--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: James Joyce Once upon a time and a very…" description: "\"James Joyce Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the r..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/james-joyce-281_things-happen-for-a_james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very_1718907.jpg" --- # James Joyce Once upon a time and a very good time it was… ![“James Joyce Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo…” quote by James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/james-joyce-281_things-happen-for-a_james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very_1718907.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/james-joyce-281_things-happen-for-a_james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very_1718907.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/james-joyce-281_things-happen-for-a_james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very_1718907.jpg) > “James Joyce Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo…” [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Joyce opens with a whimsical, stream‑of‑consciousness description of a boy’s adventure, blending mythic language with everyday detail. **In simple terms:** A playful, lyrical opening about a boy’s journey. Key Takeaway Embrace imagination in storytelling. Themes mythic storytelling language play childhood wonder Mood joyful imaginative Type literary inspirational When to use this quote - creative writing - education - inspiration Key Concepts stream of consciousness literary innovation narrative voice Questions to Reflect On - How does myth shape modern narratives? - What effect does playful language have on readers? A Different Perspective Complex style can alienate casual readers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Things happen for a reason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/things-happen-for-a-reason/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) ## Related quotes > [Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/once-upon-a-time-and-a-very-good-time-it-was-there-was-a-moocow/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [For months, my parents had been trying to prepare me for the arrival of a real sibling. They had given me a doll to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ezekiel-emanuel/for-months-my-parents-had-been-trying-to-prepare-me-for-the-arrival/) [Ezekiel Emanuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ezekiel-emanuel/) > [My first kiss was with the most chivalrous little boy I ever met in my life. It was in kindergarten. There was this kid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christina-ricci/my-first-kiss-was-with-the-most-chivalrous-little-boy-i-ever-met-in/) [Christina Ricci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christina-ricci/) > [“James Joyce seemed like the most arrogant man who ever lived, had both his eyes wide open and great faculty of speech, but what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/james-joyce-seemed-like-the-most-arrogant-man-who-ever-lived-had-both/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [ I think \[James\] Joyce sometimes enjoyed misleading his readers. He said to me that history was like that parlor game where someone whispers something… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-beach/i-think-james-joyce-sometimes-enjoyed-misleading-his-readers-he-said/) Sylvia Beach > [I'm a postmodern commentator, and so, in a cheeky parallel to James Joyce or James Kelman, I get to places, verbally, that are a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sid-waddell/i-m-a-postmodern-commentator-and-so-in-a-cheeky-parallel-to-james/) [Sid Waddell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sid-waddell/) > [Mr. James Joyce is a great man who is entirely without taste.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rebecca-west/mr-james-joyce-is-a-great-man-who-is-entirely-without-taste/) [Rebecca West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rebecca-west/) > [If you word-spot James Joyce, you'll miss the entire experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/if-you-word-spot-james-joyce-you-ll-miss-the-entire-experience/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [In translation studies we talk about domestication - translation styles that make something familiar - or estrangement - translation styles that make something radically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-translation-studies-we-talk-about-domestication-translation-styles/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [James Joyce is right about history being a nightmare-- but it may be that nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nightmare-but-it-may-be/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [ James Joyce is a cul-de-sac. \[Ulysses is\] ... an example how literature branched out and went into, lost itself in nowhere, no man's land. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/james-joyce-is-a-cul-de-sac-ulysses-is-an-example-how-literature/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [“James Joyce married a woman named Nora Barnacle. She once said to him, ‘Why don’t you write books people can read?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/james-joyce-married-a-woman-named-nora-barnacle-she-once-said-to-him/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [If you ever want to understand multitasking in prose, James Joyce is your man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-delaney/if-you-ever-want-to-understand-multitasking-in-prose-james-joyce-is/) [Frank Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-delaney/) > [James Joyce actually is rewarding you in all of these incredible ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-andrews/james-joyce-actually-is-rewarding-you-in-all-of-these-incredible-ways/) [Jesse Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-andrews/) > [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/) ## More by James Joyce > [He found in the world without as actual what was in his world within as possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-found-in-the-world-without-as-actual-what-was-in-his-world-within/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Ah, poor dogsbody! Here lies poor dogsbody's body.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/ah-poor-dogsbody-here-lies-poor-dogsbody-s-body/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Our civilization, bequeathed to us by fierce adventurers, eaters of meat and hunters, is so full of hurry and combat, so busy about many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/our-civilization-bequeathed-to-us-by-fierce-adventurers-eaters-of/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Shaw's works make me admire the magnificent tolerance and broadmindedness of the english.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/shaw-s-works-make-me-admire-the-magnificent-tolerance-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“Do you know what Ireland is?' asked Stephen with cold violence. 'Ireland is the old sow that eats her farrow.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/do-you-know-what-ireland-is-asked-stephen-with-cold-violence-ireland/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [The studious silence of the library ... Thought is the thought of thought. Tranquil brightness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/the-studious-silence-of-the-library-thought-is-the-thought-of-thought/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“two cronies drank to the memory of their past. An abyss of fortune or of temperament sundered him from them. His mind seemed older…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/two-cronies-drank-to-the-memory-of-their-past-an-abyss-of-fortune-or/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [He passes, struck by the stare of truculent Wellington but in the convex mirror grin unstruck the bonham eyes and fatchuck cheekchops of Jollypoldy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/he-passes-struck-by-the-stare-of-truculent-wellington-but-in-the/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“-Qui vous a mis dans cette fichue position?