--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The earthly power sucks shadowed milk…" description: "\"The earthly power sucks shadowed milk from sleepy tears undone, from nippled skin as smooth as silk the bugles blown as one.\" — Peter Gabriel" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/peter-gabriel-7354_explanation_the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-fr_625619.jpg" --- # The earthly power sucks shadowed milk from sleepy tears… ![“The earthly power sucks shadowed milk from sleepy tears undone, from nippled skin as smooth as silk the bugles blown as one.” quote by Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/peter-gabriel-7354_explanation_the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-fr_625619.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/peter-gabriel-7354_explanation_the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-fr_625619.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/peter-gabriel-7354_explanation_the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-fr_625619.jpg) > “The earthly power sucks shadowed milk from sleepy tears undone, from nippled skin as smooth as silk the bugles blown as one.” [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The line evokes hidden, surreal forces draining vitality from fragile emotions. **In simple terms:** Hidden forces drain fragile emotions. Key Takeaway Recognize subtle influences. Themes illusion emotion vulnerability Mood melancholic introspective Type poetic artistic When to use this quote - art criticism - personal introspection - creative writing Key Concepts Surrealism psychology Questions to Reflect On - What hidden forces affect you? - How do you protect emotional health? A Different Perspective Interpretation may be overly abstract. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Tears](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tears/) ## Related quotes > [Hungry, Happy, Sleepy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/hungry-happy-sleepy/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [When you happy ,you get locked in sleep. You get sleepy happy. I always wanna be on point. I always wanna be aware.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dmx/when-you-happy-you-get-locked-in-sleep-you-get-sleepy-happy-i-always/) [DMX](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dmx/) > [I hate when I'm tired & sleepy, but when I get in bed, my body is like Just kidding!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-when-i-m-tired-sleepy-but-when-i-get-in-bed-my-body-is-like/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My father moved out to Park City in in the mid-'70s and lived in a Winnebago behind a hippie joint called Utah Coal &…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ira-sachs/my-father-moved-out-to-park-city-in-in-the-mid-70s-and-lived-in-a/) [Ira Sachs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ira-sachs/) > [Me: omg I'm so sleepy. When I get home I will sleep forever. á ¡t home: \*turns on the computer\* me: What's sleep ? :](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/me-omg-i-m-so-sleepy-when-i-get-home-i-will-sleep-forever-t-home/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [Haiti is the best cure against melancholy; it is also the most creative place for me to be. My productivity has increased enormously since…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-rgen-leth/haiti-is-the-best-cure-against-melancholy-it-is-also-the-most/) [Jørgen Leth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-rgen-leth/) > [“Here's lumbos. Where misties swaddlum, where misches lodge none, where mystries pour kind on, O sleepy! So be yet!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-joyce/here-s-lumbos-where-misties-swaddlum-where-misches-lodge-none-where/) [James Joyce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-joyce/) > [Before a game, I avoid having a heavy meal so that I don't feel sleepy at the board. You eat to be healthy, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viswanathan-anand/before-a-game-i-avoid-having-a-heavy-meal-so-that-i-don-t-feel-sleepy/) [Viswanathan Anand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viswanathan-anand/) > [I've crossed some kind of invisible line. I feel as if I've come to a place I never thought I'd have to come to.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raymond-carver/i-ve-crossed-some-kind-of-invisible-line-i-feel-as-if-i-ve-come-to-a/) [Raymond Carver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raymond-carver/) > [I wish children could grow according to their natural pace: sleep when sleepy, wake up when rested, eat when hungry, cry when upset, play…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/magda-gerber/i-wish-children-could-grow-according-to-their-natural-pace-sleep-when/) [Magda Gerber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/magda-gerber/) > [He came, not as a flash of light or as an unapproachable conqueror, but as one whose first cries were heard by a peasant…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-lucado/he-came-not-as-a-flash-of-light-or-as-an-unapproachable-conqueror-but/) [Max Lucado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-lucado/) > [Sometimes I feel I'm being animated, but it comes off differently. Unfortunately, I was cursed with these sleepy eyes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wyatt-cenac/sometimes-i-feel-i-m-being-animated-but-it-comes-off-differently/) [Wyatt Cenac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wyatt-cenac/) > [Unfortunately, I suffer from insomnia, so my bedtime is as soon as I start to feel the least bit sleepy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cheyenne-jackson/unfortunately-i-suffer-from-insomnia-so-my-bedtime-is-as-soon-as-i/) [Cheyenne Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cheyenne-jackson/) > [And the flavor of Pippa's kiss--bittersweet and strange--stayed with me all the way back uptown, swaying and sleepy as I sailed home on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/and-the-flavor-of-pippa-s-kiss-bittersweet-and-strange-stayed-with-me/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [A cloud of eiderdown Draws around me Softening a sound. Sleepy time, and I lie, With my love by my side.