--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It’s awful to think that I shall probably…" description: "\"“It’s awful to think that I shall probably never, as long as I live, see you dancing like that again all by yourself.”\" — Evelyn Waugh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/evelyn-waugh-850_awful_it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probabl_45916.png" --- # It’s awful to think that I shall probably never, as long… ![“It’s awful to think that I shall probably never, as long as I live, see you dancing like that again all by yourself.” quote by Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/evelyn-waugh-850_awful_it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probabl_45916.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/evelyn-waugh-850_awful_it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probabl_45916.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/evelyn-waugh-850_awful_it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probabl_45916.png) > ““It’s awful to think that I shall probably never, as long as I live, see you dancing like that again all by yourself.”” [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker laments the loss of a spontaneous, solitary joy that will likely never be witnessed again. **In simple terms:** Regret over vanished personal freedom Key Takeaway Cherish fleeting moments Themes nostalgia loneliness impermanence joy solitude Mood melancholic wistful reflective Type personal reflection lament When to use this quote - reflecting on a past dance - watching a loved one perform alone - realizing a unique moment won't return Key Concepts ephemeral experiences personal freedom memory Practical Applications - writing a memoir - creating a nostalgic artwork Questions to Reflect On - What moments do we take for granted? - How can we preserve fleeting joys? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Awful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful/) [Awful Think](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful-think-673218/) [Dance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dance/) [Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing/) [Dancing Like](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dancing-like/) [Live Dancing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/live-dancing-673219/) [Probably Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/probably-long-258587/) ## Related quotes > [I'm terrified of big crowds, anything that's live and dancing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sugg/i-m-terrified-of-big-crowds-anything-that-s-live-and-dancing/) [Joe Sugg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sugg/) > [“It's frightening, she thinks, how when the going gets rough you fall back on whatever awful think you grew up with.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-kingsolver/it-s-frightening-she-thinks-how-when-the-going-gets-rough-you-fall/) [Barbara Kingsolver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-kingsolver/) > [''No matter how awful you think it is, I promise you, you are not alone.'' -Agent Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/criminal-minds/no-matter-how-awful-you-think-it-is-i-promise-you-you-are-not-alone/) [Criminal Minds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/criminal-minds/) > [It's even occurred to me, as a teeny little subversive whisper of a thought, that if we stop mowing the lawn right now, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-ehrenreich/it-s-even-occurred-to-me-as-a-teeny-little-subversive-whisper-of-a/) [Barbara Ehrenreich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-ehrenreich/) > [The page is long, blank, and full of truth. When I am through with it, it shall probably be long, full, and empty with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-kerouac/the-page-is-long-blank-and-full-of-truth-when-i-am-through-with-it-it/) [Jack Kerouac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-kerouac/) > [I'm probably not long-term-relationship material for now.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-kiedis/i-m-probably-not-long-term-relationship-material-for-now/) [Anthony Kiedis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-kiedis/) > [I might survive a few days at sea. Probably not as long as Pi.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suraj-sharma/i-might-survive-a-few-days-at-sea-probably-not-as-long-as-pi/) [Suraj Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suraj-sharma/) > [“Isadora Duncan Dancing Like sculpture at first. Then, as if the sun rose in her, long gesture. A small smile; then very much so.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kinga-fabo/isadora-duncan-dancing-like-sculpture-at-first-then-as-if-the-sun/) [Kinga Fabo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kinga-fabo/) > [It took a lot of years for me to get comfortable, strutting my stuff, dancing like a fool, having that sparkly dress on that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-potter/it-took-a-lot-of-years-for-me-to-get-comfortable-strutting-my-stuff/) [Grace Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-potter/) > [My dance background helped me tremendously. Dancing is like second nature to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-truth/my-dance-background-helped-me-tremendously-dancing-is-like-second/) [R-Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-truth/) > [I'm such a lady but I'm dancing like a hoe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fergie/i-m-such-a-lady-but-i-m-dancing-like-a-hoe/) [Fergie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fergie/) > [Dancing is like life. The lessons of one are the lessons of the other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/savion-glover/dancing-is-like-life-the-lessons-of-one-are-the-lessons-of-the-other/) [Savion Glover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/savion-glover/) > [When my woman kisses me I start dancing like James Brown. Ow! I Feel Good!