--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: And if I can't be with you I would rather…" description: "\"And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather be adrift in space And if the gods desert us ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/neil-finn-36956_adrift_and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rathe_154123.jpg" --- # And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different… ![“And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather be adrift in space And if the gods desert us I would burn this chapel into flames And if someone tries to hurt you I would put myself in your place” quote by Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/neil-finn-36956_adrift_and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rathe_154123.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/neil-finn-36956_adrift_and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rathe_154123.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/neil-finn-36956_adrift_and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rathe_154123.jpg) > “And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather be adrift in space And if the gods desert us I would burn this chapel into flames And if someone tries to hurt you I would put myself in your place” [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Expresses willingness to protect a loved one, even at personal cost, using vivid metaphors. **In simple terms:** Would do anything for someone you love. Key Takeaway Prioritize others' safety over self. Themes love protectiveness self‑sacrifice Mood determined protective Type emotional dramatic When to use this quote - relationships - conflict - personal sacrifice Key Concepts loyalty emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - What limits would you set on self‑sacrifice? - How do you balance self‑care and protecting others? A Different Perspective Self‑sacrifice may lead to self‑neglect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Desert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/desert/) [Faces](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faces/) [Popular song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/popular-song/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Space](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/space/) ## Related quotes > [“A meeting of two: eye to eye, face to face. And when you are near I will tear your eyes out and place them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-levy-moreno/a-meeting-of-two-eye-to-eye-face-to-face-and-when-you-are-near-i-will/) Jacob Levy Moreno > [Milan is showing a new and different face. 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Riddle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-g-riddle/) > [Life is like the dice that, falling, still show a different face. So life, though it remains the same, is always presenting different aspects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-sanchez/life-is-like-the-dice-that-falling-still-show-a-different-face-so/) [Alexis Sanchez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-sanchez/) ## More by Neil Finn > [Praise will come to those whose kindness leaves you without debt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/praise-will-come-to-those-whose-kindness-leaves-you-without-debt/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [I love being in the studio.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/i-love-being-in-the-studio/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [I try to put myself into unusual and difficult situations as often as I can in order to capture the element of struggle in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/i-try-to-put-myself-into-unusual-and-difficult-situations-as-often-as/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [So I think rather than being attracted so much now to working with my heroes, I'm sort of more attracted to working with completely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/so-i-think-rather-than-being-attracted-so-much-now-to-working-with-my/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [Our motto is whenever you make a mistake, do it twice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/our-motto-is-whenever-you-make-a-mistake-do-it-twice/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [“When you're in the moment everything you want is right.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/when-you-re-in-the-moment-everything-you-want-is-right/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [We used to say that he who threw the biggest tantrum won the day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/we-used-to-say-that-he-who-threw-the-biggest-tantrum-won-the-day/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [Songwriting is a mystery. And it's a mystery to me that it's a mystery. But that sounds stupid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/songwriting-is-a-mystery-and-it-s-a-mystery-to-me-that-it-s-a-mystery/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [I'm a lifer, yeah... I can honestly say I'm a lifer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/i-m-a-lifer-yeah-i-can-honestly-say-i-m-a-lifer/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [What was stolen must be returned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/what-was-stolen-must-be-returned/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) > [It took me a long time, but I don't feel as anxious about stupid things anymore - or perhaps they've just been replaced by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/it-took-me-a-long-time-but-i-don-t-feel-as-anxious-about-stupid/) [Neil Finn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) [Explore all 12 Neil Finn quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/) ## More Adrift quotes > [And loneliness. I should say something of loneliness. The panic, the sweeping hysteria that comes not when you are without others, but when you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-thayer-hamann/and-loneliness-i-should-say-something-of-loneliness-the-panic-the/) [Hilary Thayer Hamann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-thayer-hamann/) > [Losing my parents really set me adrift in more ways than one. It's not just losing them. It's losing the possibility of family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-mosley/losing-my-parents-really-set-me-adrift-in-more-ways-than-one-it-s-not/) [Walter Mosley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-mosley/) > [Tell us what it is to be a woman so that we may know what it is to be a man. What moves at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/tell-us-what-it-is-to-be-a-woman-so-that-we-may-know-what-it-is-to-be/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [“Be for once a white boat adrift, in debt to no lighthouse.