--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We got dressed, and walked downstairs and…" description: "\"“We got dressed, and walked downstairs and into the parlor. Everyone was clean in the clean parlor, and waiting for supper, sitting patiently but unrel..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/james-agee-9167_another-year_we-got-dressed-and-walked-downstairs-and_1266724.jpg" --- # We got dressed, and walked downstairs and into the parlor… ![“We got dressed, and walked downstairs and into the parlor. Everyone was clean in the clean parlor, and waiting for supper, sitting patiently but unrelaxed; with labor past, with hands unbusied, with mind unmolested, they sat very tired waiting for their food and for their few hours of quiet and…” quote by James Agee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/james-agee-9167_another-year_we-got-dressed-and-walked-downstairs-and_1266724.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/james-agee-9167_another-year_we-got-dressed-and-walked-downstairs-and_1266724.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6bb/james-agee-9167_another-year_we-got-dressed-and-walked-downstairs-and_1266724.jpg) > ““We got dressed, and walked downstairs and into the parlor. Everyone was clean in the clean parlor, and waiting for supper, sitting patiently but unrelaxed; with labor past, with hands unbusied, with mind unmolested, they sat very tired waiting for their food and for their few hours of quiet and for their few hours of sleep; and for the next morning, and for the next evening, and for a Sunday, and for another week and Sunday; for autumn and for winter, for spring and for summer; for another year, for another ten; for the slow chemistry of change and age; for the loss of pigments and tissues, of senses and wits, of faculties and perceptions; for the silencing of all clamor and the sealing of all sight; for the final levelling of all desire, of all despair, of all joy, of all tribulations; for the final quelling of all fear and pride and love and disaffection; for the final dissolution of the flesh and of all that flesh must suffer, sickness of soul and body, fast-withering delight and clouded love, unkindness and grief and wrong beyond reckoning; for the final resolution of all the good they had wrought, and all the ill; they sat resting after battle, with quiet hands and unperceiving eyes, without emotion to receive once more the deliberate edge of evening.”” [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. Human existence is a series of repetitive, weary moments, marked by aging, loss, and the inevitable decline of desire and sensation. **In simple terms:** Life repeats cycles of fatigue and aging. Key Takeaway Embrace impermanence, seek meaning. Themes mortality time aging existence Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - elder care - end‑of‑life counseling - personal reflection - creative writing Key Concepts Existentialism psychology literature Questions to Reflect On - What small joys persist amid routine? - How does awareness of decline shape daily choices? 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You only have to show me once that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nickey-noeth/one-day-i-am-just-going-to-be-tired-of-waiting-for-you-to-wake-up-you/) [Nickey Noeth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nickey-noeth/) > [I'm tired of waiting, tired of hoping, why you still not coming?.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-marcelo/i-m-tired-of-waiting-tired-of-hoping-why-you-still-not-coming/) [Grace Marcelo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-marcelo/) > [What should iIdo to love you? I tired for waiting you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-should-iido-to-love-you-i-tired-for-waiting-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm tired ... I'm tired of waiting on you. When will you return, Honey?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/innah-delos-angeles/i-m-tired-i-m-tired-of-waiting-on-you-when-will-you-return-honey/) [Innah Delos Angeles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/innah-delos-angeles/) ## 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 Another year quotes > [These are the men who, without virtue, labour, or hazard, are growing rich, as their country is impoverished; they rejoice, when obstinacy or ambition…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/these-are-the-men-who-without-virtue-labour-or-hazard-are-growing/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [In certain savage tribes in New Guinea, they put the old people up in the trees and shake them once a year in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dos-passos/in-certain-savage-tribes-in-new-guinea-they-put-the-old-people-up-in/) [John Dos Passos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dos-passos/) > [Bruce already started that off. 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Or you can step out of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo/this-is-the-new-year-the-new-you-you-can-pass-through-another-year/) [Pablo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo/) > [“I think birthdays should be less about celebrating the birth of the child and more about celebrating the fact that we succeeded at keeping…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-smokler/i-think-birthdays-should-be-less-about-celebrating-the-birth-of-the/) [Jill Smokler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-smokler/) > [Another fresh new year is here... Another year to live! To banish worry, doubt, and fear, to love and laugh and give!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-arthur-ward/another-fresh-new-year-is-here-another-year-to-live-to-banish-worry/) [William Arthur Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-arthur-ward/) > [Here's to another year of blessings!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/here-s-to-another-year-of-blessings/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If you look at any institution in history - look at the Roman Empire - anything in history, and what it looks like when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trip-hawkins/if-you-look-at-any-institution-in-history-look-at-the-roman-empire/) [Trip Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trip-hawkins/) > [“The real power in America is held by a fast-emerging new Oligarchy of pimps and preachers who see no need for Democracy or fairness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/the-real-power-in-america-is-held-by-a-fast-emerging-new-oligarchy-of/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [“Every year its a blessing year, because it brings another years in advance”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-c-tshwaane/every-year-its-a-blessing-year-because-it-brings-another-years-in/) [K.C Tshwaane](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-c-tshwaane/) > [“It could be the sound of each name he knows/curling to ash in his chest’s aortic furnace one after another, year after year instructing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-penberthy/it-could-be-the-sound-of-each-name-he-knows-curling-to-ash-in-his/) Bryan Penberthy > [“As another year went by And a new year came to greet us I got up in the morning to take my class And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/avijeet-das/as-another-year-went-by-and-a-new-year-came-to-greet-us-i-got-up-in/) [Avijeet Das](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/avijeet-das/) [Browse all 240 Another year quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/another-year/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“We got dressed, and walked downstairs and into the parlor. 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