---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The water is this marvellous blue. It’s…"
description: "\"The water is this marvellous blue. It’s so blue that once you see it you realise you’ve never seen blue before. That other thing you were calling blue ..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/niall-williams-14177_blue_the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-s_1073117.jpg"
---

#  The water is this marvellous blue. It’s so blue that once…

![“The water is this marvellous blue. It’s so blue that once you see it you realise you’ve never seen blue before. That other thing you were calling blue is some other colour, it’s not blue. This, this is blue. It’s a blue that comes down from the sky into the water so that when you look in the sea…” quote by Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/niall-williams-14177_blue_the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-s_1073117.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/niall-williams-14177_blue_the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-s_1073117.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/niall-williams-14177_blue_the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-s_1073117.jpg)

> “The water is this marvellous blue. It’s so blue that once you see it you realise you’ve never seen blue before. That other thing you were calling blue is some other colour, it’s not blue. This, this is blue. It’s a blue that comes down from the sky into the water so that when you look in the sea you think sky and when you look at the sky you think sea.”

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Explores how encountering a vivid, pure color can shift perception, merging sky and sea into a single awe‑inspiring experience.

**In simple terms:** Seeing true blue changes view.

Key Takeaway

Observe closely, appreciate wonder.

Themes

perception beauty nature

Mood

wonderful contemplative

Type

poetic philosophical

When to use this quote

- travel
- artistic inspiration
- mindfulness
- environmental appreciation

Key Concepts

phenomenology aesthetic experience

Questions to Reflect On

- How does color affect your emotions?
- When have you felt a shift in perception?

A Different Perspective

Our language may limit describing such experiences.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Blue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/) [Blue Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue-colour/) [Colour](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/colour/) [Marvellous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/marvellous/) [Sea](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sea/) [Sky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sky/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/)

## Related quotes

> [The colour blue - that is my colour - and the colour blue means you have left the drabness of day-to-day reality to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-bourgeois/the-colour-blue-that-is-my-colour-and-the-colour-blue-means-you-have/)

[Louise Bourgeois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-bourgeois/)

> [“His eyes were so blue as to be startling; I decided I’d never seen blue eyes before, until that moment. They were the color…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/melanie-benjamin/his-eyes-were-so-blue-as-to-be-startling-i-decided-i-d-never-seen/)

[Melanie Benjamin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/melanie-benjamin/)

> [I drew the duck blue because I've never seen a blue duck before and, to be honest with you I wanted to see a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-sandler/i-drew-the-duck-blue-because-i-ve-never-seen-a-blue-duck-before-and/)

[Adam Sandler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-sandler/)

> [My favourite colour blue is beautiful,lush,unique,everlasting beautiful blue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beverley-clarke/my-favourite-colour-blue-is-beautiful-lush-unique-everlasting/)

[Beverley Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beverley-clarke/)

> [“The rest of my Thursday can be summarised thus: - Nat tells me to bite her. - I don't. - I am forced to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/holly-smale/the-rest-of-my-thursday-can-be-summarised-thus-nat-tells-me-to-bite/)

[Holly Smale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/holly-smale/)

> [Describe snow to someone who's lived in the desert. Depict the colour blue for a blind man. Almost impossible to fashion the word.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-levy/describe-snow-to-someone-who-s-lived-in-the-desert-depict-the-colour/)

[Andrea Levy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-levy/)

> [Trying to describe what love feels like is trying to explain what sound the colour blue tastes like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-o-halleron/trying-to-describe-what-love-feels-like-is-trying-to-explain-what/)

Mark O'Halleron

> [It was then that I remembered the colour blue, the blue of the sky in nice that was at the origin of my career…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yves-klein/it-was-then-that-i-remembered-the-colour-blue-the-blue-of-the-sky-in/)

[Yves Klein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yves-klein/)

> [Inside a dark well, everyman's favourite colour is blue!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mehmet-murat-ildan/inside-a-dark-well-everyman-s-favourite-colour-is-blue/)

[Mehmet Murat Ildan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mehmet-murat-ildan/)

> [After two hours it stopped raining and in the same moment the spell broke, which Peroquet and the Admiral and Captain Jumeau knew by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susanna-clarke/after-two-hours-it-stopped-raining-and-in-the-same-moment-the-spell/)

[Susanna Clarke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susanna-clarke/)