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hyde/be-for-once-a-white-boat-adrift-in-debt-to-no-lighthouse/) Robin Hyde > [“Driving home after her first night course at San Francisco State University, Iris was adrift in the darkness. She rarely travelled this far south…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-mofina/driving-home-after-her-first-night-course-at-san-francisco-state/) [Rick Mofina](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-mofina/) > [About 95% of people can be compared to ships without rudders. Subject to every shift of wind and tide, they're helplessly adrift. And while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/about-95-of-people-can-be-compared-to-ships-without-rudders-subject/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) > [How to check these unconstitutional invasions of rights by the Federal judiciary? Not by impeachment in the first instance, but by a strong protestation…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-jefferson/how-to-check-these-unconstitutional-invasions-of-rights-by-the/) [Thomas Jefferson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-jefferson/) > [I find myself regarding existence as though from beyond the tomb, from another world; all is strange to me; I am, as it were,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-frederic-amiel/i-find-myself-regarding-existence-as-though-from-beyond-the-tomb-from/) [Henri Frederic Amiel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henri-frederic-amiel/) > [“It's the story that was to big for me to tell, the one that grew to fill the depths of my being the far…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephanie-kuehn/it-s-the-story-that-was-to-big-for-me-to-tell-the-one-that-grew-to/) [Stephanie Kuehn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephanie-kuehn/) > [“So much anger in here. So much hate. So much to take out on someone. This time it's going to count. She's adrift in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-watts/so-much-anger-in-here-so-much-hate-so-much-to-take-out-on-someone/) [Peter Watts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-watts/) > [With spirit we are all children of the cosmos; Without it we are orphaned and adrift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/with-spirit-we-are-all-children-of-the-cosmos-without-it-we-are/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [She cried out into his kiss, her hands clawing his shoulders, adrift now in a pleasure that threatened to consume her. In her sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lora-leigh/she-cried-out-into-his-kiss-her-hands-clawing-his-shoulders-adrift/) [Lora Leigh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lora-leigh/) > [The very concept of solid ground is a myth. The galaxy itself is adrift.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luke-davies/the-very-concept-of-solid-ground-is-a-myth-the-galaxy-itself-is-adrift/) [Luke Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luke-davies/) > [“Ever since I woke up in Faerie, I had felt sort of adrift between the two worlds. Seeing him was like finding an anchor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-lynch/ever-since-i-woke-up-in-faerie-i-had-felt-sort-of-adrift-between-the/) [Karen Lynch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-lynch/) > [“Adrift upon the sea of time, the lonely god wanders from shore to distant shore, upholding the laws of the stars above.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-paolini/adrift-upon-the-sea-of-time-the-lonely-god-wanders-from-shore-to/) [Christopher Paolini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-paolini/) Browse all 93 Adrift quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather be adrift in space And if the gods desert us I would burn this chapel into flames And if someone tries to hurt you I would put myself in your place", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Neil Finn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rather-have-a-different-face-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Adrift" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rather-have-a-different-face-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/neil-finn-36956_adrift_and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rathe_154123.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/neil-finn-36956_adrift_and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rathe_154123.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b69/neil-finn-36956_adrift_and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rathe_154123.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“And if I can't be with you I would rather have a different face And if I can't be near you I would rather be…” — Neil Finn", "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": "Neil Finn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-finn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "And if I can't be with...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rather-have-a-different-face-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-finn/and-if-i-can-t-be-with-you-i-would-rather-have-a-different-face-and/#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 } } ] } ```