--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our city, these streets, I don't know why…" description: "\"“Our city, these streets, I don't know why it makes me so depressed. That old familiar gloom that befalls the city dweller, regular as due dates, cloud..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/haruki-murakami-21_a-slow-boat-to-china_our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why_1869780.jpg" --- # Our city, these streets, I don't know why it makes me so… ![“Our city, these streets, I don't know why it makes me so depressed. That old familiar gloom that befalls the city dweller, regular as due dates, cloudy as mental Jell-O. The dirty facades, the nameless crowds, the unremitting noise, the packed rush-hour trains, the gray skies, the billboards on…” quote by Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/haruki-murakami-21_a-slow-boat-to-china_our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why_1869780.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/haruki-murakami-21_a-slow-boat-to-china_our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why_1869780.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/haruki-murakami-21_a-slow-boat-to-china_our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why_1869780.jpg) > ““Our city, these streets, I don't know why it makes me so depressed. That old familiar gloom that befalls the city dweller, regular as due dates, cloudy as mental Jell-O. The dirty facades, the nameless crowds, the unremitting noise, the packed rush-hour trains, the gray skies, the billboards on every square centimeter of available space, the hopes and resignation, irritation and excitement. And everywhere, infinite options, infinite possibilities. An infinity, and at the same time, zero. We try to scoop it all up in our hands, and what we get is a handful of zero.”” [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Urban life overwhelms with endless choices and monotony, leaving a sense of emptiness despite abundance. **In simple terms:** City life feels both limitless and empty. Key Takeaway Find meaning beyond the noise. Themes urban alienation existential dread choice overload loneliness Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - commuting - crowded spaces - media saturation - personal introspection Key Concepts modernism psychological realism Questions to Reflect On - How do you create purpose in a busy city? - What simple pleasures counteract urban gloom? A Different Perspective Too many options can paralyze action. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Due date](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/due-date/) [Gloom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloom/) [Gray skies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gray-skies/) [Haruki-murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/haruki-murakami/) [Infinite possibilities](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/infinite-possibilities/) [Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/murakami/) ## Related quotes > [“There are some things about myself I can't explain to anyone. There are some things I don't understand at all. I can't tell what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-are-some-things-about-myself-i-can-t-explain-to-anyone-there-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Of course, they're not clowning around trying to make me laugh. They're doing their best to live very serious lives, and they just happen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/of-course-they-re-not-clowning-around-trying-to-make-me-laugh-they-re/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Mendoj që do të vijë një ditë që edhe hijet do t'i përpijë errësira.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/mendoj-q-do-t-vij-nj-dit-q-edhe-hijet-do-t-i-p-rpij-err-sira/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Once again, life had a lesson to teach me: It takes years to build up, it takes moments to destroy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/once-again-life-had-a-lesson-to-teach-me-it-takes-years-to-build-up/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“My head is like some ridiculous barn packed full of stuff I want to write about,” she said. “Images, scenes, snatches of words ……](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/my-head-is-like-some-ridiculous-barn-packed-full-of-stuff-i-want-to/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Or maybe that’s what it’s all about: this religion’s substance is its lack of substance. In McLuhanesque terms, the medium is the message. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/or-maybe-that-s-what-it-s-all-about-this-religion-s-substance-is-its/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Thinking about lunch. Smoked salmon with pedigreed lettuce and razor-sharp slices of onion that have been soaked in ice water, brushed with horseradish and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/thinking-about-lunch-smoked-salmon-with-pedigreed-lettuce-and-razor/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You don't get it" she said ''Don't get what?" ''We are one" ''We are one?" Tengo asked with a shock. ''We wrote the book…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-don-t-get-it-she-said-don-t-get-what-we-are-one-we-are-one-tengo/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“From the moment of my birth, I lived with pain at the center of my life. My only purpose in life was to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/from-the-moment-of-my-birth-i-lived-with-pain-at-the-center-of-my/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Neće ti smetati ako slušamo muziku?" pita Ošima. Neće, kažem. On pritisne dugme cd plejera. Počinje klasična klavirska muzika. Neko vreme pomno slušam tu…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/ne-e-ti-smetati-ako-slu-amo-muziku-pita-o-ima-ne-e-ka-em-on-pritisne/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I never had what it takes to make a first-rate anything.' 'That's wrong,' she declared. 'Everyone must have one thing that they can excel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-never-had-what-it-takes-to-make-a-first-rate-anything-that-s-wrong/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Tengo wasn´t certain that he was doing the right thing. Maybe the time he was spending here, in this room in a sanatorium far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/tengo-wasn-t-certain-that-he-was-doing-the-right-thing-maybe-the-time/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I made up my mind I was going to find someone who would love me unconditionally three hundred and sixty five days a year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-made-up-my-mind-i-was-going-to-find-someone-who-would-love-me/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“I was living for one thing only, and that was to confirm my own lack of feeling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-was-living-for-one-thing-only-and-that-was-to-confirm-my-own-lack/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“No me queda más remedio que ser paciente, deshacer los nudos y volver a conectar cada hilo. Recomponer la situación. ¿Por dónde empiezo? No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/no-me-queda-m-s-remedio-que-ser-paciente-deshacer-los-nudos-y-volver/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More by Haruki Murakami > [I always feel like I'm struggling to become someone else. Like I'm trying to find a new place, grab hold of a new life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/i-always-feel-like-i-m-struggling-to-become-someone-else-like-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If writing novels is like planting a forest, then writing short stories is more like planting a garden.