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/godfrey/when-my-woman-kisses-me-i-start-dancing-like-james-brown-ow-i-feel/) [Godfrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/godfrey/) > [Just go on dancing with me like this forever and I'll never tire. We'll scrape our shoe on the stars and hang upside down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/just-go-on-dancing-with-me-like-this-forever-and-i-ll-never-tire-we/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [Dancing is like dreaming with your feet!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/dancing-is-like-dreaming-with-your-feet/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Evelyn Waugh > [If, for instance, they have heard something from the postman, they attribute it to a semi-official statement; if they have fallen into conversation with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-for-instance-they-have-heard-something-from-the-postman-they/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [One can write, think and pray exclusively of others; dreams are all egocentric.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/one-can-write-think-and-pray-exclusively-of-others-dreams-are-all/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Sometimes," Helena continued, "I have a terrible dream of the future. Not now, but presently, people may forget their loyalty to their kings and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/sometimes-helena-continued-i-have-a-terrible-dream-of-the-future-not/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Rex has never been unkind to me intentionally. It's just that he isn't a real person at all; he's just a few faculties of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/rex-has-never-been-unkind-to-me-intentionally-it-s-just-that-he-isn-t/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [If it could only be like this always – always summer, always alone, the fruit always ripe and Aloysius in a good temper...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/if-it-could-only-be-like-this-always-always-summer-always-alone-the/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“My dear, I should like to stick you full of barbed arrows like a p-p-pin cushion...Where do you lurk? I shall come down your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/my-dear-i-should-like-to-stick-you-full-of-barbed-arrows-like-a-p-p/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [There is something incomparably thrilling in first opening a brand new book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/there-is-something-incomparably-thrilling-in-first-opening-a-brand/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“Beware the Anglo-Catholics. They're all sodomites with unpleasant accents." --Cousin Jasper”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/beware-the-anglo-catholics-they-re-all-sodomites-with-unpleasant/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“The fortnight at Venice passed quickly and sweetly-- perhaps too sweetly; I was drowning in honey, stingless.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/the-fortnight-at-venice-passed-quickly-and-sweetly-perhaps-too/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [I've always been bad. Probably I shall be bad again, punished again. But the worse I am, the more I need God. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/i-ve-always-been-bad-probably-i-shall-be-bad-again-punished-again-but/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [His courtesy was somewhat extravagant. He would write and thank people who wrote to thank him for wedding presents and when he encountered anyone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/his-courtesy-was-somewhat-extravagant-he-would-write-and-thank-people/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Limbo is the place. In Limbo one has natural happiness without the beatific vision; no harps; no communal order; but wine and conversation and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/limbo-is-the-place-in-limbo-one-has-natural-happiness-without-the/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [“What is adolescence without trash?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/what-is-adolescence-without-trash/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [Perhaps host and guest is really the happiest relation for father and son.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/perhaps-host-and-guest-is-really-the-happiest-relation-for-father-and/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) > [...its a rather pleasant change when all your life you've had people looking after you, to have someone to look after yourself. Only of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/its-a-rather-pleasant-change-when-all-your-life-you-ve-had-people/) [Evelyn Waugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) [Explore all 347 Evelyn Waugh quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/) ## More Awful quotes > [It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awaken in a moment to see that awful knife descending toward my heart-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-rice-burroughs/it-must-be-that-i-am-dreaming-and-that-i-shall-awaken-in-a-moment-to/) [Edgar Rice Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-rice-burroughs/) > [I spent two years in Palo Alto - what an awful, suffocating place for those of us who don't care about yoga, yogurts