--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: All I ask is a tall ship and a star to…" description: "\"All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by.\" — John Masefield" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/john-masefield-8924_sail_all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-s_2739031.jpg" --- # All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by. ![“All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by.” quote by John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/john-masefield-8924_sail_all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-s_2739031.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/john-masefield-8924_sail_all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-s_2739031.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/john-masefield-8924_sail_all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-s_2739031.jpg) > “All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by.” [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A longing for adventure and guidance, symbolized by a ship and a guiding star. **In simple terms:** Yearn for adventure and direction. Key Takeaway Seek adventure with clear purpose. Themes adventure guidance longing nature Mood hopeful dreamy Type poetic inspirational When to use this quote - travel planning - career decisions - personal goals Key Concepts poetry navigation existentialism Questions to Reflect On - What “star” guides you? - How do you prepare for new voyages? A Different Perspective Adventure can be risky without preparation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Ship](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ship/) [Stars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stars/) ## Related quotes > [I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky; and all I ask is a tall ship and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/i-must-go-down-to-the-sea-again-to-the-lonely-sea-and-the-sky-and-all/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [“All I ask is a tall ship, and a star to steer by.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-maysfield/all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-steer-by/) John Maysfield > [The studio have always claimed that the ship is the star of the show, especially when they're renegotiating contracts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-stewart/the-studio-have-always-claimed-that-the-ship-is-the-star-of-the-show/) [Patrick Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-stewart/) > [Tall ships and tall kings Three times three, What brought they from the foundered land Over the flowing sea? Seven stars and seven stones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/tall-ships-and-tall-kings-three-times-three-what-brought-they-from/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Until the Eighties, Oslo was a rather boring town, but it's changed a lot, and is now much more cosmopolitan. If I go downtown,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jo-nesbo/until-the-eighties-oslo-was-a-rather-boring-town-but-it-s-changed-a/) [Jo Nesbo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jo-nesbo/) > [Orcs, and talking trees, and leagues of grass, and galloping riders, and glittering caves, and white towers and golden halls, and battles, and tall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/orcs-and-talking-trees-and-leagues-of-grass-and-galloping-riders-and/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Things that come with the fog: horseshoe crabs, tall ships, and wandering hearts.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-kei/things-that-come-with-the-fog-horseshoe-crabs-tall-ships-and/) [M. Kei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-kei/) > [“The sun sets at the speed of light, so I thought I also might leave this Port of Woe on tall ships made of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-bejar/the-sun-sets-at-the-speed-of-light-so-i-thought-i-also-might-leave/) Daniel Bejar > [The wind has a language, I would I could learn! Sometimes 'tis soothing, and sometimes 'tis stern, Sometimes it comes like a low sweet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/letitia-elizabeth-landon/the-wind-has-a-language-i-would-i-could-learn-sometimes-tis-soothing/) [Letitia Elizabeth Landon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/letitia-elizabeth-landon/) > [“Our ambitions were, nonetheless, what those of any sensible group of women at that time, perhaps at any modern time, ought to have been:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/renata-adler/our-ambitions-were-nonetheless-what-those-of-any-sensible-group-of/) [Renata Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/renata-adler/) > [Away! Away! The spell of arms and voices: the white arms of roads, their promise of close embraces and the black arms of tall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/away-away-the-spell-of-arms-and-voices-the-white-arms-of-roads-their/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [I had acquired the skills to sail a ship; I didn't acquire the knowledge.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-holland/i-had-acquired-the-skills-to-sail-a-ship-i-didn-t-acquire-the/) [Tom Holland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-holland/) > [A ship under sail and a big-bellied woman, Are the handsomest two things that can be seen common.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-franklin/a-ship-under-sail-and-a-big-bellied-woman-are-the-handsomest-two/) [Benjamin Franklin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-franklin/) > [I grew up with a concept of cinema as a directorial thing, meaning the director is allowed to sail the ship. Not a dictatorial…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luca-guadagnino/i-grew-up-with-a-concept-of-cinema-as-a-directorial-thing-meaning-the/) [Luca Guadagnino](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luca-guadagnino/) > [There are only two options for a ship: Either to sail to the sea and fight with the waves or rot in a port!…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/there-are-only-two-options-for-a-ship-either-to-sail-to-the-sea-and/) [Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/) ## More by John Masefield > [What am I, Life? A thing of watery salt Held in cohesion by unresting cells, Which work they know not why, which never halt,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/what-am-i-life-a-thing-of-watery-salt-held-in-cohesion-by-unresting/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [Men in a ship are always looking up, and men ashore are usually looking down.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/men-in-a-ship-are-always-looking-up-and-men-ashore-are-usually/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [I have seen dawn and sunset on moors and windy hills Coming in solemn beauty like slow old tunes of Spain.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/i-have-seen-dawn-and-sunset-on-moors-and-windy-hills-coming-in-solemn/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [I must go down to the sea again For the call of the running tide It's a wild call and a clear call that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/i-must-go-down-to-the-sea-again-for-the-call-of-the-running-tide-it-s/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [“(...) It,s hard not to be able. There, look there!