--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: My father and mother should have stayed…" description: "\"My father and mother should have stayed in New York, where they met and married and where I was born.\" — Frank McCourt" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/frank-mccourt-2576_born_my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed_632936.png" --- # My father and mother should have stayed in New York, where… ![“My father and mother should have stayed in New York, where they met and married and where I was born.” quote by Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/frank-mccourt-2576_born_my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed_632936.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/frank-mccourt-2576_born_my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed_632936.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/frank-mccourt-2576_born_my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed_632936.png) > “My father and mother should have stayed in New York, where they met and married and where I was born.” [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Family roots shape identity, and longing for a different origin can highlight personal discontent. **In simple terms:** Family origins affect who we become. Key Takeaway Recognize how past environments influence you. Themes family identity longing Mood nostalgic thoughtful Type reflective personal When to use this quote - genealogy research - cultural heritage projects - personal therapy Key Concepts Rootedness displacement nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What aspects of your origins shape you? - Can you find value in your actual upbringing? A Different Perspective Idealizing a place may ignore its complexities. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father/) [Father And Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/father-and-mother/) [Mother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mother/) [New york](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/new-york/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) ## Related quotes > [When joy and prayer are married, their first born child is gratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-spurgeon/when-joy-and-prayer-are-married-their-first-born-child-is-gratitude/) [Charles Spurgeon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-spurgeon/) > [“You're lucky your mother died,' she said. I didn't like that. 'I'm lucky my mother died?' Between sobs she said, 'Your mother would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-paul-evans/you-re-lucky-your-mother-died-she-said-i-didn-t-like-that-i-m-lucky/) [Richard Paul Evans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-paul-evans/) > [My father and mother were second cousins, though they did not meet till shortly before their marriage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-white/my-father-and-mother-were-second-cousins-though-they-did-not-meet/) [Patrick White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-white/) > [“I wonder where love really is. Good feelings. Happiness. They're someplace, I know. I feel that. But without Father and Mother, how do I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-shaw/i-wonder-where-love-really-is-good-feelings-happiness-they-re/) [Susan Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-shaw/) > [“Keb and Nut were the father and mother of the four divinities, Osiris and Isis, Set and Nephthys; together they formed with their primeval…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-henry-breasted/keb-and-nut-were-the-father-and-mother-of-the-four-divinities-osiris/) [James Henry Breasted](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-henry-breasted/) > [The child should support his father and mother when he is able to do and they are in hand. But,in religious matters,the man must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jainism/the-child-should-support-his-father-and-mother-when-he-is-able-to-do/) JAINISM > [Life was a lot simpler when what we honored was father and mother rather than all major credit cards.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-orben/life-was-a-lot-simpler-when-what-we-honored-was-father-and-mother/) [Robert Orben](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-orben/) > [My wife is the most wonderful woman in the world, and my parents are the most extraordinary father and mother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/akhil-sharma/my-wife-is-the-most-wonderful-woman-in-the-world-and-my-parents-are/) [Akhil Sharma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/akhil-sharma/) > [“That's what Father and Mother are, thought Nafai. They stay together, not because of any gain, but because of the gift. Father doesn't stay…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/that-s-what-father-and-mother-are-thought-nafai-they-stay-together/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [My father and mother had no sense of entitlement for their children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seamus-heaney/my-father-and-mother-had-no-sense-of-entitlement-for-their-children/) [Seamus Heaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seamus-heaney/) > [God has not made anything that I know of that pays so much attention to who their father and mother is as us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/god-has-not-made-anything-that-i-know-of-that-pays-so-much-attention/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [“The child comes home and the parent puts the hooks in him. The old man, or the woman, as the case may be, hasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-child-comes-home-and-the-parent-puts-the-hooks-in-him-the-old-man/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [I think I was well brought up, for my father and mother were of one mind regarding the care of the family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-helen-spence/i-think-i-was-well-brought-up-for-my-father-and-mother-were-of-one/) [Catherine Helen Spence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-helen-spence/) > [Deadbeat moms never realize the lasting effects that they have on there child's life, you only get one father and mother in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/deadbeat-moms-never-realize-the-lasting-effects-that-they-have-on/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My father and mother were both doctors, yes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-chandrasekhar/my-father-and-mother-were-both-doctors-yes/) [Jay Chandrasekhar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-chandrasekhar/) ## More by Frank McCourt > [I'm not one of those James Joyce intellectuals who can stand back and look at the whole edifice... It was a slow process for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/i-m-not-one-of-those-james-joyce-intellectuals-who-can-stand-back-and/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [I admire certain priests and nuns who go off on their own and do God's work on their own, who help in the ghettos,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/i-admire-certain-priests-and-nuns-who-go-off-on-their-own-and-do-god/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [When I act tough they listen politely till the spasm passes. They know.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/when-i-act-tough-they-listen-politely-till-the-spasm-passes-they-know/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [Just luxuriate in a certain memory, and the details will come. It's like a magnet attracting steel filings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/just-luxuriate-in-a-certain-memory-and-the-details-will-come-it-s/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [Sing your song. Dance your dance. Tell your tale.