> [I spend a lot of my time looking at blue, The colour of my room and my mood...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-bush/i-spend-a-lot-of-my-time-looking-at-blue-the-colour-of-my-room-and-my/)

[Kate Bush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-bush/)

> [There is silver blue, sky blue and thunder blue. Every colour holds within it a soul, which makes me happy or repels me, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emil-nolde/there-is-silver-blue-sky-blue-and-thunder-blue-every-colour-holds/)

[Emil Nolde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emil-nolde/)

> [“I pray this new year will be greater, smooth and brings best aroma to our smelling, normal burning for toothpicks, blue colours for great…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oladosu-feyikogbon/i-pray-this-new-year-will-be-greater-smooth-and-brings-best-aroma-to/)

[oladosu feyikogbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oladosu-feyikogbon/)

> [“Even the sea had lost its deep blue colour and, beneath the misty sky, took on the sheen of silver or iron, making it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/even-the-sea-had-lost-its-deep-blue-colour-and-beneath-the-misty-sky/)

[Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/)

> [I have a blue house with a blue window. Blue is the colour of all that I wear.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eiffel-65/i-have-a-blue-house-with-a-blue-window-blue-is-the-colour-of-all-that/)

[Eiffel 65](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eiffel-65/)

## More by Niall Williams

> [Somehow the river is louder when you cover your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/somehow-the-river-is-louder-when-you-cover-your-ears/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“That’s the thing about boys. Maybe just Irish boys. Boys have No Go Areas, they have an entire geography of places you can’t go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/that-s-the-thing-about-boys-maybe-just-irish-boys-boys-have-no-go/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“If I am alive this is my book, and my father lives now in the afterlife that is a book, a thing not vague…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/if-i-am-alive-this-is-my-book-and-my-father-lives-now-in-the/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“There was every reason to feel natural joy in the world, but for the one that makes it accessible. When your spirit is uneasy,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/there-was-every-reason-to-feel-natural-joy-in-the-world-but-for-the/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [When my father first took me to Ennis Library I went down among the shelves and felt company, not only the company of writers,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/when-my-father-first-took-me-to-ennis-library-i-went-down-among-the/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [When you’re different you’ve got two choices. You can stand out or you step back.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/when-you-re-different-you-ve-got-two-choices-you-can-stand-out-or-you/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“This is my father’s story. I am writing it to find him. But to get where you’re going, you have to first go backwards.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/this-is-my-father-s-story-i-am-writing-it-to-find-him-but-to-get/)

[niall williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [We are our stories. We tell them to stay alive or keep alive those who only live now in the telling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/we-are-our-stories-we-tell-them-to-stay-alive-or-keep-alive-those-who/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“The skies we slept under were too uncertain for forecasts. They came and went on the moody gusts of the Atlantic, bringing half a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/the-skies-we-slept-under-were-too-uncertain-for-forecasts-they-came/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [It's a blindness thing, faith.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/it-s-a-blindness-thing-faith/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“...silently gazing beneath the stars. And in that fall of light from heaven to earth perhaps all our stories were told, all actions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/silently-gazing-beneath-the-stars-and-in-that-fall-of-light-from/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“What is the meaning in anything? What is the use? Why don't you just burn the world up? Why don't you just decide that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/what-is-the-meaning-in-anything-what-is-the-use-why-don-t-you-just/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“The basis of the Philosophy of Impossible Standard is that no matter how hard you try you can’t ever be good enough. The Standard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/the-basis-of-the-philosophy-of-impossible-standard-is-that-no-matter/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [Some people make you feel better about living. Some people you meet and you feel this little lift in your heart, this 'Ah', because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/some-people-make-you-feel-better-about-living-some-people-you-meet/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

> [“He loved the strange privacy of being different.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/he-loved-the-strange-privacy-of-being-different/)

[Niall Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

[Explore all 47 Niall Williams quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/)

## More Blue quotes

> [When I haven't any blue I use red.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pablo-picasso/when-i-haven-t-any-blue-i-use-red/)

[Pablo Picasso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pablo-picasso/)

> [It is sometimes said that scientists are unromantic, that their passion to figure out robs the world of beauty and mystery. But is it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-sagan/it-is-sometimes-said-that-scientists-are-unromantic-that-their/)

[Carl Sagan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-sagan/)