/ I cannot get the movement nor the light;/Sometimes it almost makes a man despair/To…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/it-s-hard-not-to-be-able-there-look-there-i-cannot-get-the-movement/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir, Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine, With a cargo of ivory, And apes and peacocks, Sandalwood, cedarwood,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/quinquireme-of-nineveh-from-distant-ophir-rowing-home-to-haven-in/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [Only the road and the dawn, the sun, the wind, and the rain, And the watch fire under stars, and sleep, and the road…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/only-the-road-and-the-dawn-the-sun-the-wind-and-the-rain-and-the/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [Life's battle is a conquest for the strong; The meaning shows in the defeated thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/life-s-battle-is-a-conquest-for-the-strong-the-meaning-shows-in-the/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [Since the printing press came into being, poetry has ceased to be the delight of the whole community of man; it has become the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/since-the-printing-press-came-into-being-poetry-has-ceased-to-be-the/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [When the last sea is sailed and last shallow charted, When the last field is reaped and the last harvest stored, When the last…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/when-the-last-sea-is-sailed-and-last-shallow-charted-when-the-last/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [“Most roads lead men homewards, My road leads forth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/most-roads-lead-men-homewards-my-road-leads-forth/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [It's a warm wind, the west wind, full of birds' cries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/it-s-a-warm-wind-the-west-wind-full-of-birds-cries/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [When Life knocks at the door no one can wait, When Death makes his arrest we have to go.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/when-life-knocks-at-the-door-no-one-can-wait-when-death-makes-his/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [God dropped a spark down into everyone, And if we find and fan it to a blaze, It'll spring up and glow, like--like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/god-dropped-a-spark-down-into-everyone-and-if-we-find-and-fan-it-to-a/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) > [State are not made, nor patched; they grow; Grow slow through centuries of pain, And grow correctly in the main; But only grow by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/state-are-not-made-nor-patched-they-grow-grow-slow-through-centuries/) [John Masefield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) [Explore all 77 John Masefield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/) ## More Sail quotes > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Throughout our history, the words of the Declaration have inspired immigrants from around the world to set sail to our shores. These immigrants have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-w-bush/throughout-our-history-the-words-of-the-declaration-have-inspired/) [George W. Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-w-bush/) > [Sometimes a party must sail against the wind. We cannot heed the call of those who say it is time to furl the sail.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-kennedy/sometimes-a-party-must-sail-against-the-wind-we-cannot-heed-the-call/) [Edward Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-kennedy/) > [You know how this is: if I look at the crystal moon, at the red branch of the slow autumn at my window, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-neruda/you-know-how-this-is-if-i-look-at-the-crystal-moon-at-the-red-branch/) [Pablo Neruda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-neruda/) > [“Ships at a distance have every man's wish on board. For some they come in with the tide. For others they sail forever on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zora-neale-hurston/ships-at-a-distance-have-every-man-s-wish-on-board-for-some-they-come/) [Zora Neale Hurston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zora-neale-hurston/) > [It is quite right what they say: the three most beautiful sights in the world are a ship in full sail, a galloping horse,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/honor-de-balzac/it-is-quite-right-what-they-say-the-three-most-beautiful-sights-in/) [Honore de Balzac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/honor-de-balzac/) > [And he misses her Like a wind starved sail He sits knowing what direction to go But the current keeps pulling him Down river.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/and-he-misses-her-like-a-wind-starved-sail-he-sits-knowing-what/) [Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/) > [Up anchor! Up anchor! Set sail and away! The ventures of dreamland Are thine for a day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silas-weir-mitchell/up-anchor-up-anchor-set-sail-and-away-the-ventures-of-dreamland-are/) [Silas Weir Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silas-weir-mitchell/) > [O friend, never strike sail to a fear! Come into port greatly, or sail with God the seas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/o-friend-never-strike-sail-to-a-fear-come-into-port-greatly-or-sail/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [I am driven out of fatherlands and motherlands. Thus I now love only my children's land, yet undiscovered, in the farthest sea; for this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/i-am-driven-out-of-fatherlands-and-motherlands-thus-i-now-love-only/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [“Where we sail and anchor our heart fill up the multitude odyssey paving to the coming home of our soul.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelica-hopes/where-we-sail-and-anchor-our-heart-fill-up-the-multitude-odyssey/) [Angelica Hopes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelica-hopes/) > [Hoist the sails of your own spirit to catch the winds of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-washington-sockman/hoist-the-sails-of-your-own-spirit-to-catch-the-winds-of-god/) [Ralph Washington Sockman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-washington-sockman/) > [This is a modern fairytale. No happy endings. No wind in our sails. But I can't imagine a life without. Breathless moments.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/selena-gomez/this-is-a-modern-fairytale-no-happy-endings-no-wind-in-our-sails-but/) [Selena Gomez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/selena-gomez/) > [Winds flap the sail, tortoise and snake are silent, a great plan looms. A bridge will fly over this moat dug by heaven and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mao-zedong/winds-flap-the-sail-tortoise-and-snake-are-silent-a-great-plan-looms/) [Mao Zedong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mao-zedong/) > [The goal is not to sail the boat, but rather to help the boat sail herself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-rousmaniere/the-goal-is-not-to-sail-the-boat-but-rather-to-help-the-boat-sail/) John Rousmaniere Browse all 756 Sail quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "John Masefield" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-sail-her-by/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Sail" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-sail-her-by/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/john-masefield-8924_sail_all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-s_2739031.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/john-masefield-8924_sail_all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-s_2739031.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/79d/john-masefield-8924_sail_all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-s_2739031.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“All I ask is a tall ship and a star to sail her by.” — John Masefield", "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 Masefield", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-masefield/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "All I ask is a tall...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-sail-her-by/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-masefield/all-i-ask-is-a-tall-ship-and-a-star-to-sail-her-by/#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 } } ] } ```