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/sing-your-song-dance-your-dance-tell-your-tale/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [They all went into the bar business. Which was a mistake, because they began to sip at the merchandise and it set them back,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/they-all-went-into-the-bar-business-which-was-a-mistake-because-they/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [My childhood here... was very limited. So it was a long, long time before I actually went out to Brooklyn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/my-childhood-here-was-very-limited-so-it-was-a-long-long-time-before/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [We never really had any kind of a Christmas. This is one part where my memory fails me completely.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/we-never-really-had-any-kind-of-a-christmas-this-is-one-part-where-my/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [A lot of people say writers start losing their powers after 60 or 65. But I look at the best-seller list and see a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/a-lot-of-people-say-writers-start-losing-their-powers-after-60-or-65/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [“When the dark clouds flutter like bats in my head I wish I could open a window and release them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/when-the-dark-clouds-flutter-like-bats-in-my-head-i-wish-i-could-open/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [Shakespeare is like mashed potatoes, you can never get enough of him.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/shakespeare-is-like-mashed-potatoes-you-can-never-get-enough-of-him/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [I just have to proceed as usual. No matter what happens, nothing helps with the writing of the next book.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/i-just-have-to-proceed-as-usual-no-matter-what-happens-nothing-helps/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [Worse than the ordinary, miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/worse-than-the-ordinary-miserable-childhood-is-the-miserable-irish/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [It's not enough to be American. You always have to be something else, Irish-American, German-American, and you'd wonder how they'd get along if someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/it-s-not-enough-to-be-american-you-always-have-to-be-something-else/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) > [I had to get rid of any idea of hell or any idea of the afterlife. That's what held me, kept me down. So…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/i-had-to-get-rid-of-any-idea-of-hell-or-any-idea-of-the-afterlife/) [Frank McCourt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) [Explore all 159 Frank McCourt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/) ## More Born quotes > [My mother says I didn't open my eyes for eight days after I was born, but when I did, the first thing I saw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-taylor/my-mother-says-i-didn-t-open-my-eyes-for-eight-days-after-i-was-born/) [Elizabeth Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-taylor/) > [I always thought if I was born 2000 years earlier, I would be a monk, probably carving a monastery or some giant pantheon buildings.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jenova-chen/i-always-thought-if-i-was-born-2000-years-earlier-i-would-be-a-monk/) [Jenova Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jenova-chen/) > [The real world out there isn't nearly as nice as some people prefer it to be, so don't swallow everything your high-born teachers tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-real-world-out-there-isn-t-nearly-as-nice-as-some-people-prefer/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Anybody looking for a quiet life has picked the wrong century to born in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/anybody-looking-for-a-quiet-life-has-picked-the-wrong-century-to-born/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was born and raised in Orlando, where the economy and culture has been powerfully shaped by tourism, and so I've long been interested…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-van-den-berg/i-was-born-and-raised-in-orlando-where-the-economy-and-culture-has/) [Laura van den Berg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-van-den-berg/) > [I know that in the rap game you've got a lot of people, that come from poverty, was born in poverty and if it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-connor/i-know-that-in-the-rap-game-you-ve-got-a-lot-of-people-that-come-from/) [Jon Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-connor/) > [Nothing old is ever reborn but neither does it totally disappear. And that which has once been born, will always reappear in a new…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alvar-aalto/nothing-old-is-ever-reborn-but-neither-does-it-totally-disappear-and/) [Alvar Aalto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alvar-aalto/) > [I have lifted my plane . . . for perhaps a thousand flights and I have never felt her wheels glide from the Earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beryl-markham/i-have-lifted-my-plane-for-perhaps-a-thousand-flights-and-i-have/) [Beryl Markham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beryl-markham/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [Must I go bound while you go free Must I love a manwho doesn't love me Must I be born with so little art…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/must-i-go-bound-while-you-go-free-must-i-love-a-manwho-doesn-t-love/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/) [Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/) > [“Every child is born as angel.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lailah-gifty-akita/every-child-is-born-as-angel/) [Lailah Gifty Akita](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lailah-gifty-akita/) > [For the glory born of Goodness Never dies, And its flag is not half-masted In the skies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bret-harte/for-the-glory-born-of-goodness-never-dies-and-its-flag-is-not-half/) [Bret Harte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bret-harte/) > [There are two kinds of beauty; there is a beauty which God gives at birth, and which withers as a flower. And there is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abraham-kuyper/there-are-two-kinds-of-beauty-there-is-a-beauty-which-god-gives-at/) [Abraham Kuyper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abraham-kuyper/) > [If you can believe it, Hollywood wanted to change my birthdate. I was born after Valentine's Day, so they wanted to change it to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cesar-romero/if-you-can-believe-it-hollywood-wanted-to-change-my-birthdate-i-was/) [Cesar Romero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cesar-romero/) Browse all 11,606 Born quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "My father and mother should have stayed in New York, where they met and married and where I was born.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Frank McCourt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed-in-new-york-where-they-met/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Born" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed-in-new-york-where-they-met/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/frank-mccourt-2576_born_my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed_632936.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/frank-mccourt-2576_born_my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed_632936.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/331/frank-mccourt-2576_born_my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed_632936.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“My father and mother should have stayed in New York, where they met and married and where I was born.” — Frank McCourt", "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": "Frank McCourt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-mccourt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "My father and mother should have...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed-in-new-york-where-they-met/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-mccourt/my-father-and-mother-should-have-stayed-in-new-york-where-they-met/#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 } } ] } ```