--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any kind of history you read is basically…" description: "\"Any kind of history you read is basically the winning side telling you the others were bad.\" — John Lydon" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/john-lydon-1234_history_any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basicall_2455093.jpg" --- # Any kind of history you read is basically the winning side… ![“Any kind of history you read is basically the winning side telling you the others were bad.” quote by John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/john-lydon-1234_history_any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basicall_2455093.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/john-lydon-1234_history_any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basicall_2455093.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/john-lydon-1234_history_any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basicall_2455093.jpg) > “Any kind of history you read is basically the winning side telling you the others were bad.” [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Historical narratives often reflect the victor’s bias, casting others negatively. **In simple terms:** History is told by winners. Key Takeaway Question whose perspective dominates history. Themes history bias power truth Mood critical inquisitive Type analytical philosophical When to use this quote - education - media analysis - political discourse Key Concepts narrative control historical revisionism critical thinking Questions to Reflect On - Who benefits from this narrative? - How can we uncover marginalized voices? A Different Perspective Alternative accounts may be scarce. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Winning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/winning/) ## Related quotes > [“If you tell me bad things about someone, you're telling bad things about me behind me”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ngel-s-ez-guti-rrez/if-you-tell-me-bad-things-about-someone-you-re-telling-bad-things/) [Miguel Ángel Sáez Gutiérrez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ngel-s-ez-guti-rrez/) > [I wish men would stop telling me how they are not 'bad guys,' how they're 'an exception to the norm.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tarana-burke/i-wish-men-would-stop-telling-me-how-they-are-not-bad-guys-how-they/) [Tarana Burke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tarana-burke/) > [“Amy, honey." He rubbed my arm gently, as if telling me bad news. "You shouldn't listen to me. I don't know what the hell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosemary-clement-moore/amy-honey-he-rubbed-my-arm-gently-as-if-telling-me-bad-news-you/) [Rosemary Clement-Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosemary-clement-moore/) > [An artist shouldn't be judged by how many people like his art but by how pure and good it is - but I think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/randall-munroe/an-artist-shouldn-t-be-judged-by-how-many-people-like-his-art-but-by/) [Randall Munroe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/randall-munroe/) > [For telling a good and incisive religious joke, you should be praised. For telling a bad one, you should be ridiculed and reviled. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rowan-atkinson/for-telling-a-good-and-incisive-religious-joke-you-should-be-praised/) [Rowan Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rowan-atkinson/) > [These are the kinds of stories I'm really interested in telling: bad stories about bad people, I'm comfortable with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-azzarello/these-are-the-kinds-of-stories-i-m-really-interested-in-telling-bad/) [Brian Azzarello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-azzarello/) > [“Confession is not all about telling your bad deeds to the public, but being proud of the bad things you have done so far.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-bassey-johnson/confession-is-not-all-about-telling-your-bad-deeds-to-the-public-but/) [Michael Bassey Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-bassey-johnson/) > [A girl can tell I like her when I blush or start telling bad jokes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zac-efron/a-girl-can-tell-i-like-her-when-i-blush-or-start-telling-bad-jokes/) [Zac Efron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zac-efron/) > [“As we paint each other's nails Cinnamon Vixen, I consider telling her how bad things are at home. After she and Dan and Laura…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julia-scheeres/as-we-paint-each-other-s-nails-cinnamon-vixen-i-consider-telling-her/) [Julia Scheeres](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julia-scheeres/) > [I became very patient. There are a lot of times when people who do not like you are talking about you and telling bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pratyusha-banerjee/i-became-very-patient-there-are-a-lot-of-times-when-people-who-do-not/) [Pratyusha Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pratyusha-banerjee/) > [I get fans stopping me and telling me what a bad man I am. I got a lot of that at Comic-Con. I'd tell…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-bradley/i-get-fans-stopping-me-and-telling-me-what-a-bad-man-i-am-i-got-a-lot/) [David Bradley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-bradley/) > [Ladies,don't go around telling your men how unattractive you are. You should never put yourself down especially in front of your partner. You are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/ladies-don-t-go-around-telling-your-men-how-unattractive-you-are-you/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [As an author of narrative history, I read a lot of history books.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-philbrick/as-an-author-of-narrative-history-i-read-a-lot-of-history-books/) [Nathaniel Philbrick](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-philbrick/) > [I feel like I'm too busy writing history to read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kanye-west/i-feel-like-i-m-too-busy-writing-history-to-read-it/) [Kanye West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kanye-west/) > [Turn over the pages of history and read the damning record of the church's opposition to every advance in every field of science. . . .](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/upton-sinclair/turn-over-the-pages-of-history-and-read-the-damning-record-of-the/) [Upton Sinclair](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/upton-sinclair/) ## More by John Lydon > [Music is escapism from the grim realities of life. But then as soon as you escape into the music, from my point of view,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/music-is-escapism-from-the-grim-realities-of-life-but-then-as-soon-as/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [I'm not one for like soul-searching, sour fizzy moments. I come from the school of hard knocks, "f\*\*king get on with it", that's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/i-m-not-one-for-like-soul-searching-sour-fizzy-moments-i-come-from/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [All the things that you would have thought would have made me a professional A1 criminal... wrong. I decided that was too lazy and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/all-the-things-that-you-would-have-thought-would-have-made-me-a/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [Stroll into work at 10. Lunch from 12 till three. Leave work at five. That's living!