--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I watched that old world go by, away and…" description: "\"“I watched that old world go by, away and away, gone gone gone, until, like me, it disappeared.”\" — Ottessa Moshfegh" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_old-world_i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and_521723.jpg" --- # I watched that old world go by, away and away, gone gone… ![“I watched that old world go by, away and away, gone gone gone, until, like me, it disappeared.” quote by Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_old-world_i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and_521723.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_old-world_i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and_521723.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_old-world_i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and_521723.jpg) > ““I watched that old world go by, away and away, gone gone gone, until, like me, it disappeared.”” [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The narrator observes the old world fading away, disappearing as they themselves fade, reflecting on impermanence. **In simple terms:** The old world disappears as the narrator does. Key Takeaway Embrace change and the fleeting nature of existence. Themes impermanence memory loss identity time Mood melancholic contemplative Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - novel analysis - creative writing workshops - philosophical discussions - personal meditation Key Concepts existential reflection nostalgia Questions to Reflect On - What does the fading world symbolize for you? - How do you find meaning amid inevitable change? A Different Perspective Focusing on loss may lead to melancholy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Old world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/old-world/) ## Related quotes > [And when you started looking into Roger East, it was almost like he had disappeared from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthony-lapaglia/and-when-you-started-looking-into-roger-east-it-was-almost-like-he/) [Anthony LaPaglia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthony-lapaglia/) > [What I possess, seems far away to me, and what is gone becomes reality.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/what-i-possess-seems-far-away-to-me-and-what-is-gone-becomes-reality/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [Remember me when I am gone away, gone far away into the silent land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/remember-me-when-i-am-gone-away-gone-far-away-into-the-silent-land/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“There're three reasons people get away from here: gone good, gone bad or gone dead.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-cameron/there-re-three-reasons-people-get-away-from-here-gone-good-gone-bad/) [Emma Cameron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-cameron/) > [Gone are the days when my heart was young and gay, Gone are my friends from the cotton fields away, Gone from the earth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-foster/gone-are-the-days-when-my-heart-was-young-and-gay-gone-are-my-friends/) [Stephen Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-foster/) > [I've watched so many old games played on 'Sky Sports.' 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I could borrow a few of the finer books…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/but-maybe-i-d-need-something-to-read-on-my-ride-to-my-future-i/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [“The stars come out. I look for the moon, but it eludes me. I can't find or measure my way. Drift, drift. If I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/the-stars-come-out-i-look-for-the-moon-but-it-eludes-me-i-can-t-find/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [“Right," I said, but it didn't feel very right. I didn't want to make it. I wanted to lie down with it and strangle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/right-i-said-but-it-didn-t-feel-very-right-i-didn-t-want-to-make-it-i/) [Ottessa Moshfegh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/) > [For me, I enjoy intimidating people and I enjoy being intimidated. It is exciting. 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Rowling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-k-rowling/) Browse all 229 Disappeared quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“I watched that old world go by, away and away, gone gone gone, until, like me, it disappeared.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Ottessa Moshfegh" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and-away-gone-gone-gone-until/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Disappeared" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and-away-gone-gone-gone-until/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_old-world_i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and_521723.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_old-world_i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and_521723.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/907/ottessa-moshfegh-8200_old-world_i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and_521723.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I watched that old world go by, away and away, gone gone gone, until, like me, it disappeared.” — Ottessa Moshfegh", "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": "Ottessa Moshfegh", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ottessa-moshfegh/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“I watched that old world go...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and-away-gone-gone-gone-until/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ottessa-moshfegh/i-watched-that-old-world-go-by-away-and-away-gone-gone-gone-until/#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 } } ] } ```