--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: First comes smiles, then comes lies. Last…" description: "\"“First comes smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire.”\" — Roland Deschain (Stephen King" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/roland-deschain-stephen-king-8_quote_first-comes-smiles-then-comes-lies-last_910362.jpg" --- # First comes smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire. ![“First comes smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire.” quote by Roland Deschain (Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/roland-deschain-stephen-king-8_quote_first-comes-smiles-then-comes-lies-last_910362.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/roland-deschain-stephen-king-8_quote_first-comes-smiles-then-comes-lies-last_910362.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3b3/roland-deschain-stephen-king-8_quote_first-comes-smiles-then-comes-lies-last_910362.jpg) > ““First comes smiles, then comes lies. Last is gunfire.”” Roland Deschain (Stephen King ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that initial friendliness can lead to deception and ultimately violent conflict. **In simple terms:** Nice smiles can hide lies and lead to danger. Key Takeaway Beware of hidden motives behind charm. Themes trust deception violence Mood cautionary serious Type advice literary When to use this quote - personal relationships - political negotiations - law enforcement - storytelling Key Concepts psychology conflict escalation Questions to Reflect On - When have you seen trust turn to betrayal? - How can early signs of deception be recognized? A Different Perspective Not all situations follow this grim progression; outcomes vary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Gunfire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gunfire/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) ## Related quotes > [First comes smiles, then lies. Last is gunfire.-Roland Deschain, of Gilead](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-king/first-comes-smiles-then-lies-last-is-gunfire-roland-deschain-of-gilead/) [Stephen King](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-king/) > [First comes the lies, then comes the excuses, next time they come around, no talking, just deuces.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/first-comes-the-lies-then-comes-the-excuses-next-time-they-come/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Opening my door to Dillon Ruddick, my bulding super. I handed him a cup of coffee. "Sorry about the blood." "What was it this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/opening-my-door-to-dillon-ruddick-my-bulding-super-i-handed-him-a-cup/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“Gunfire in this Upper West Side neighborhood wasn’t common, nor did cars tend to explode.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-stevens/gunfire-in-this-upper-west-side-neighborhood-wasn-t-common-nor-did/) [Tim Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-stevens/) > [If today is your typical day in America, 80 of our fellow citizens will die from gunfire. In the last two weeks, more Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-barnes/if-today-is-your-typical-day-in-america-80-of-our-fellow-citizens/) [Michael D. Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-barnes/) > [At night my father often heard sporadic gunfire mixed in with the sound of dogs howling. If the war came closer, soon there would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/at-night-my-father-often-heard-sporadic-gunfire-mixed-in-with-the/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [“NO TRESPASSING and SOLICITORS WARMLY GREETED WITH GUNFIRE signs,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/no-trespassing-and-solicitors-warmly-greeted-with-gunfire-signs/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [“I was trying to hide the evidence; stop them tracking me. They’ve not found me yet, so maybe it worked?’ she said, her voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dobell/i-was-trying-to-hide-the-evidence-stop-them-tracking-me-they-ve-not/) Andrew Dobell > [“I never thought I should live to grow blasé about the sound of gunfire, but so I have”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-never-thought-i-should-live-to-grow-blas-about-the-sound-of-gunfire/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [No more hellfires and please no more gunfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/no-more-hellfires-and-please-no-more-gunfire/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [“You just don't expect to see gunfire at a wedding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cummings/you-just-don-t-expect-to-see-gunfire-at-a-wedding/) Donna Cummings > [“Rupert yanked Rebecca off her seat to the floor! If that weren't bad enough, he dropped down on top of her, not with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/rupert-yanked-rebecca-off-her-seat-to-the-floor-if-that-weren-t-bad/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) > [“The sounds of gunfire didn't bother Winn any more. It just meant that this was the weekend, or a soccer tournament, or someone had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-rhine/the-sounds-of-gunfire-didn-t-bother-winn-any-more-it-just-meant-that/) [Scott Rhine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-rhine/) > [I also have a brand-new prescription for gunfire jitters: When the shooting gets loud, proceed to the nearest wooden staircase. Run up and down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-also-have-a-brand-new-prescription-for-gunfire-jitters-when-the/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [You can't live in a town like Braddock and not know exactly what gunfire sounds like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/you-can-t-live-in-a-town-like-braddock-and-not-know-exactly-what/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) ## More by Roland Deschain (Stephen King > [“Head clear. Mouth shut. See much. Say little.