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/qui-vous-a-mis-dans-cette-fichue-position/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [I hear the ruin of all space, shattered glass and toppled masonry, and time one livid final flame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/i-hear-the-ruin-of-all-space-shattered-glass-and-toppled-masonry-and/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Full many a flower is born to blush unseen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/full-many-a-flower-is-born-to-blush-unseen/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [In woman's womb word is made flesh but in the spirit of the maker all flesh that passes becomes the word that shall not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/in-woman-s-womb-word-is-made-flesh-but-in-the-spirit-of-the-maker-all/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Though people may read more into Ulysses than I ever intended, who is to say that they are wrong: do any of us know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/though-people-may-read-more-into-ulysses-than-i-ever-intended-who-is/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [History, Stephen said, is a nightmare from which I am trying to awake.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/history-stephen-said-is-a-nightmare-from-which-i-am-trying-to-awake/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [“It flows purling, widely flowing, floating foampool, flower unfurling.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/it-flows-purling-widely-flowing-floating-foampool-flower-unfurling/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) [Explore all 707 James Joyce quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) ## More Joyce quotes > [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 think I succeeded as a writer because I did not come out of an English department. I used to write in the chemistry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-think-i-succeeded-as-a-writer-because-i-did-not-come-out-of-an/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [James Joyce actually is rewarding you in all of these incredible ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesse-andrews/james-joyce-actually-is-rewarding-you-in-all-of-these-incredible-ways/) [Jesse Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesse-andrews/) > [Great books are readable anyway. Dickens is readable. Jane Austen is readable. John Updike's readable. Hawthorne's readable. It's a meaningless term. You have to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/great-books-are-readable-anyway-dickens-is-readable-jane-austen-is/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [If you ever want to understand multitasking in prose, James Joyce is your man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-delaney/if-you-ever-want-to-understand-multitasking-in-prose-james-joyce-is/) [Frank Delaney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-delaney/) > [“(Unlike many others around this time, Joyce felt no shame about using the term 'middle class'. In the Chalfen lexicon the middle classes were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zadie-smith/unlike-many-others-around-this-time-joyce-felt-no-shame-about-using/) [Zadie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zadie-smith/) > [“James Joyce married a woman named Nora Barnacle. She once said to him, ‘Why don’t you write books people can read?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lloyd/james-joyce-married-a-woman-named-nora-barnacle-she-once-said-to-him/) [John Lloyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lloyd/) > [ James Joyce is a cul-de-sac. \[Ulysses is\] ... an example how literature branched out and went into, lost itself in nowhere, no man's land. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/werner-herzog/james-joyce-is-a-cul-de-sac-ulysses-is-an-example-how-literature/) [Werner Herzog](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/werner-herzog/) > [James Joyce is right about history being a nightmare-- but it may be that nightmare from which no one can awaken. People are trapped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/james-joyce-is-right-about-history-being-a-nightmare-but-it-may-be/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [I took a couple of creative writing classes with Joyce Carol Oates at Princeton University, and in my senior year there, I took a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-took-a-couple-of-creative-writing-classes-with-joyce-carol-oates-at/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [Jesse Joyce is a great writer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-attell/jesse-joyce-is-a-great-writer/) [Dave Attell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-attell/) > [Lord, what if I miss You? What if I miss You? What if I miss You? Oh, I'm so scared! God, what if I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-meyer/lord-what-if-i-miss-you-what-if-i-miss-you-what-if-i-miss-you-oh-i-m/) [Joyce Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-meyer/) > [In translation studies we talk about domestication - translation styles that make something familiar - or estrangement - translation styles that make something radically…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elliott-colla/in-translation-studies-we-talk-about-domestication-translation-styles/) [Elliott Colla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elliott-colla/) > [If you word-spot James Joyce, you'll miss the entire experience.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maryanne-wolf/if-you-word-spot-james-joyce-you-ll-miss-the-entire-experience/) [Maryanne Wolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maryanne-wolf/) > [What did Nabokov and Joyce have in common, apart from the poor teeth and the great prose? Exile, and decades of near pauperism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/what-did-nabokov-and-joyce-have-in-common-apart-from-the-poor-teeth/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) Browse all 151 Joyce quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "James Joyce Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and this moocow that was coming down along the road met a nicens little boy named baby tuckoo…", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "James Joyce" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very-good-time-it-was-there-was-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Joyce" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very-good-time-it-was-there-was-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/james-joyce-281_things-happen-for-a_james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very_1718907.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/james-joyce-281_things-happen-for-a_james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very_1718907.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0c5/james-joyce-281_things-happen-for-a_james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very_1718907.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“James Joyce Once upon a time and a very good time it was there was a moocow coming down along the road and…” — James Joyce", "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": "James Joyce", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "James Joyce Once upon a time...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very-good-time-it-was-there-was-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/james-joyce-once-upon-a-time-and-a-very-good-time-it-was-there-was-a/#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 } } ] } ```