--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: There were two good fellows I used to…" description: "\"There were two good fellows I used to know. --How distant it all appears! We played together in football weather, And messed together for years: Now on..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/james-kenneth-stephen-40804_fellows_there-were-two-good-fellows-i-used-to-kn_403624.png" --- # There were two good fellows I used to know. --How distant… ![“There were two good fellows I used to know. --How distant it all appears! We played together in football weather, And messed together for years: Now one of them's wed, and the other's dead So long that he's hardly missed Save by us, who messed with him years ago: But we're all in the old School…” quote by James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/james-kenneth-stephen-40804_fellows_there-were-two-good-fellows-i-used-to-kn_403624.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/james-kenneth-stephen-40804_fellows_there-were-two-good-fellows-i-used-to-kn_403624.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/24c/james-kenneth-stephen-40804_fellows_there-were-two-good-fellows-i-used-to-kn_403624.png) > “There were two good fellows I used to know. --How distant it all appears! We played together in football weather, And messed together for years: Now one of them's wed, and the other's dead So long that he's hardly missed Save by us, who messed with him years ago: But we're all in the old School List.” [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Reflects on youthful friendships, loss, and the passage of time, noting how former companions drift apart and some die, leaving only memories. **In simple terms:** Friends change, some die, memories linger. Key Takeaway Cherish present friendships. Themes friendship loss nostalgia time memory Mood melancholic reflective Type poetic nostalgic When to use this quote - reunion gatherings - obituaries - school reunions - personal memoirs Key Concepts mortality reflection impermanence Questions to Reflect On - How do you keep old friendships alive? - What does loss teach about value? A Different Perspective Remembers that not all friendships survive adulthood. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellows/) [Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/football/) [Good Fellows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-fellows-590450/) [Know how](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/know-how/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Lists](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lists/) [Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long/) [Messed Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/messed-years-3613176/) [Old school](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-school/) [Played Football](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/played-football/) [School](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/school/) [Together](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/together/) [Two](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/two/) [Used](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/used/) [Weather](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weather/) [Wed Dead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wed-dead-3613175/) [Years](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years/) [Years ago](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/years-ago/) ## Related quotes > [Club: An assembly of good fellows, meeting under certain conditions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/club-an-assembly-of-good-fellows-meeting-under-certain-conditions/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [For 't is always fair weather When good fellows get together With a stein on the table and a good song ringing clear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-hovey/for-t-is-always-fair-weather-when-good-fellows-get-together-with-a/) [Richard Hovey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-hovey/) > [“Oh!--and I speak out of later knowledge--Heaven forefend me from the most of the average run of male humans who are not good fellows,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-london/oh-and-i-speak-out-of-later-knowledge-heaven-forefend-me-from-the/) [Jack London](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-london/) > [A glass is good, and a lass is good, And a pipe to smoke in cold weather; The world is good, and the people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-o-keefe/a-glass-is-good-and-a-lass-is-good-and-a-pipe-to-smoke-in-cold/) [John O'Keefe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-o-keefe/) > [Then here's to the heartening wassail, Wherever good fellows are found; Be its master instead of its vassal, and order the glasses around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/then-here-s-to-the-heartening-wassail-wherever-good-fellows-are-found/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [I confess that I have hitherto indulged very little in philanthropic enterprises… While my townsmen and women are devoted in somany ways to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-confess-that-i-have-hitherto-indulged-very-little-in-philanthropic/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [We cuss Congress, and we joke about 'em, but they are all good fellows at heart, and if they wasn't in Congress, why, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/will-rogers/we-cuss-congress-and-we-joke-about-em-but-they-are-all-good-fellows/) [Will Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/will-rogers/) > [Here's a toast to the roast that good fellowship lends, with the sparkle of beer and wine; May its sentiment always be deeper, my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ogden-nash/here-s-a-toast-to-the-roast-that-good-fellowship-lends-with-the/) [Ogden Nash](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ogden-nash/) > [A man's value to the community primarily depends on how far his feelings, thoughts, and actions are directed towards promoting the good of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-man-s-value-to-the-community-primarily-depends-on-how-far-his/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [I was born with football - my brothers, my dad. I played football when I was a kid. I mean, you know, it was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ann-mckee/i-was-born-with-football-my-brothers-my-dad-i-played-football-when-i/) [Ann McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ann-mckee/) > [I think Percy Harvin is as good an athlete that's played football. Ever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/urban-meyer/i-think-percy-harvin-is-as-good-an-athlete-that-s-played-football-ever/) [Urban Meyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/urban-meyer/) > [Sport has been so good to me. The amount of basketball I've played over my lifetime, ran track, played football, played organized adult softball…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/doug-burgum/sport-has-been-so-good-to-me-the-amount-of-basketball-i-ve-played/) [Doug Burgum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/doug-burgum/) > [It was my dad who got me into football. One day, he surprised me playing in the garage. He thought I was a thief.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miralem-pjanic/it-was-my-dad-who-got-me-into-football-one-day-he-surprised-me/) [Miralem Pjanic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miralem-pjanic/) > [I played football, so during the season I got respect, but that disappeared the second football was over. I was picked on because I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chad-michael-murray/i-played-football-so-during-the-season-i-got-respect-but-that/) [Chad Michael Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chad-michael-murray/) > [I've played football every day since I was five, and I'm just knackered.