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-deschain-stephen-king/head-clear-mouth-shut-see-much-say-little/) Roland Deschain (Stephen King > [“You needn't die happy when your day comes, but you must die satisfied, for you have lived your life from beginning to end and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roland-deschain-stephen-king/you-needn-t-die-happy-when-your-day-comes-but-you-must-die-satisfied/) Roland Deschain (Stephen King Explore all 3 Roland Deschain (Stephen King quotes ## More Gunfire quotes > [You can't live in a town like Braddock and not know exactly what gunfire sounds like.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fetterman/you-can-t-live-in-a-town-like-braddock-and-not-know-exactly-what/) [John Fetterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fetterman/) > [I also have a brand-new prescription for gunfire jitters: When the shooting gets loud, proceed to the nearest wooden staircase. Run up and down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-frank/i-also-have-a-brand-new-prescription-for-gunfire-jitters-when-the/) [Anne Frank](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-frank/) > [“The sounds of gunfire didn't bother Winn any more. It just meant that this was the weekend, or a soccer tournament, or someone had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scott-rhine/the-sounds-of-gunfire-didn-t-bother-winn-any-more-it-just-meant-that/) [Scott Rhine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scott-rhine/) > [“Rupert yanked Rebecca off her seat to the floor! If that weren't bad enough, he dropped down on top of her, not with his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johanna-lindsey/rupert-yanked-rebecca-off-her-seat-to-the-floor-if-that-weren-t-bad/) [Johanna Lindsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johanna-lindsey/) > [“You just don't expect to see gunfire at a wedding.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-cummings/you-just-don-t-expect-to-see-gunfire-at-a-wedding/) Donna Cummings > [No more hellfires and please no more gunfire.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tiesto/no-more-hellfires-and-please-no-more-gunfire/) [Tiesto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tiesto/) > [“I never thought I should live to grow blasé about the sound of gunfire, but so I have”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/i-never-thought-i-should-live-to-grow-blas-about-the-sound-of-gunfire/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“I was trying to hide the evidence; stop them tracking me. They’ve not found me yet, so maybe it worked?’ she said, her voice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-dobell/i-was-trying-to-hide-the-evidence-stop-them-tracking-me-they-ve-not/) Andrew Dobell > [“NO TRESPASSING and SOLICITORS WARMLY GREETED WITH GUNFIRE signs,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-sakey/no-trespassing-and-solicitors-warmly-greeted-with-gunfire-signs/) [Marcus Sakey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-sakey/) > [At night my father often heard sporadic gunfire mixed in with the sound of dogs howling. If the war came closer, soon there would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dinaw-mengestu/at-night-my-father-often-heard-sporadic-gunfire-mixed-in-with-the/) [Dinaw Mengestu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dinaw-mengestu/) > [If today is your typical day in America, 80 of our fellow citizens will die from gunfire. In the last two weeks, more Americans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-d-barnes/if-today-is-your-typical-day-in-america-80-of-our-fellow-citizens/) [Michael D. Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-d-barnes/) > [“Gunfire in this Upper West Side neighborhood wasn’t common, nor did cars tend to explode.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-stevens/gunfire-in-this-upper-west-side-neighborhood-wasn-t-common-nor-did/) [Tim Stevens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-stevens/) > [Opening my door to Dillon Ruddick, my bulding super. I handed him a cup of coffee. "Sorry about the blood." "What was it this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/janet-evanovich/opening-my-door-to-dillon-ruddick-my-bulding-super-i-handed-him-a-cup/) [Janet Evanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/janet-evanovich/) > [“Gunfire rips through the crowd, and several people near me slump to the ground.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-collins/gunfire-rips-through-the-crowd-and-several-people-near-me-slump-to/) [Suzanne Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-collins/) > [FYI, there are basically only three things besides a vest that will stop a bullet: a tree trunk, the engine block of a car,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/asha-rangappa/fyi-there-are-basically-only-three-things-besides-a-vest-that-will/) [Asha Rangappa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/asha-rangappa/) [Browse all 47 Gunfire quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gunfire/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“First comes smiles, then comes lies. 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