--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: By some chance, here they are, all on…" description: "\"“By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on quilts, on the grass, in a summ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/james-agee-9167_god-bless_by-some-chance-here-they-are-all-on-this_2024823.jpg" --- # By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who… ![“By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on quilts, on the grass, in a summer evening, among the sounds of the night. May God bless my people, my uncle, my aunt, my mother, my good father, oh, remember them kindly in their…” quote by James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/james-agee-9167_god-bless_by-some-chance-here-they-are-all-on-this_2024823.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/james-agee-9167_god-bless_by-some-chance-here-they-are-all-on-this_2024823.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d3b/james-agee-9167_god-bless_by-some-chance-here-they-are-all-on-this_2024823.jpg) > ““By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on quilts, on the grass, in a summer evening, among the sounds of the night. May God bless my people, my uncle, my aunt, my mother, my good father, oh, remember them kindly in their time of trouble; and in the hour of their taking away. After a little I am taken in and put to bed. Sleep, soft smiling, draws me unto her: and those receive me, who quietly treat me, as one familiar and well-beloved in that home: but will not, oh, will not, not now, not ever; but will not ever tell me who I am.”” [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) ## 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 being unseen and unrecognized, yearning for comfort and identity amidst suffering. **In simple terms:** Feeling unseen and yearning for belonging. Key Takeaway Seek acknowledgment and compassion. Themes suffering identity yearning Mood melancholic reflective Type poetry spiritual When to use this quote - hospital - family grief - personal crisis Key Concepts existential loneliness spiritual longing Questions to Reflect On - Who do you turn to for comfort? - What does identity mean to you? A Different Perspective Recognition may not be possible. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Good father](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-father/) [Nature](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature/) [Parenting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parenting/) [Summer evening](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-evening/) ## Related quotes > [By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/by-some-chance-here-they-are-all-on-this-earth-and-who-shall-ever/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [I grew up in a family full of strong women. A great aunt on my mother's side had been a matron on a hospital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nick-earls/i-grew-up-in-a-family-full-of-strong-women-a-great-aunt-on-my-mother/) [Nick Earls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nick-earls/) > [“This worldly life is very difficult. 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Weather and rain have undone it again, And now you would never know There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/they-shut-the-road-through-the-woods-seventy-years-ago-weather-and/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/then-two-wonders-happened-at-the-same-moment-one-was-that-the-voice/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More by James Agee > [By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/by-some-chance-here-they-are-all-on-this-earth-and-who-shall-ever/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [The camera seems to me, next to unassisted and weaponless consciousness, the central instrument of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/the-camera-seems-to-me-next-to-unassisted-and-weaponless/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [“Yes, for every child, rich or poor, there's a time of running through a dark place; and there's no word for a child's fear,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/yes-for-every-child-rich-or-poor-there-s-a-time-of-running-through-a/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [“Kate, the mother of thirteen, is forty-nine; delicately made; her skin creamlike where the weather has not got at it. 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It's nice to learn fast but it's nice to take your time too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/well-now-some-people-learn-a-little-quicker-than-others-it-s-nice-to/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [The artist's task is not to alter the world as the eye sees it into a world of aesthetic reality, but to perceive the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/the-artist-s-task-is-not-to-alter-the-world-as-the-eye-sees-it-into-a/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [Understanding, and action proceeding from understanding and guided by it, is one weapon against the world's bombardment, the one medicine, the one instrument by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/understanding-and-action-proceeding-from-understanding-and-guided-by/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [This continent, an open palm spread frank before the sky.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/this-continent-an-open-palm-spread-frank-before-the-sky/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [You've got to bear it in mind that nobody that ever lived is specially privileged; the axe can fall at any moment, on any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/you-ve-got-to-bear-it-in-mind-that-nobody-that-ever-lived-is/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) > [He used this great, sad, motionless face to suggest various related things: a one-track mind near the track's end of pure insanity; mulish imperturbability…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-agee/he-used-this-great-sad-motionless-face-to-suggest-various-related/) [James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) [Explore all 75 James Agee quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-agee/) ## More Aunt quotes > [“My aunt Carol hasn’t heard her say a word in the whole six years and three months of Grace’s life—not a single syllable. Carol…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-oliver/my-aunt-carol-hasn-t-heard-her-say-a-word-in-the-whole-six-years-and/) [Lauren Oliver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-oliver/) > [Your aunt and uncle will be proud, though, won't they?" said Hermione as they got off the train and joined the crowd thronging toward…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-aunt-and-uncle-will-be-proud-though-won-t-they-said-hermione-as/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I was painfully shy, so my aunt suggested to my mum that me and my brother go to Stage 84, a performing arts school…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-cooke/i-was-painfully-shy-so-my-aunt-suggested-to-my-mum-that-me-and-my/) [Christian Cooke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-cooke/) > [“Quin took on the air of someone who has just realized it's time for the yearly visit to the spinster great-aunt in a desperate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-fecteau/quin-took-on-the-air-of-someone-who-has-just-realized-it-s-time-for/) [Amy Fecteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-fecteau/) > [My aunt and uncle are clearly civilians.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-kimmel/my-aunt-and-uncle-are-clearly-civilians/) [Jimmy Kimmel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-kimmel/) > [“Aunt Helen Beck had many intentions about her death. 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Aunt Jettie”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/molly-harper/i-look-like-barbara-bush-in-drag-aunt-jettie/) [Molly Harper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/molly-harper/) > [I only wanted Uncle Vernon standing by his own car (a Hudson) on a clear day, I got him and the car. Ialso got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lee-friedlander/i-only-wanted-uncle-vernon-standing-by-his-own-car-a-hudson-on-a/) [Lee Friedlander](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lee-friedlander/) > [Both the five-year-olds looked at me with bewilderment and a bit of fearful uncertainty. I had a sudden horrifying image of the woman I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gilbert/both-the-five-year-olds-looked-at-me-with-bewilderment-and-a-bit-of/) [Elizabeth Gilbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gilbert/) > [My aunt got me interested in journalism - she found an old typewriter, had it worked over, put it on the dining room table,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-jenkins/my-aunt-got-me-interested-in-journalism-she-found-an-old-typewriter/) [Dan Jenkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-jenkins/) > [This kind of thing always amazed Ginny--people who just walked away from institutions. People who left school when they didn't see the point. Aunt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/this-kind-of-thing-always-amazed-ginny-people-who-just-walked-away/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [“You will not be able to shelter her forever,” my aunt insists. “What will happen when you are gone someday, and all the suitable…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-forest/you-will-not-be-able-to-shelter-her-forever-my-aunt-insists-what-will/) [Laurie Forest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-forest/) > [my sweet old etcetera aunt lucy during the recent war could and what is more did tell you just what everybody was fighting for,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/my-sweet-old-etcetera-aunt-lucy-during-the-recent-war-could-and-what/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) Browse all 720 Aunt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“By some chance, here they are, all on this earth; and who shall ever tell the sorrow of being on this earth, lying, on quilts, on the grass, in a summer evening, among the sounds of the night. 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