall/my-embarrassing-confession-is-that-my-father-is-a-camelot-the-musical/) [Chris Chibnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-chibnall/) > [I don't own designer clothes, or a sports car, or a huge house, but I am seeing the world, experiencing amazing things, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roz-savage/i-don-t-own-designer-clothes-or-a-sports-car-or-a-huge-house-but-i-am/) [Roz Savage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roz-savage/) > [Television, radio, social media. The 24/7 news cycle plows forward mercilessly on our desks, in our cars and in our pockets. Thousands and thousands…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-prince/television-radio-social-media-the-24-7-news-cycle-plows-forward/) [Joseph Prince](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-prince/) > [I don't own a yacht or a flashy car. I've always had safe cars because I do so much driving. I don't think I've…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-rippon/i-don-t-own-a-yacht-or-a-flashy-car-i-ve-always-had-safe-cars-because/) [Angela Rippon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-rippon/) > [I am a horrible visual artist. I can't fix a car, sew, knit, cook, etc. Statistically, there is more I don't do than do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carrie-brownstein/i-am-a-horrible-visual-artist-i-can-t-fix-a-car-sew-knit-cook-etc/) [Carrie Brownstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carrie-brownstein/) > [I mean, you've kind of got the track down, especially with ovals. The only thing that improves is that when race conditions come, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/danica-patrick/i-mean-you-ve-kind-of-got-the-track-down-especially-with-ovals-the/) [Danica Patrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/danica-patrick/) > [I was with Dre when he was just selling tapes. He didn't have a car, a license or a job.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-le/i-was-with-dre-when-he-was-just-selling-tapes-he-didn-t-have-a-car-a/) [Michel'le](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-le/) > ['Melanin Man' was inspired by the words of an Uber driver in L.A. Before I got out of the car he said, 'They're scared…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/masego/melanin-man-was-inspired-by-the-words-of-an-uber-driver-in-l-a-before/) [Masego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/masego/) > [The things that don't happen to us that we'll never know didn't happen to us. The nonstories. The extra minute to find the briefcase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-shreve/the-things-that-don-t-happen-to-us-that-we-ll-never-know-didn-t/) [Anita Shreve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-shreve/) > [“I hate the way you talk to me And the way you cut your hair I hate the way you drive my car I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-levithan/i-hate-the-way-you-talk-to-me-and-the-way-you-cut-your-hair-i-hate/) [David Levithan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-levithan/) > [It is amazing how may drivers, even at the Formula One Level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-andretti/it-is-amazing-how-may-drivers-even-at-the-formula-one-level-think/) [Mario Andretti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-andretti/) > [Whether you are buying a car or casting a ballot, choosing a job or planning a family, follow your moral compass. Don't let others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denis-hayes/whether-you-are-buying-a-car-or-casting-a-ballot-choosing-a-job-or/) [Denis Hayes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denis-hayes/) > [I don't have to have the biggest house or the biggest car or the longest mink, but quality of life is really glamorous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-don-t-have-to-have-the-biggest-house-or-the-biggest-car-or-the/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) Browse all 6,849 Car quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Oh Jake,\" Brett said, \"We could have had such a damned good time together.\" Ahead was a mounted policeman in khaki directing traffic. He raised his baton. The car slowed suddenly, pressing Brett against me. Yes,\" I said. \"Isn't it pretty to think so?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ernest Hemingway" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-such-a-damned-good-time-together/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Car" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-such-a-damned-good-time-together/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/ernest-hemingway-83_car_oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-suc_2384038.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/ernest-hemingway-83_car_oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-suc_2384038.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e57/ernest-hemingway-83_car_oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-suc_2384038.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh Jake,\" Brett said, \"We could have had such a damned good time together.\" Ahead was a mounted policeman in…” — Ernest Hemingway", "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": "Ernest Hemingway", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernest-hemingway/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Oh Jake,\" Brett said, \"We could...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-such-a-damned-good-time-together/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernest-hemingway/oh-jake-brett-said-we-could-have-had-such-a-damned-good-time-together/#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 } } ] } ```