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-writing-novels-is-like-planting-a-forest-then-writing-short/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“The sad truth is that what I could recall in five seconds all too soon needed ten, then thirty, thena full minute...”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-sad-truth-is-that-what-i-could-recall-in-five-seconds-all-too/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Intelligent teenage girls were often instinctively theatrical, purposely eccentric, mouthing highly suggestive words to confuse people.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/intelligent-teenage-girls-were-often-instinctively-theatrical/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [Memory is like fiction; or else it's fiction that's like memory. This really came home to me once I started writing fiction, that memory…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/memory-is-like-fiction-or-else-it-s-fiction-that-s-like-memory-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [The most dangerous creature here would have to be me. So maybe I'm just scared of my own shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/the-most-dangerous-creature-here-would-have-to-be-me-so-maybe-i-m/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [If you listen to the radio for a whole hour there's maybe one decent song. The rest is mass-produced garbage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/if-you-listen-to-the-radio-for-a-whole-hour-there-s-maybe-one-decent/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“that one of our problems was our inability to recognize and accept our own deformities”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/that-one-of-our-problems-was-our-inability-to-recognize-and-accept/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When I look back at myself at age twenty, what I remember most is being alone and lonely. I had no girlfriend to warm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-i-look-back-at-myself-at-age-twenty-what-i-remember-most-is/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“There's not a branch of publishing or broadcasting that doesn't depend in some way on advertising. It'd be like an aquarium without water. Why,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-s-not-a-branch-of-publishing-or-broadcasting-that-doesn-t/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“One by one, I'll face the tasks before me and complete them as best I can. Focusing on each stride forward, but at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/one-by-one-i-ll-face-the-tasks-before-me-and-complete-them-as-best-i/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Eleven o'clock had come and gone. I had to find a way to bring this conversation to a successful conclusion and get out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/eleven-o-clock-had-come-and-gone-i-had-to-find-a-way-to-bring-this/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“Some people get a kick out of reading railway timetables and that's all they do all day. Some people make huge model boats out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/some-people-get-a-kick-out-of-reading-railway-timetables-and-that-s/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“When the time comes, everybody’s got to end up where they belong. Only me, I didn’t have a place to call my own. It’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/when-the-time-comes-everybody-s-got-to-end-up-where-they-belong-only/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) > [“You let something out of the bag before yourself knew what it was all about”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/you-let-something-out-of-the-bag-before-yourself-knew-what-it-was-all/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) [Explore all 2,928 Haruki Murakami quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) ## More A-slow-boat-to-china quotes > [“There are some things about myself I can't explain to anyone. There are some things I don't understand at all. I can't tell what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/there-are-some-things-about-myself-i-can-t-explain-to-anyone-there-2/) [Haruki Murakami](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/) Browse all 2 A-slow-boat-to-china quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Our city, these streets, I don't know why it makes me so depressed. That old familiar gloom that befalls the city dweller, regular as due dates, cloudy as mental Jell-O. The dirty facades, the nameless crowds, the unremitting noise, the packed rush-hour trains, the gray skies, the billboards on every square centimeter of available space, the hopes and resignation, irritation and excitement. And everywhere, infinite options, infinite possibilities. An infinity, and at the same time, zero. We try to scoop it all up in our hands, and what we get is a handful of zero.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Haruki Murakami" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why-it-makes-me-so-depressed-that/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "A-slow-boat-to-china" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why-it-makes-me-so-depressed-that/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/haruki-murakami-21_a-slow-boat-to-china_our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why_1869780.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/haruki-murakami-21_a-slow-boat-to-china_our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why_1869780.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cf2/haruki-murakami-21_a-slow-boat-to-china_our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why_1869780.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Our city, these streets, I don't know why it makes me so depressed. That old familiar gloom that befalls the…” — Haruki Murakami", "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": "Haruki Murakami", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/haruki-murakami/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“Our city, these streets, I don't...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why-it-makes-me-so-depressed-that/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/haruki-murakami/our-city-these-streets-i-don-t-know-why-it-makes-me-so-depressed-that/#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 } } ] } ```