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pink-floyd/a-cloud-of-eiderdown-draws-around-me-softening-a-sound-sleepy-time/) [Pink Floyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pink-floyd/) ## More by Peter Gabriel > [I think another thing is that we don't really want exclusivity. We accept that it is in the artist's interest to be on sale…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/i-think-another-thing-is-that-we-don-t-really-want-exclusivity-we/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [The rhythm is below me, the rhythm of the heat. The rhythm is around me, the rhythm has control. The rhythm is inside me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-rhythm-is-below-me-the-rhythm-of-the-heat-the-rhythm-is-around-me/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [I try when I'm writing to fill my head and my ears with all sorts of stuff and then let it settle and filter…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/i-try-when-i-m-writing-to-fill-my-head-and-my-ears-with-all-sorts-of/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [I'm a bit cynical that it ever will be addressed properly. I think it is healthy to get some sort of copyright protection. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/i-m-a-bit-cynical-that-it-ever-will-be-addressed-properly-i-think-it/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [The industry does have some influence on who gets other awards. With the Mercury Prize, they don't. Jon comes from the business, but his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-industry-does-have-some-influence-on-who-gets-other-awards-with/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [The UN Declaration of Human Rights laid down what any person might reasonably expect, yet there are remarkably few people who enjoy these rights.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-un-declaration-of-human-rights-laid-down-what-any-person-might/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [It took me three albums to get the confidence and to find out what I could do that made me different from other people.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/it-took-me-three-albums-to-get-the-confidence-and-to-find-out-what-i/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [I really wanted the first record to be different from what I'd done with Genesis, so we were trying to do things in different…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/i-really-wanted-the-first-record-to-be-different-from-what-i-d-done/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [What intrigues me is that you get a good bunch of musicians together, and interesting things will happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/what-intrigues-me-is-that-you-get-a-good-bunch-of-musicians-together/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [The book of love has music in it In fact that's where music comes from Some of it is just transcendental Some of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-book-of-love-has-music-in-it-in-fact-that-s-where-music-comes/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [The American record company Geffen got so fed up with me that they said they weren't going to release my fourth record unless I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-american-record-company-geffen-got-so-fed-up-with-me-that-they/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [We've got to get in to get out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/we-ve-got-to-get-in-to-get-out/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [As we become so visible in the digital world and leave an endless trail of data behind us, exactly who has our data and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/as-we-become-so-visible-in-the-digital-world-and-leave-an-endless/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [Whenever we defend democracy we find oil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/whenever-we-defend-democracy-we-find-oil/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) > [I get lost, sometimes. Days pass and this emptiness fills my heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/i-get-lost-sometimes-days-pass-and-this-emptiness-fills-my-heart/) [Peter Gabriel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) [Explore all 92 Peter Gabriel quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/) ## More Explanation quotes > [Let us remember that every worldview-not just Christianity's-must give an explanation or an answer for evil and suffering...this is not just a problem distinctive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-zacharias/let-us-remember-that-every-worldview-not-just-christianity-s-must/) [Ravi Zacharias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-zacharias/) > [Yesterday's truth is today's bullshit. Even yesterday's liberating insight is today's jail of stale explanation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-blanton/yesterday-s-truth-is-today-s-bullshit-even-yesterday-s-liberating/) [Brad Blanton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-blanton/) > [Before I had kids, I thought you should never lie to a kid. But now I've had them, I realize you almost lie to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-donoghue/before-i-had-kids-i-thought-you-should-never-lie-to-a-kid-but-now-i/) [Emma Donoghue](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-donoghue/) > [To prevent discussion of any other explanations of human origins is hardly what I would expect from open-minded educators.