> [If you're white and you're wrong, then you're wrong; if you're black and you're wrong, you're wrong. People are people. Black, blue, pink, green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-marley/if-you-re-white-and-you-re-wrong-then-you-re-wrong-if-you-re-black/)

[Bob Marley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-marley/)

> [Memory revises me. Even now a letter comes from a place I don’t know, from someone with my name and postmarked years ago, while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-young-lee/memory-revises-me-even-now-a-letter-comes-from-a-place-i-don-t-know/)

[Li-Young Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-young-lee/)

> [Human beings should stick together. Honestly, if I see a red-haired person with blue eyes now, I say, 'Is your granny black?'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-jones/human-beings-should-stick-together-honestly-if-i-see-a-red-haired/)

[Grace Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-jones/)

> [The Louvre! The Louvre has me in its clutches. Every time I'm there rich blessings rain down upon me. I am coming to understand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-modersohn-becker/the-louvre-the-louvre-has-me-in-its-clutches-every-time-i-m-there/)

[Paula Modersohn-Becker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-modersohn-becker/)

> [We live in a state with a wonderful climate and plenty of natural beauty, from the shores of Cumberland Island to the Chattahoochee River…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roy-barnes/we-live-in-a-state-with-a-wonderful-climate-and-plenty-of-natural/)

[Roy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roy-barnes/)

> [I had never done anything with blue screen before, or prosthetics, or anything like that. Lord of the Rings was like stepping into a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cate-blanchett/i-had-never-done-anything-with-blue-screen-before-or-prosthetics-or/)

[Cate Blanchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cate-blanchett/)

> [UN peacekeeping operations are now increasingly complex and multi-dimensional, going beyond monitoring a ceasefire to actually bringing failed States back to life, often after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kofi-annan/un-peacekeeping-operations-are-now-increasingly-complex-and-multi/)

[Kofi Annan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kofi-annan/)

> [Mother, she likes the blue material just fine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-white/mother-she-likes-the-blue-material-just-fine/)

[Ron White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-white/)

> [You know, I'm the only one in this family who has no problems, . . . And you know why? Because any time I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-know-i-m-the-only-one-in-this-family-who-has-no-problems-and-you/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [it'll be this kind of deep blue”she said. “The kind of color that somehow sucks your eyes and your ears and all your words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/banana-yoshimoto/it-ll-be-this-kind-of-deep-blue-she-said-the-kind-of-color-that/)

[Banana Yoshimoto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/banana-yoshimoto/)

> [It is moonlight. Alone in the silence I ascend my stairs once more, While waves remote in pale blue starlight Crash on a white…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/conrad-aiken/it-is-moonlight-alone-in-the-silence-i-ascend-my-stairs-once-more/)

[Conrad Aiken](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/conrad-aiken/)

> [The grape Hyacinth is the favorite spring flower of my garden - but no! I though a minute ago the Scilla was! and what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-morse-earle/the-grape-hyacinth-is-the-favorite-spring-flower-of-my-garden-but-no/)

[Alice Morse Earle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-morse-earle/)

> [I swam with my first shark in the 1980s. I was 20 miles off the coast of Rhode Island, working with a group of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-skerry/i-swam-with-my-first-shark-in-the-1980s-i-was-20-miles-off-the-coast/)

[Brian Skerry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-skerry/)

[Browse all 3,452 Blue quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/blue/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "The water is this marvellous blue. It’s so blue that once you see it you realise you’ve never seen blue before. That other thing you were calling blue is some other colour, it’s not blue. This, this is blue. It’s a blue that comes down from the sky into the water so that when you look in the sea you think sky and when you look at the sky you think sea.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Niall Williams"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-so-blue-that-once-you-see-it/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Blue"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-so-blue-that-once-you-see-it/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/niall-williams-14177_blue_the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-s_1073117.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/niall-williams-14177_blue_the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-s_1073117.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a9f/niall-williams-14177_blue_the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-s_1073117.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“The water is this marvellous blue. It’s so blue that once you see it you realise you’ve never seen blue…” — Niall Williams",
                "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": "Niall Williams",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/niall-williams/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "The water is this marvellous blue....",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-so-blue-that-once-you-see-it/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/niall-williams/the-water-is-this-marvellous-blue-it-s-so-blue-that-once-you-see-it/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
