--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For two full days we picked green beans…" description: "\"“For two full days we picked green beans out in the field, under the molten rays of the summer sun, rows and rows of beans. And the more rows I picked ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/richard-horan-101912_song_for-two-full-days-we-picked-green-beans_1571788.jpg" --- # For two full days we picked green beans out in the field… ![“For two full days we picked green beans out in the field, under the molten rays of the summer sun, rows and rows of beans. And the more rows I picked alongside Serafino, the madder I grew inside, thinking about those charityless, virtueless, and benevolentless shitheads who have spread about this…” quote by Richard Horan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/richard-horan-101912_song_for-two-full-days-we-picked-green-beans_1571788.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/richard-horan-101912_song_for-two-full-days-we-picked-green-beans_1571788.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6e9/richard-horan-101912_song_for-two-full-days-we-picked-green-beans_1571788.jpg) > ““For two full days we picked green beans out in the field, under the molten rays of the summer sun, rows and rows of beans. And the more rows I picked alongside Serafino, the madder I grew inside, thinking about those charityless, virtueless, and benevolentless shitheads who have spread about this glorious land a melodyless song, a giftless song that accuses the immigrant of stealing their lunches—when in fact they are picking, packing, and purveying them.\* Millions of immigrant workers—men, women, and children—ignorant, poor, yet so ripe with hope and determination and humility, even while bent over at the waist, picking America’s crops, servicing America’s insatiable appetite, shouldering the heaviest and most dangerous loads, not so much for themselves, but for America, daily, joyously, like Whitman’s song: “A song for occupations! / In the labor of engines and trades and the labor of fields I find / the developments,”” Richard Horan ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Immigrant workers endure harsh conditions for America’s benefit, highlighting paradoxical exploitation and hope. **In simple terms:** Immigrants work hard for America, facing exploitation yet hopeful. Key Takeaway Recognize and honor immigrant contributions. Themes immigration labor exploitation hope America Mood empathetic critical hopeful Type Green beans:0 Immigrant:1 Song:0 Summer sun:0 America Crops:0 Picking America:0 Whitman Song:0 Immigrant Stealing:0 When to use this quote - policy advocacy - community organizing - personal storytelling Key Concepts social justice economic disparity human dignity Questions to Reflect On - What does “joyously” reveal about coping? - How can society better support these workers? A Different Perspective Romanticizing may ignore systemic issues. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Immigrant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/immigrant/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Summer sun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/summer-sun/) ## Related quotes > [Neither do I acknowledge the right of Plymouth to the whole rock. No, the rock underlies all America: it only crops out here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wendell-phillips/neither-do-i-acknowledge-the-right-of-plymouth-to-the-whole-rock-no/) [Wendell Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wendell-phillips/) > [“A friend complained that his brother-in-law had phoned and woken him up in the middle of the night. 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The one thing I know about harvesting them is that you need to train your eyes to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deb-caletti/i-grow-green-beans-in-my-garden-the-one-thing-i-know-about-harvesting/) [Deb Caletti](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deb-caletti/) > [“The living have love for the dead, but the dead have no love for the living. I ought to know, because I’d like the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-living-have-love-for-the-dead-but-the-dead-have-no-love-for-the/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [Most people think to make green bean casserole around Thanksgiving and Christmas, but honestly, I make this dish more during the summer, when green…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/damaris-phillips/most-people-think-to-make-green-bean-casserole-around-thanksgiving/) [Damaris Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/damaris-phillips/) > [If you have some potatoes, green beans and cauliflower, you have a heck of a dish that can feed an entire family.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-you-have-some-potatoes-green-beans-and-cauliflower-you-have-a-heck/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Eat a larger portion of baked chicken, green beans, scrambled eggs, Cobb salad, etc.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-davis/eat-a-larger-portion-of-baked-chicken-green-beans-scrambled-eggs-cobb/) [William Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-davis/) > [I don't eat vegetables. I eat potatoes and green beans, and that's it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lemmy/i-don-t-eat-vegetables-i-eat-potatoes-and-green-beans-and-that-s-it/) [Lemmy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lemmy/) > [“I wonder how much I can tell Rowan about this. I need another girl’s analysis. My phone pings, and it’s her. RF: Need to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brigid-kemmerer/i-wonder-how-much-i-can-tell-rowan-about-this-i-need-another-girl-s/) [Brigid Kemmerer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brigid-kemmerer/) > [“Dietary Changes to Improve the 2:16 Ratio There are great foods that can help improve the conversion of estrogen into good metabolites and away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-g-amen/dietary-changes-to-improve-the-2-16-ratio-there-are-great-foods-that/) [Daniel G. Amen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-g-amen/) > [“The wines were great, and better by the minute, even as the drinkers softened. Just as wines opened at the table, so the friends'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/allegra-goodman/the-wines-were-great-and-better-by-the-minute-even-as-the-drinkers/) [Allegra Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/allegra-goodman/) > [“ANNALS OF LANGUAGE WORD MAGIC How much really gets lost in translation? BY ADAM GOPNIK Once, in a restaurant in Italy with my family,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/annals-of-language-word-magic-how-much-really-gets-lost-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Vegetables are one of the few foods that every diet philosophy agrees are healthy. That said, vegetables (particularly nonstarchy vegetables) tend to be high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kresser/vegetables-are-one-of-the-few-foods-that-every-diet-philosophy-agrees/) [Chris Kresser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kresser/) ## More by Richard Horan > [“There’s no more glorious appetite on this planet than that of the person who eats the food he grows and kills and catches. After”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-horan/there-s-no-more-glorious-appetite-on-this-planet-than-that-of-the/) Richard Horan Explore all 2 Richard Horan quotes ## More Green beans quotes > [“A friend complained that his brother-in-law had phoned and woken him up in the middle of the night. 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Volek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-s-volek/) > [It would be so much better if we could share our insecurity, if we could all venture inside ourselves and realize that green beans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muriel-barbery/it-would-be-so-much-better-if-we-could-share-our-insecurity-if-we/) [Muriel Barbery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muriel-barbery/) > [“Vegetables are one of the few foods that every diet philosophy agrees are healthy. That said, vegetables (particularly nonstarchy vegetables) tend to be high…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-kresser/vegetables-are-one-of-the-few-foods-that-every-diet-philosophy-agrees/) [Chris Kresser](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-kresser/) > [“I'm not a person whom the sight of olive oil repels, and I love Greek cooking. We had onion soup with grated cheese on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-stewart/i-m-not-a-person-whom-the-sight-of-olive-oil-repels-and-i-love-greek/) [Mary Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-stewart/) Browse all 49 Green beans quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For two full days we picked green beans out in the field, under the molten rays of the summer sun, rows and rows of beans. 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