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/stroll-into-work-at-10-lunch-from-12-till-three-leave-work-at-five/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [Live music is healthy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/live-music-is-healthy/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [I never wore a studded leather jacket, y'know. Ne-va! If I had had the money I wouldn't have spent it on shit like that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/i-never-wore-a-studded-leather-jacket-y-know-ne-va-if-i-had-had-the/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [I've always strived to maintain a very healthy, friendly working situation, and lo and behold, it only took forty years, so the next sixty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/i-ve-always-strived-to-maintain-a-very-healthy-friendly-working/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [This is a very difficult thing to remain independent and persistent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/this-is-a-very-difficult-thing-to-remain-independent-and-persistent/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [A record company used to be a very good thing, but they ended up soul-destroyingly trapping people in the accounting department. And you couldn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/a-record-company-used-to-be-a-very-good-thing-but-they-ended-up-soul/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [Destroy everything. That's all well and fine, but you got to offer something in it's place. Since I always have a point and purpose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/destroy-everything-that-s-all-well-and-fine-but-you-got-to-offer/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [For me people are people, without meaning to sound corny, it's a plain natural fact, music is a universal language and I've always known…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/for-me-people-are-people-without-meaning-to-sound-corny-it-s-a-plain/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [I'm not great at dealing with death, I have to say. I find death very hard: my mum, my dad, Sid Vicious. I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/i-m-not-great-at-dealing-with-death-i-have-to-say-i-find-death-very/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [The joy of life is in the work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/the-joy-of-life-is-in-the-work/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [I have a sensible set of values that tell me to never lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/i-have-a-sensible-set-of-values-that-tell-me-to-never-lie/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) > [I always knew the Sixties wasn't a revolution. It really was just a bunch of university students with wealthy parents having fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/i-always-knew-the-sixties-wasn-t-a-revolution-it-really-was-just-a/) [John Lydon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) [Explore all 269 John Lydon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/) ## More History quotes > [Histories never conclude; they just pause their prose. Their stories are, if they are truthful, untidy affairs, resistant to windings-up and sortings-out. They beat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simon-schama/histories-never-conclude-they-just-pause-their-prose-their-stories/) [Simon Schama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simon-schama/) > [It is said that history turns on small hinges. A human career, too, results from an accumulating series of decisions about large and small…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-vincent-peale/it-is-said-that-history-turns-on-small-hinges-a-human-career-too/) [Norman Vincent Peale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-vincent-peale/) > [The history of mankind interests us only as it exhibits a steady gain of truth and right, in the incessant conflict which it records…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/the-history-of-mankind-interests-us-only-as-it-exhibits-a-steady-gain/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [In the entire history of the universe, let alone in your own history, there has never been another day just like today, and there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/in-the-entire-history-of-the-universe-let-alone-in-your-own-history/) [Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/) > [The NBA is my history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penny-hardaway/the-nba-is-my-history/) [Penny Hardaway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/penny-hardaway/) > [History has often showed us the strength of the forces that are unleashed by the yearning for freedom. It moved people to overcome their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-merkel/history-has-often-showed-us-the-strength-of-the-forces-that-are/) [Angela Merkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-merkel/) > [We find few historians who have been diligent enough in their search for truth; it is their common method to take on trust what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dryden/we-find-few-historians-who-have-been-diligent-enough-in-their-search/) [John Dryden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dryden/) > [What is history after all? History is facts which become lies in the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jean-cocteau/what-is-history-after-all-history-is-facts-which-become-lies-in-the/) [Jean Cocteau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jean-cocteau/) > [Things live and die, and then someone processes them into edible portions. This is a complete telling of the story, 'Food.' The basic plot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fahrenthold/things-live-and-die-and-then-someone-processes-them-into-edible/) [David Fahrenthold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fahrenthold/) > [History is a certain way, but you just change the point of view a little bit, and you discover a whole new side of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allison-schroeder/history-is-a-certain-way-but-you-just-change-the-point-of-view-a/) [Allison Schroeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allison-schroeder/) > [We're at a point in history were we have to become a part of the neighborhood of inhabited planets, like a neighborhood of a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-mitchell/we-re-at-a-point-in-history-were-we-have-to-become-a-part-of-the/) [Edgar Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-mitchell/) > [Today is a reality, tomorrow's a promise, and yesterday's history!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-blanks/today-is-a-reality-tomorrow-s-a-promise-and-yesterday-s-history/) [Billy Blanks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-blanks/) > [Truth be told from compulsive liars with a history/Everything must change 2nd chances are a mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-dash/truth-be-told-from-compulsive-liars-with-a-history-everything-must/) C-DASH > [Every army in the history of the world has always had some deserters, usually much greater than we have today, because once again every…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bryan-hilferty/every-army-in-the-history-of-the-world-has-always-had-some-deserters/) [Bryan Hilferty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bryan-hilferty/) > [“To those great geniuses now in petticoats, who shall write novels for the beloved reader's children, these men and things will be as much…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-makepeace-thackeray/to-those-great-geniuses-now-in-petticoats-who-shall-write-novels-for/) [William Makepeace Thackeray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-makepeace-thackeray/) [Browse all 27,263 History quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any kind of history you read is basically the winning side telling you the others were bad.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Lydon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basically-the-winning-side-telling/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "History" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basically-the-winning-side-telling/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/john-lydon-1234_history_any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basicall_2455093.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/john-lydon-1234_history_any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basicall_2455093.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e05/john-lydon-1234_history_any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basicall_2455093.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Any kind of history you read is basically the winning side telling you the others were bad.” — John Lydon", "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": "John Lydon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lydon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Any kind of history you read...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basically-the-winning-side-telling/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lydon/any-kind-of-history-you-read-is-basically-the-winning-side-telling/#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 } } ] } ```