--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If I hadn’t decided on cremation and a…" description: "\"“If I hadn’t decided on cremation and a scattering, I could have used the phrase as an epitaph on a chunk of stone or marble: “Tony Webster—He Never Go..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/julian-barnes-522_epitaph_if-i-hadn-t-decided-on-cremation-and-a-s_1639013.png" --- # If I hadn’t decided on cremation and a scattering, I could… ![“If I hadn’t decided on cremation and a scattering, I could have used the phrase as an epitaph on a chunk of stone or marble: “Tony Webster—He Never Got It.” But that would be too melodramatic, even self-pitying. How about “He’s on His Own Now”? That would be better, truer. Or maybe I’ll stick…” quote by Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/julian-barnes-522_epitaph_if-i-hadn-t-decided-on-cremation-and-a-s_1639013.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/julian-barnes-522_epitaph_if-i-hadn-t-decided-on-cremation-and-a-s_1639013.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/97b/julian-barnes-522_epitaph_if-i-hadn-t-decided-on-cremation-and-a-s_1639013.png) > ““If I hadn’t decided on cremation and a scattering, I could have used the phrase as an epitaph on a chunk of stone or marble: “Tony Webster—He Never Got It.” But that would be too melodramatic, even self-pitying. How about “He’s on His Own Now”? That would be better, truer. Or maybe I’ll stick with: “Every Day Is Sunday.”” [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Contemplating how to memorialize someone without melodrama, choosing simple truth. **In simple terms:** Choosing simple remembrance. Key Takeaway Find honest ways to honor. Themes memory grief honor simplicity Mood thoughtful somber Type literary reflective When to use this quote - funeral planning - epitaph writing - personal reflection Key Concepts Literature thanomancy Questions to Reflect On - What does 'Every Day Is Sunday' suggest? - How can we balance honesty and sentiment? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex grief. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Epitaph](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epitaph/) ## Related quotes > [Well I've never used that phrase before, but yes she is bootylicious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-affleck/well-i-ve-never-used-that-phrase-before-but-yes-she-is-bootylicious/) [Ben Affleck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-affleck/) > [The most used phrase in my administration if I were to be President would be 'What the hell you mean we're out of missiles?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/the-most-used-phrase-in-my-administration-if-i-were-to-be-president/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [I have a lot of friends who are getting married. I try to avoid talking to them about their sex lives now 'cause it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-alexandro/i-have-a-lot-of-friends-who-are-getting-married-i-try-to-avoid/) [Ted Alexandro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-alexandro/) > [Over the epitaph of this generation it will say ENTERTAINED TO DEATH.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/over-the-epitaph-of-this-generation-it-will-say-entertained-to-death/) [Paul Washer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-washer/) > [Lots of people can have girlfriends. But I can throw around guitars onstage! That'll be my epitaph: 'He never had a girlfriend, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/lots-of-people-can-have-girlfriends-but-i-can-throw-around-guitars/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [Either our history shall with full mouth Speak freely of our acts, or else our grave, Like Turkish mute, shall have a tongueless mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/either-our-history-shall-with-full-mouth-speak-freely-of-our-acts-or/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [History fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription molders from the tablet: the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/history-fades-into-fable-fact-becomes-clouded-with-doubt-and/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Our respect for the dead, when they are just dead, is something wonderful, and the way we show it more wonderful still. We show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/our-respect-for-the-dead-when-they-are-just-dead-is-something/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [My epitaph? My epitaph will be, 'Curiosity did not kill this cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/my-epitaph-my-epitaph-will-be-curiosity-did-not-kill-this-cat/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Warm summer sun, shine kindly here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/warm-summer-sun-shine-kindly-here/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-always-thought-i-d-like-my-own-tombstone-to-be-blank-no-epitaph-and/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > ["Gun-wielding recluse gunned down by local police" isn't the epitaph I want. I am hoping for "Witnesses reported the sound up to two hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nicoll/gun-wielding-recluse-gunned-down-by-local-police-isn-t-the-epitaph-i/) [James Nicoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nicoll/) > [Epitaphs are cheap, and they do a poor chap a world of good after he is dead, especially if he had hard luck while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/epitaphs-are-cheap-and-they-do-a-poor-chap-a-world-of-good-after-he/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [Wouldn’t that make a charming epitaph? Here lies Cat. Killed not by fang, but Ferragamos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/wouldn-t-that-make-a-charming-epitaph-here-lies-cat-killed-not-by/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [If I were to write my epitaph... Epitaph? Hey, shut-up Albert. I'd want to be remembered as someone who loved his sport and tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/if-i-were-to-write-my-epitaph-epitaph-hey-shut-up-albert-i-d-want-to/) [Albert II, Prince of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/) ## More by Julian Barnes > [“You put together two things that have not been put together before. And the world is changed. People may not notice at the time,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-things-that-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“I settled into a contented routine of working, spending my free time with Veronica and, back in my student room, wanking explosively to fantasies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/i-settled-into-a-contented-routine-of-working-spending-my-free-time/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [The greatest patriotism is to tell your country when it is behaving dishonorably, foolishly, viciously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/the-greatest-patriotism-is-to-tell-your-country-when-it-is-behaving/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“There is only good vodka and very good vodka—there is no such thing as bad vodka.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/there-is-only-good-vodka-and-very-good-vodka-there-is-no-such-thing/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Alice Munro can move characters through time in a way that no other writer can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/alice-munro-can-move-characters-through-time-in-a-way-that-no-other/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [How rarely do our emotions meet the object they seem to deserve? How hopelessly we signal; how dark the sky; how big the waves.