and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evgeny-morozov/i-spent-two-years-in-palo-alto-what-an-awful-suffocating-place-for/) [Evgeny Morozov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evgeny-morozov/) > [Layla brought her arms around herself, no doubt because she was remembering the feel of another, stronger set. "I have wanted to, but he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/layla-brought-her-arms-around-herself-no-doubt-because-she-was/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [You've seen the first issue and what happened in the last page. Some pretty awful stuff. I don't know why I seem to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/declan-shalvey/you-ve-seen-the-first-issue-and-what-happened-in-the-last-page-some/) [Declan Shalvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/declan-shalvey/) > [It is not like studying German, where you mull along, in a groping, uncertain way, for thirty years; and at last, just as you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/it-is-not-like-studying-german-where-you-mull-along-in-a-groping/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [There was a special challenge in describing the awful childhood of a person who happens to be my own husband. It was very painful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pamela-stephenson/there-was-a-special-challenge-in-describing-the-awful-childhood-of-a/) [Pamela Stephenson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pamela-stephenson/) > [On balance the moral influence of religion has been awful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-weinberg/on-balance-the-moral-influence-of-religion-has-been-awful/) [Steven Weinberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-weinberg/) > [When you finish a poem, it clicks shut like the top of a jewel box, but prose is endless. I haven't experienced an awful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenneth-koch/when-you-finish-a-poem-it-clicks-shut-like-the-top-of-a-jewel-box-but/) [Kenneth Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenneth-koch/) > [Fascism: awful stench of saw and axe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-leiris/fascism-awful-stench-of-saw-and-axe/) [Michel Leiris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-leiris/) > [No one with a bad tie is getting my vote. Some Lib Dems wear the most shockingly awful ties.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freddie-fox/no-one-with-a-bad-tie-is-getting-my-vote-some-lib-dems-wear-the-most/) [Freddie Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freddie-fox/) > [“Here she was back in the brightly lit world she had been avoiding for twenty years, and it was exactly as awful as she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-charles-wilson/here-she-was-back-in-the-brightly-lit-world-she-had-been-avoiding-for/) [Robert Charles Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-charles-wilson/) > [I'm pretty indiscriminating, and I have awful taste, generally.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nellie-mckay/i-m-pretty-indiscriminating-and-i-have-awful-taste-generally/) [Nellie McKay](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nellie-mckay/) > [The blessed Religion revealed in the word of God will remain an eternal and awful monument to prove that the best Institution may be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-washington/the-blessed-religion-revealed-in-the-word-of-god-will-remain-an/) [George Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-washington/) > [“I am awful. I am heartless. I am scared that these things are actually true.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/i-am-awful-i-am-heartless-i-am-scared-that-these-things-are-actually/) [John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/) > [Democracy is an awful way to run a country, but it's the best system we have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/winston-churchill/democracy-is-an-awful-way-to-run-a-country-but-it-s-the-best-system/) [Winston Churchill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/winston-churchill/) [Browse all 1,826 Awful quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/awful/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“It’s awful to think that I shall probably never, as long as I live, see you dancing like that again all by yourself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Evelyn Waugh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probably-never-as-long-as-i-live-see/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Awful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probably-never-as-long-as-i-live-see/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/evelyn-waugh-850_awful_it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probabl_45916.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/evelyn-waugh-850_awful_it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probabl_45916.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d7d/evelyn-waugh-850_awful_it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probabl_45916.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It’s awful to think that I shall probably never, as long as I live, see you dancing like that again all by…” — Evelyn Waugh", "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": "Evelyn Waugh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/evelyn-waugh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“It’s awful to think that I...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probably-never-as-long-as-i-live-see/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/evelyn-waugh/it-s-awful-to-think-that-i-shall-probably-never-as-long-as-i-live-see/#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 } } ] } ```