--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Hell, a man can lie there and want…" description: "\"“Hell, a man can lie there and want something so bad and be so full of wanting it he just plain forgets what it is he wants. Just like when you are a b..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/robert-penn-warren-2118_wanting_hell-a-man-can-lie-there-and-want-someth_3001490.jpg" --- # Hell, a man can lie there and want something so bad and be… ![“Hell, a man can lie there and want something so bad and be so full of wanting it he just plain forgets what it is he wants. Just like when you are a boy and the sap first rises and you think you will go crazy some night wanting something and you want it so bad and get so near sick wanting it you…” quote by Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/robert-penn-warren-2118_wanting_hell-a-man-can-lie-there-and-want-someth_3001490.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/robert-penn-warren-2118_wanting_hell-a-man-can-lie-there-and-want-someth_3001490.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f9f/robert-penn-warren-2118_wanting_hell-a-man-can-lie-there-and-want-someth_3001490.jpg) > ““Hell, a man can lie there and want something so bad and be so full of wanting it he just plain forgets what it is he wants. Just like when you are a boy and the sap first rises and you think you will go crazy some night wanting something and you want it so bad and get so near sick wanting it you near forget what it is.”” [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Intense desire can become so consuming that the object of desire is forgotten, leaving only the feeling of wanting. **In simple terms:** Obsession can obscure the goal itself. Key Takeaway Recognize and clarify what you truly want. Themes desire obsession identity clarity Mood reflective melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal goals - creative projects - relationship expectations - career ambitions Key Concepts psychology motivation self-awareness Questions to Reflect On - How does longing shape your actions? - When does desire become harmful? A Different Perspective The quote may romanticize suffering, ignoring healthy boundaries. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet ## Related quotes > [“People get sick from ''not wanting to see''.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-stekel/people-get-sick-from-not-wanting-to-see/) [Wilhelm Stekel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-stekel/) > [There are things that I would like to do, but I make a big distinction between liking to do something and wanting to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/morgan-freeman/there-are-things-that-i-would-like-to-do-but-i-make-a-big-distinction/) [Morgan Freeman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/morgan-freeman/) > [Loss is not as bad as wanting more.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/loss-is-not-as-bad-as-wanting-more/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Wanting someone so bad and then wanting to just not want anything to do with them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wanting-someone-so-bad-and-then-wanting-to-just-not-want-anything-to/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“To know things, for us to know things, is bad for them. We get to wanting and when we get to wanting it's bad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-paulsen/to-know-things-for-us-to-know-things-is-bad-for-them-we-get-to/) [Gary Paulsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-paulsen/) > [Wanting to vent so bad but not wanting someone to know how you truly feel inside...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wanting-to-vent-so-bad-but-not-wanting-someone-to-know-how-you-truly/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“I felt almost sick with wanting to tell her how I felt, but I couldn't think of words to suit my feelings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-cross/i-felt-almost-sick-with-wanting-to-tell-her-how-i-felt-but-i-couldn-t/) [Ian Cross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-cross/) > [I was sick of wanting money. I was sick of being without a goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-coupland/i-was-sick-of-wanting-money-i-was-sick-of-being-without-a-goal/) [Douglas Coupland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-coupland/) > [“Some people can accept bad circumstances in their own lives, but some may not want to suffer alone. You understand what I mean? You’ve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-delozier/some-people-can-accept-bad-circumstances-in-their-own-lives-but-some/) Arthur DeLozier > [“I never considered myself a danger junkie, but I must be, because I'm finding this killer very appealing right now. It's like a sickness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-h-cosway/i-never-considered-myself-a-danger-junkie-but-i-must-be-because-i-m/) [L.H. Cosway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-h-cosway/) > [We never cease wanting what we want, whether it's good for us or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/we-never-cease-wanting-what-we-want-whether-it-s-good-for-us-or-not/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [It's not easy-living in a void, living and dying inside your head…wanting what you want so much that you'd give everything else to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-brooks/it-s-not-easy-living-in-a-void-living-and-dying-inside-your-head/) [Kevin Brooks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-brooks/) > [Wanting someone as much as they want you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wanting-someone-as-much-as-they-want-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“why am i always running in circles between wanting you to want me and when you want me deciding it is too emotionally naked…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/why-am-i-always-running-in-circles-between-wanting-you-to-want-me-and/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [“What do you want?" You. Because you're the one that eases the ache in my chest. It's you that takes my mind off everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-mccarthy/what-do-you-want-you-because-you-re-the-one-that-eases-the-ache-in-my/) [Kate McCarthy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-mccarthy/) ## More by Robert Penn Warren > [If you are an idealist, it does not matter what you do or what goes on around you because it isn't real anyway.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/if-you-are-an-idealist-it-does-not-matter-what-you-do-or-what-goes-on/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“The child comes home and the parent puts the hooks in him. The old man, or the woman, as the case may be, hasn’t…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-child-comes-home-and-the-parent-puts-the-hooks-in-him-the-old-man/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [The poem is a little myth of man's capacity of making life meaningful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-poem-is-a-little-myth-of-man-s-capacity-of-making-life-meaningful/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“There is nothing more alone than being in a car at night in the rain. I was in the car. And I was glad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/there-is-nothing-more-alone-than-being-in-a-car-at-night-in-the-rain/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“No, the Boss corrected, I'm not a lawyer. I know some law. ... but I'm not a lawyer. That's why I can see what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/no-the-boss-corrected-i-m-not-a-lawyer-i-know-some-law-but-i-m-not-a/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [ \[A\]nd soon now we shall go out of the house and go into the convulsion of the world, out of history into history and… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/a-nd-soon-now-we-shall-go-out-of-the-house-and-go-into-the-convulsion/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“Those were the ones which would turn loose their grip on the branch before long-- not in any breeze, the fibers would just relax,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/those-were-the-ones-which-would-turn-loose-their-grip-on-the-branch/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“Sometimes sleep gets to be a serious and complete thing. You stop going to sleep in order that you may be able to get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/sometimes-sleep-gets-to-be-a-serious-and-complete-thing-you-stop/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [“He thought of night coming on. He thought of the loneliness of tonight, this first night in the ground. This, he thought, was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/he-thought-of-night-coming-on-he-thought-of-the-loneliness-of-tonight/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [I reckon I am a smart aleck, but it is just a way to pass the time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/i-reckon-i-am-a-smart-aleck-but-it-is-just-a-way-to-pass-the-time/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [The poem is not a thing we see; it is, rather, a light by which we may see.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-poem-is-not-a-thing-we-see-it-is-rather-a-light-by-which-we-may/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [The asking and the answering which history provides may help us to understand, even to frame, the logic of experience to which we shall…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-asking-and-the-answering-which-history-provides-may-help-us-to/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [Process as process is neither morally good nor morally bad. We may judge results but not process. The morally bad agent may perform the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/process-as-process-is-neither-morally-good-nor-morally-bad-we-may/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [The end of man is knowledge, but there is one thing he can't know. He can't know whether knowledge will save him or kill…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/the-end-of-man-is-knowledge-but-there-is-one-thing-he-can-t-know-he/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) > [For the truth is a terrible thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-penn-warren/for-the-truth-is-a-terrible-thing/) [Robert Penn Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) [Explore all 184 Robert Penn Warren quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-penn-warren/) ## More Wanting quotes > [Wanting someone you cant have, isnt that the way it always works?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/wanting-someone-you-cant-have-isnt-that-the-way-it-always-works/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Growing up I did commercials and things like that, but nothing serious. As I got older, my family is really hardcore into academics. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/portia-doubleday/growing-up-i-did-commercials-and-things-like-that-but-nothing-serious/) [Portia Doubleday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/portia-doubleday/) > [My earliest memory was watching gymnastics on live TV and wanting to do what the 'big girls' did.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-hernandez/my-earliest-memory-was-watching-gymnastics-on-live-tv-and-wanting-to/) [Laurie Hernandez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-hernandez/) > [Everybody out there watches the show and has expectations of wanting to be an 'Idol', but we're going to teach them how much hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bo-bice/everybody-out-there-watches-the-show-and-has-expectations-of-wanting/) [Bo Bice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bo-bice/) > [“Isn’t everyone on the planet or at least everyone on the planet called me stuck between the two impulses of wanting to walk away…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherine-lacey/isn-t-everyone-on-the-planet-or-at-least-everyone-on-the-planet/) [Catherine Lacey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherine-lacey/) > [“All our misery comes from wanting at all costs to go on being Tom, Dick, or Harry, year in, year out. This body of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-ferdinand-celine/all-our-misery-comes-from-wanting-at-all-costs-to-go-on-being-tom/) [Louis-Ferdinand Celine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-ferdinand-celine/) > [Desire makes life happen. Makes it matter. Makes everything worth it. Desire is life. Hunger to see the next sunrise or sunset, to touch…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-marie-moning/desire-makes-life-happen-makes-it-matter-makes-everything-worth-it/) [Karen Marie Moning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-marie-moning/) > [It wasn't like, 'I'ma lose weight and start doing dramas.' I wanted to be healthier, and that was the impetus for wanting to lose…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonah-hill/it-wasn-t-like-i-ma-lose-weight-and-start-doing-dramas-i-wanted-to-be/) [Jonah Hill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonah-hill/) > [I always tell Asian actors, especially Filipinos wanting to break into Hollywood, to study, study and study and show their best. I haven't stopped…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/reggie-lee/i-always-tell-asian-actors-especially-filipinos-wanting-to-break-into/) [Reggie Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/reggie-lee/) > [We might make money and be in the careers we're in, but we don't need a bunch of stuff. We like showcasing that and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brie-bella/we-might-make-money-and-be-in-the-careers-we-re-in-but-we-don-t-need/) [Brie Bella](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brie-bella/) > [Dhobi Ghat' is the only script I actually completed and that I was convinced about wanting to direct.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kiran-rao/dhobi-ghat-is-the-only-script-i-actually-completed-and-that-i-was/) [Kiran Rao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kiran-rao/) > [When I know things are not for me, I learn to let go. It doesn't mean I'm weak but I'm just showing how strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-i-know-things-are-not-for-me-i-learn-to-let-go-it-doesn-t-mean-i/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'm a rock/blues guitar player. I'm not wanting to be a pop star or anything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orianthi/i-m-a-rock-blues-guitar-player-i-m-not-wanting-to-be-a-pop-star-or/) [Orianthi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orianthi/) > [Stop WHINING about wanting a man, and just maybe you won't end up alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/stop-whining-about-wanting-a-man-and-just-maybe-you-won-t-end-up-alone/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [At first, I was stubborn about not wanting to become a city boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matt-cain/at-first-i-was-stubborn-about-not-wanting-to-become-a-city-boy/) [Matt Cain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matt-cain/) Browse all 1,544 Wanting quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Hell, a man can lie there and want something so bad and be so full of wanting it he just plain forgets what it is he wants. 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