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/how-rarely-do-our-emotions-meet-the-object-they-seem-to-deserve-how/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [You put together two people who have not been put together before. Sometimes it is like that first attempt to harness a hydrogen balloon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/you-put-together-two-people-who-have-not-been-put-together-before/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Also, when you are young, you think you can predict the likely pains and bleaknesses that age might bring. You imagine yourself being lonely,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/also-when-you-are-young-you-think-you-can-predict-the-likely-pains/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Why slum it where people were burdened by yesterday, and the day before, and the day before that? By history? Here, on the Island,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/why-slum-it-where-people-were-burdened-by-yesterday-and-the-day/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“In those years before mobile phones, email and Skype, travelers depended on the rudimentary communications system known as the postcard. Other methods--the long-distance phone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-those-years-before-mobile-phones-email-and-skype-travelers/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“My train was late, slowed by the usual Sunday engineering work. I got home in the early evening. I remember that I had a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/my-train-was-late-slowed-by-the-usual-sunday-engineering-work-i-got/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [In life, every ending is just the start of another story.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/in-life-every-ending-is-just-the-start-of-another-story/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“Indeed, isn’t the whole business of ascribing responsibility kind of a cop-out? We want to blame an individual so that everyone else is exculpated.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/indeed-isn-t-the-whole-business-of-ascribing-responsibility-kind-of-a/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [Some of the freckles I once loved are now closer to liver spots. But it’s still the eyes we look at, isn’t it? That’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/some-of-the-freckles-i-once-loved-are-now-closer-to-liver-spots-but/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) > [“And what percentage of people take up the option to die off?’ She looked at me, her glance telling me to be calm. ‘Oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julian-barnes/and-what-percentage-of-people-take-up-the-option-to-die-off-she/) [Julian Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) [Explore all 454 Julian Barnes quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julian-barnes/) ## More Epitaph quotes > [If I were to write my epitaph... Epitaph? Hey, shut-up Albert. I'd want to be remembered as someone who loved his sport and tried…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/if-i-were-to-write-my-epitaph-epitaph-hey-shut-up-albert-i-d-want-to/) [Albert II, Prince of Monaco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-ii-prince-of-monaco/) > [Wouldn’t that make a charming epitaph? Here lies Cat. Killed not by fang, but Ferragamos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeaniene-frost/wouldn-t-that-make-a-charming-epitaph-here-lies-cat-killed-not-by/) [Jeaniene Frost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeaniene-frost/) > [Epitaphs are cheap, and they do a poor chap a world of good after he is dead, especially if he had hard luck while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/epitaphs-are-cheap-and-they-do-a-poor-chap-a-world-of-good-after-he/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > ["Gun-wielding recluse gunned down by local police" isn't the epitaph I want. I am hoping for "Witnesses reported the sound up to two hundred…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-nicoll/gun-wielding-recluse-gunned-down-by-local-police-isn-t-the-epitaph-i/) [James Nicoll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-nicoll/) > [I always thought I'd like my own tombstone to be blank. No epitaph, and no name. Well, actually, I'd like it to say 'figment.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-warhol/i-always-thought-i-d-like-my-own-tombstone-to-be-blank-no-epitaph-and/) [Andy Warhol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-warhol/) > [Warm summer sun, shine kindly here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/warm-summer-sun-shine-kindly-here/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [My epitaph? My epitaph will be, 'Curiosity did not kill this cat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/studs-terkel/my-epitaph-my-epitaph-will-be-curiosity-did-not-kill-this-cat/) [Studs Terkel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/studs-terkel/) > [Our respect for the dead, when they are just dead, is something wonderful, and the way we show it more wonderful still. We show…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/our-respect-for-the-dead-when-they-are-just-dead-is-something/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) > [History fades into fable; fact becomes clouded with doubt and controversy; the inscription molders from the tablet: the statue falls from the pedestal. Columns,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/washington-irving/history-fades-into-fable-fact-becomes-clouded-with-doubt-and/) [Washington Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/washington-irving/) > [Either our history shall with full mouth Speak freely of our acts, or else our grave, Like Turkish mute, shall have a tongueless mouth,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-shakespeare/either-our-history-shall-with-full-mouth-speak-freely-of-our-acts-or/) [William Shakespeare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-shakespeare/) > [Lots of people can have girlfriends. But I can throw around guitars onstage! That'll be my epitaph: 'He never had a girlfriend, but you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trent-reznor/lots-of-people-can-have-girlfriends-but-i-can-throw-around-guitars/) [Trent Reznor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/trent-reznor/) > [Over the epitaph of this generation it will say ENTERTAINED TO DEATH.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-washer/over-the-epitaph-of-this-generation-it-will-say-entertained-to-death/) [Paul Washer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-washer/) > [Sleep undisturbed within this peaceful shrine, Till angels wake thee with a note like thine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/sleep-undisturbed-within-this-peaceful-shrine-till-angels-wake-thee/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [Someone once asked me what I want on my epitaph when I pass away. Just the words 'I tried.' That's what this game of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mickey-rooney/someone-once-asked-me-what-i-want-on-my-epitaph-when-i-pass-away-just/) [Mickey Rooney](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mickey-rooney/) > [Poet: gardener of epitaphs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/octavio-paz/poet-gardener-of-epitaphs/) [Octavio Paz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/octavio-paz/) [Browse all 233 Epitaph quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/epitaph/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“If I hadn’t decided on cremation and a scattering, I could have used the phrase as an epitaph on a chunk of stone or marble: “Tony Webster—He Never Got It.” But that would be too melodramatic, even self-pitying. How about “He’s on His Own Now”? That would be better, truer. 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