--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough!…" description: "\"“Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, There isn't grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death!”\" — John Betjeman" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/john-betjeman-17470_death_come-friendly-bombs-and-fall-on-slough-i_449485.jpg" --- # Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for… ![“Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, There isn't grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death!” quote by John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/john-betjeman-17470_death_come-friendly-bombs-and-fall-on-slough-i_449485.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/john-betjeman-17470_death_come-friendly-bombs-and-fall-on-slough-i_449485.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/306/john-betjeman-17470_death_come-friendly-bombs-and-fall-on-slough-i_449485.jpg) > ““Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, There isn't grass to graze a cow. Swarm over, Death!”” [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A satirical lament about industrial decay and environmental loss. **In simple terms:** Industrial ruin destroys nature and humanity. Key Takeaway Recognize and act against environmental degradation. Themes environment industrialization decay satire Mood somber urgent Type critical reflective When to use this quote - city planning - environmental policy - community awareness campaigns Key Concepts urbanization ecology social critique Questions to Reflect On - What steps can restore balance between industry and nature? - How can satire inspire real environmental action? A Different Perspective Change may be resisted by economic interests. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Friendship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/friendship/) [Slough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/slough/) ## Related quotes > [“The name itself is trouble. “Slough” means, literally, muddy field. A snake sloughs, or sheds, its dead skin. John Bunyan wrote of the “slough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-weiner/the-name-itself-is-trouble-slough-means-literally-muddy-field-a-snake/) [Eric Weiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-weiner/) > [The wealth of any ecosystem is its perennials. The primal herbivore-predator-disturbance-rest dance is literally the breath and pulse of the earth. Grasses recycle oxygen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-salatin/the-wealth-of-any-ecosystem-is-its-perennials-the-primal-herbivore/) [Joel Salatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-salatin/) > [As the snake is separate from its slough, even so is the Spirit separate from the body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramakrishna/as-the-snake-is-separate-from-its-slough-even-so-is-the-spirit/) [Ramakrishna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramakrishna/) > [Religion and science are the two wings upon which man's intelligence can soar into the heights, with which the human soul can progress. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/religion-and-science-are-the-two-wings-upon-which-man-s-intelligence/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [I have seen so much obstructed potential among people who lack personal discipline, who just slough it off, whatever it is, and who think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marianne-williamson/i-have-seen-so-much-obstructed-potential-among-people-who-lack/) [Marianne Williamson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marianne-williamson/) > [In the woods, too, a man casts off his years, as the snake his slough, and at what period soever of life, is always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/in-the-woods-too-a-man-casts-off-his-years-as-the-snake-his-slough-2/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [The customs of some savage nations might, perchance, be profitably imitated by us, for they at least go through the semblance of casting their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/the-customs-of-some-savage-nations-might-perchance-be-profitably/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Our lives show the accumulation of all of our varied wishes. Wanting something with all your heart will begin to slough away all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-spezzano/our-lives-show-the-accumulation-of-all-of-our-varied-wishes-wanting/) [Chuck Spezzano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-spezzano/) > [It always seems to me better to slough off the answer to a question that I consider to be a terrible invasion of privacy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-albee/it-always-seems-to-me-better-to-slough-off-the-answer-to-a-question/) [Edward Albee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-albee/) > [The chief burden of the frustrated is the consciousness of a blemished, ineffectual self, and their chief desire is to slough off the unwanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-hoffer/the-chief-burden-of-the-frustrated-is-the-consciousness-of-a/) [Eric Hoffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-hoffer/) > [I'm constantly having doubts and moments of depression and then excitement and then back into the slough of despond.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeffrey-eugenides/i-m-constantly-having-doubts-and-moments-of-depression-and-then/) [Jeffrey Eugenides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeffrey-eugenides/) > [You can drive 1,000 miles across America and find yourself, whereas if you drive a few miles from Slough you're in London anyway, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricky-gervais/you-can-drive-1-000-miles-across-america-and-find-yourself-whereas-if/) [Ricky Gervais](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ricky-gervais/) > [It is the women of Europe who pay the price while war rages, and it will be the women who will pay again when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-richards-o-hare/it-is-the-women-of-europe-who-pay-the-price-while-war-rages-and-it/) Kate Richards O'Hare > [If we had reverence for our life, our life would take at once religious form. But as it is, in our filthy irreverence, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/if-we-had-reverence-for-our-life-our-life-would-take-at-once/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [Any area you slough off in your life will reflect in your meditation. Be happy when you could be depressed. Push jealous, fear, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/any-area-you-slough-off-in-your-life-will-reflect-in-your-meditation/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) ## More by John Betjeman > [It's strange that those we miss the most Are those we take for granted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/it-s-strange-that-those-we-miss-the-most-are-those-we-take-for-granted/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [Hymns are the poetry of the people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/hymns-are-the-poetry-of-the-people/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [I ought to warn you that my verse is of no interest to people who can think.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/i-ought-to-warn-you-that-my-verse-is-of-no-interest-to-people-who-can/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [What the Londoner sees in his mind’s eye is that cluster of towers and pinnacles seen from Pentonville Hill and outlined against a foggy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/what-the-londoner-sees-in-his-mind-s-eye-is-that-cluster-of-towers/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [People's backyards are much more interesting than their front gardens, and houses that back on to railways are public benefactors.