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-campolo/to-prevent-discussion-of-any-other-explanations-of-human-origins-is/) [Tony Campolo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-campolo/) > [ They \[scientists of centuries past\] call on God only from the lonely and precarious edge of incomprehension. Where they feel certain about their explanations,… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/they-scientists-of-centuries-past-call-on-god-only-from-the-lonely/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [What most needs explanation is not why some people are criminals, but why most people are not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-q-wilson/what-most-needs-explanation-is-not-why-some-people-are-criminals-but/) [James Q. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-q-wilson/) > [In his anti-Darwinian book... (and eponymously named The Neck of the Giraffe ), Francis Hitching tells the story... "The need to survive by reaching…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-jay-gould/in-his-anti-darwinian-book-and-eponymously-named-the-neck-of-the/) [Stephen Jay Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-jay-gould/) > [The goal of faithfulness is not that we will do work for God, but that He will be free to do His work through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oswald-chambers/the-goal-of-faithfulness-is-not-that-we-will-do-work-for-god-but-that/) [Oswald Chambers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oswald-chambers/) > [“But let the wise be warned against too great readiness at explanation: it multiplies the sources of mistake, lengthening the sum for reckoners sure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-eliot/but-let-the-wise-be-warned-against-too-great-readiness-at-explanation/) [George Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-eliot/) > [ \[Barack Obama\] will spend long periods of time explaining to people why he won't use it. At the end of the explanation, nobody knows… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/barack-obama-will-spend-long-periods-of-time-explaining-to-people-why/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Being a moral realist I see normative ethics as a search of the truth about our obligations and a search of explanation; the idea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/torbjorn-tannsjo/being-a-moral-realist-i-see-normative-ethics-as-a-search-of-the-truth/) [Torbjorn Tannsjo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/torbjorn-tannsjo/) > [Take the story of Cain and Abel. Why were we given that story? Scientifically, you may have an explanation for it, but I'm not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elie-wiesel/take-the-story-of-cain-and-abel-why-were-we-given-that-story/) [Elie Wiesel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elie-wiesel/) > [It is amazing how soon one becomes accustomed to the sound of ones voice, when forced to repeat a speech five or six times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-william-fulbright/it-is-amazing-how-soon-one-becomes-accustomed-to-the-sound-of-ones/) [J. William Fulbright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-william-fulbright/) > [I don't listen to music. I know it's weird, and I have no explanation for that. But I never do.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leila-slimani/i-don-t-listen-to-music-i-know-it-s-weird-and-i-have-no-explanation/) [Leila Slimani](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leila-slimani/) > [There are situations when all answers and explanations fade. When you fully accept that you do not know, you give up struggling to find…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eckhart-tolle/there-are-situations-when-all-answers-and-explanations-fade-when-you/) [Eckhart Tolle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eckhart-tolle/) Browse all 1,440 Explanation quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The earthly power sucks shadowed milk from sleepy tears undone, from nippled skin as smooth as silk the bugles blown as one.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Gabriel" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-from-sleepy-tears-undone-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Explanation" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-from-sleepy-tears-undone-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/peter-gabriel-7354_explanation_the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-fr_625619.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/peter-gabriel-7354_explanation_the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-fr_625619.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/30b/peter-gabriel-7354_explanation_the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-fr_625619.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“The earthly power sucks shadowed milk from sleepy tears undone, from nippled skin as smooth as silk the…” — Peter Gabriel", "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": "Peter Gabriel", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-gabriel/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "The earthly power sucks shadowed milk...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-from-sleepy-tears-undone-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-gabriel/the-earthly-power-sucks-shadowed-milk-from-sleepy-tears-undone-from/#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 } } ] } ```