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rickie-lambert/i-ve-played-football-every-day-since-i-was-five-and-i-m-just-knackered/) [Rickie Lambert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rickie-lambert/) ## More by James Kenneth Stephen > [Birthdays? yes, in a general way; For the most if not for the best of men: You were born (I suppose) on a certain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/birthdays-yes-in-a-general-way-for-the-most-if-not-for-the-best-of/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) > [straightway like a bell Came low and clear The slow, sad murmur of the distant seas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/straightway-like-a-bell-came-low-and-clear-the-slow-sad-murmur-of-the/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) > [I saw God! Do you doubt it? Do you dare to doubt it? I saw the Almighty Man! His hand Was resting on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/i-saw-god-do-you-doubt-it-do-you-dare-to-doubt-it-i-saw-the-almighty/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) > [Will there never come a season Which shall rid us from the curse? Of a prose which knows no reason And an unmelodious verse:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/will-there-never-come-a-season-which-shall-rid-us-from-the-curse-of-a/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) > [Republic of the West, Enlightened, free, sublime, Unquestionably best Production of our time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/republic-of-the-west-enlightened-free-sublime-unquestionably-best/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) > [The time comes when our hearts sink utterly; When we remember Deirdre and her tale, And that her lips are dust.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/the-time-comes-when-our-hearts-sink-utterly-when-we-remember-deirdre/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) > [To see Good Tennis! What divine joy Can fill our leisure, or our minds employ? Let other people play at other things; The King…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/to-see-good-tennis-what-divine-joy-can-fill-our-leisure-or-our-minds/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) > [Speech and prose are not the same thing. They have different wave-lengths, for speech moves at the speed of light, where prose moves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/speech-and-prose-are-not-the-same-thing-they-have-different-wave/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) > [In short, if your body or mind Or your soul or your purse come to grief, You need only get drunk, and you'll find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-kenneth-stephen/in-short-if-your-body-or-mind-or-your-soul-or-your-purse-come-to/) [James Kenneth Stephen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) [Explore all 10 James Kenneth Stephen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-kenneth-stephen/) ## More Fellows quotes > [You know, by the time you reach my age, you've made plenty of mistakes if you've lived your life properly. So you learn. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ronald-reagan/you-know-by-the-time-you-reach-my-age-you-ve-made-plenty-of-mistakes/) [Ronald Reagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ronald-reagan/) > [... a fellow can't predict what he will pick up in the form of influence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/a-fellow-can-t-predict-what-he-will-pick-up-in-the-form-of-influence/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [There is no sweeter sound than the crumbling of one's fellow man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/there-is-no-sweeter-sound-than-the-crumbling-of-one-s-fellow-man/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) > [In proportion as our inward life fails, we go more constantly and desperately to the post office. You may depend on it, that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/in-proportion-as-our-inward-life-fails-we-go-more-constantly-and/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [I have thoroughly tried school-keeping, and found that my expenses were in proportion, or rather out of proportion, to my income,for I was obliged…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/i-have-thoroughly-tried-school-keeping-and-found-that-my-expenses/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [The first person who, having enclosed a plot of land, took it into his head to say this is mine and found people simple…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-jacques-rousseau/the-first-person-who-having-enclosed-a-plot-of-land-took-it-into-his/) [Jean-Jacques Rousseau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-jacques-rousseau/) > [You are my inspiration and my folly. You are my light across the sea, my million nameless joys, and my day's wage. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/you-are-my-inspiration-and-my-folly-you-are-my-light-across-the-sea/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [There is only one good substitute for the endearments of a sister, and that is the endearments of some other fellow's sister.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josh-billings/there-is-only-one-good-substitute-for-the-endearments-of-a-sister-and/) [Josh Billings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josh-billings/) > [If you take the the insults of your fellow human beings personally, you will be offended for the rest of your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/if-you-take-the-the-insults-of-your-fellow-human-beings-personally/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [When indeed shall we learn that we are all related one to the other, that we are all members of one body? Until the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/when-indeed-shall-we-learn-that-we-are-all-related-one-to-the-other/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I am by nature the most intolerant and insular Englishman... If you happen to be a person like that and you learn from evidence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hugh-dowding-1st-baron-dowding/i-am-by-nature-the-most-intolerant-and-insular-englishman-if-you/) [Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hugh-dowding-1st-baron-dowding/) > [True, the fragile bodies of his fellows do not weigh down his plane; true, the fretful minds of weaker men are missing from his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lindbergh/true-the-fragile-bodies-of-his-fellows-do-not-weigh-down-his-plane/) [Charles Lindbergh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lindbergh/) > [The shortest way to change a radical into a conservative, a liberal into a tyrant, a man into a beast, is to give him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-tucker/the-shortest-way-to-change-a-radical-into-a-conservative-a-liberal/) [Benjamin Tucker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-tucker/) > [Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rabindranath-tagore/go-not-to-the-temple-to-put-flowers-upon-the-feet-of-god-first-fill/) [Rabindranath Tagore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rabindranath-tagore/) > [ \[T\]he appropriate form of address between man and man ought to be, not monsieur, sir, but fellow sufferer, compagnon de miseres. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/t-he-appropriate-form-of-address-between-man-and-man-ought-to-be-not/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) [Browse all 1,897 Fellows quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fellows/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "There were two good fellows I used to know. --How distant it all appears! 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