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/people-s-backyards-are-much-more-interesting-than-their-front-gardens/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [Oh! full Surrey twilight! importunate band! Oh! strongly adorable tennis-girl's hand!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/oh-full-surrey-twilight-importunate-band-oh-strongly-adorable-tennis/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [A whispering and watery Norfolk sound Telling of all the moonlit reeds around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/a-whispering-and-watery-norfolk-sound-telling-of-all-the-moonlit/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [Oh Wasn't it naughty of Smudges? Oh, Mummy, I'm sick with disgust. She threww me in front of the judges, And my silly old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/oh-wasn-t-it-naughty-of-smudges-oh-mummy-i-m-sick-with-disgust-she/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [“And marbled clouds go scudding by The many-steepled London sky.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/and-marbled-clouds-go-scudding-by-the-many-steepled-london-sky/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [And behind their frail partitions Business women lie and soak, Seeing through the draughty skylight Flying clouds and railway smoke. Rest you there, poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/and-behind-their-frail-partitions-business-women-lie-and-soak-seeing/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [I have a Vision of the Future, chum. The workers flats in fields of soya beans tower up like silver pencils, score on score.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/i-have-a-vision-of-the-future-chum-the-workers-flats-in-fields-of/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [Gracious Lord, oh bomb the Germans. Spare their women for Thy Sake, And if that is not too easy, We will pardon Thy Mistake.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/gracious-lord-oh-bomb-the-germans-spare-their-women-for-thy-sake-and/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [Lovers of Norfolk churches can never agree which is the best and I think one is either a Salle or a Cawston man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/lovers-of-norfolk-churches-can-never-agree-which-is-the-best-and-i/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [One mark of good verse is surprise](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/one-mark-of-good-verse-is-surprise/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) > [And London shops on Christmas Eve Are strung with silver bells and flowers As hurrying clerks the City leave To pigeon-haunted classic towers, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-betjeman/and-london-shops-on-christmas-eve-are-strung-with-silver-bells-and/) [John Betjeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) [Explore all 37 John Betjeman quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-betjeman/) ## More Death quotes > [“He wondered how it was fair that your dying should depend so much on when you were born.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-albom/he-wondered-how-it-was-fair-that-your-dying-should-depend-so-much-on/) [Mitch Albom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mitch-albom/) > [What sets worlds in motion is the interplay of differences, their attractions and repulsions. Life is plurality, death is uniformity. By suppressing differences and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/what-sets-worlds-in-motion-is-the-interplay-of-differences-their/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) > [Most of us are convinced that we are our egos, which is who we think we are. The ego is part of our incarnation.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ram-dass/most-of-us-are-convinced-that-we-are-our-egos-which-is-who-we-think/) [Ram Dass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ram-dass/) > [I do not want to live at the cost of the life even of a snake. I should let him bite me to death…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mahatma-gandhi/i-do-not-want-to-live-at-the-cost-of-the-life-even-of-a-snake-i/) [Mahatma Gandhi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mahatma-gandhi/) > [“It was beautiful. He thought he had never seen anything so beautiful in all his life; that, having seen it, he could die content,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mira-grant/it-was-beautiful-he-thought-he-had-never-seen-anything-so-beautiful/) [Mira Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mira-grant/) > [Retirement? You're talking about death, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-altman/retirement-you-re-talking-about-death-right/) [Robert Altman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-altman/) > [With multiplayer, permanent death, and an ever-changing world to explore and conquer, 'A Valley Without Wind' might be the place you're looking for if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-manuel/with-multiplayer-permanent-death-and-an-ever-changing-world-to/) [Rob Manuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-manuel/) > [“What did you see?” she asked gently. His brow furrowed, as if he could not understand the question. Then his eyes turned to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-anthony-torino/what-did-you-see-she-asked-gently-his-brow-furrowed-as-if-he-could/) J. Anthony Torino > [Those whose life is long still strive for gain, and for all mortals all things take second place to money.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sophocles/those-whose-life-is-long-still-strive-for-gain-and-for-all-mortals/) [Sophocles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sophocles/) > [“I practice Dying--every night-- But have not learned to, still-- Though Talented--by Mortal bones-- For such a common Skill.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-w-powers/i-practice-dying-every-night-but-have-not-learned-to-still-though/) Alan W. Powers > [“You must understand the pain and grief of losing someone is nothing more than a function of survival.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-cooper/you-must-understand-the-pain-and-grief-of-losing-someone-is-nothing/) [Steven Cooper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-cooper/) > [I am not a depressive person at all, but I reflect a lot on my life, and life in general, from the perspective of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/i-am-not-a-depressive-person-at-all-but-i-reflect-a-lot-on-my-life/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [“Death is a reality that calls the rest of life and all of our assorted strivings into sharp relief.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-d-lounsbrough/death-is-a-reality-that-calls-the-rest-of-life-and-all-of-our/) [Craig D. Lounsbrough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-d-lounsbrough/) > [I love life. I love life to death.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emmanuelle-riva/i-love-life-i-love-life-to-death/) [Emmanuelle Riva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emmanuelle-riva/) > [I think when you’re dying you start looking for important things in the corners. You can’t let anything that seems even semi-important pass, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-crutcher/i-think-when-you-re-dying-you-start-looking-for-important-things-in/) [Chris Crutcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-crutcher/) [Browse all 39,127 Death quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Come friendly bombs and fall on Slough! It isn't fit for humans now, There isn't grass to graze a cow. 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