--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You'll forget it when you're dead, and so…" description: "\"You'll forget it when you're dead, and so will I. When I'm dead, I'm going to forget everything–and I advise you to do the same.\" — Kurt Vonnegut" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/kurt-vonnegut-41_advise_you-ll-forget-it-when-you-re-dead-and-so_258679.jpg" --- # You'll forget it when you're dead, and so will I. When I'm… ![“You'll forget it when you're dead, and so will I. When I'm dead, I'm going to forget everything–and I advise you to do the same.” quote by Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/kurt-vonnegut-41_advise_you-ll-forget-it-when-you-re-dead-and-so_258679.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/kurt-vonnegut-41_advise_you-ll-forget-it-when-you-re-dead-and-so_258679.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/295/kurt-vonnegut-41_advise_you-ll-forget-it-when-you-re-dead-and-so_258679.jpg) > “You'll forget it when you're dead, and so will I. When I'm dead, I'm going to forget everything–and I advise you to do the same.” [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote reflects on mortality and the futility of memory, urging mutual forgetting after death. **In simple terms:** After death, we all forget; do the same. Key Takeaway Accept impermanence and let go of grudges. Themes mortality memory forgiveness Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical literary When to use this quote - end‑of‑life care - legacy planning - personal reflection - conflict resolution Key Concepts existential philosophy human relationships Questions to Reflect On - How does forgetting affect personal legacy? - Can we choose what to remember? A Different Perspective It may dismiss the value of lasting memories. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [Fate is something you believe in when things are not going well. When they are, you forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aubrey-menen/fate-is-something-you-believe-in-when-things-are-not-going-well-when/) [Aubrey Menen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aubrey-menen/) > [What do I advise? Forget it all. Don't be afraid. Do what you get the most pleasure from. 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They call upon us from the border of unknown, reminding us of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-van-paassen/we-may-forget-our-dead-but-dead-will-never-forget-us-they-call-upon/) Pierre Van Paassen > [Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-dylan/forget-the-dead-you-ve-left-they-will-not-follow-you/) [Bob Dylan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-dylan/) > [We never forget the dead and can't rememeber the living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-never-forget-the-dead-and-can-t-rememeber-the-living/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Never forget that only dead fish swim with the stream.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-muggeridge/never-forget-that-only-dead-fish-swim-with-the-stream/) [Malcolm Muggeridge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-muggeridge/) > [“It is natural to want to forget, Anna, when everyday is a brimful of sadness. But those souls also forgot those that they had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geraldine-brooks/it-is-natural-to-want-to-forget-anna-when-everyday-is-a-brimful-of/) [Geraldine Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geraldine-brooks/) > [Perhaps it's more merciful to forget the dead instead of remembering them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/perhaps-it-s-more-merciful-to-forget-the-dead-instead-of-remembering/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [To forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/to-forget-the-dead-would-be-akin-to-killing-them-a-second-time/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [“We can talk to one another on telephones in banks, in cars, in line. 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Everything else about us is uninteresting.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-must-bloom-as-a-writer-and-i-must-bloom-as-a-painter-everything/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“People aren't supposed to look back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/people-aren-t-supposed-to-look-back/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Have a good nap, did you?” said the porter. “Yes,” said Billy. “Man,” said the porter, “you sure had a hard-on.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/have-a-good-nap-did-you-said-the-porter-yes-said-billy-man-said-the/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I told him that if we doubted that we are demons in Hell, he should read The Mysterious Stranger, which Mark Twain wrote in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-told-him-that-if-we-doubted-that-we-are-demons-in-hell-he-should/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [ “Thomas Jefferson High School \[..\] His high school was named after a slave owner who was also one of the world’s greatest theoreticians on… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/thomas-jefferson-high-school-his-high-school-was-named-after-a-slave/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“I had a certain amount of skill as a dramatist, and Dr. Goebbels wanted me to use it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-had-a-certain-amount-of-skill-as-a-dramatist-and-dr-goebbels-wanted/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [I was some of the mud that got to sit up and look around. Lucky me, lucky mud.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/i-was-some-of-the-mud-that-got-to-sit-up-and-look-around-lucky-me/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“The town was Newport, Rhode Island, U.S.A., Earth, Solar System, Milky Way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/the-town-was-newport-rhode-island-u-s-a-earth-solar-system-milky-way/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Her face was one of a kind, a surprising variation that made observers think, Yes--that would be another very nice way for people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/her-face-was-one-of-a-kind-a-surprising-variation-that-made-observers/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“You finally fell in love, I see,” said Salo. “Only an Earthling year ago,” said Constant. “It took us that long to realize that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/you-finally-fell-in-love-i-see-said-salo-only-an-earthling-year-ago/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“Like all Earthlings at the point of death, Mary Young sent faint reminders of herself to those who had known her. 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And if,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/someday-someday-this-crazy-world-will-have-to-end-and-our-god-will/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“They were going back to the slaughterhouse for souvenirs of the war.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/they-were-going-back-to-the-slaughterhouse-for-souvenirs-of-the-war/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [“There are plenty of good reasons for fighting," I said, "but no good reason ever to hate without reservation, to imagine that God Almighty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/there-are-plenty-of-good-reasons-for-fighting-i-said-but-no-good/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) [Explore all 2,089 Kurt Vonnegut quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) ## More Advise quotes > [Choosing a job or business is the same thing. 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