--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye…" description: "\"You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you’ll never know The hell where youth and laughter g..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/siegfried-sassoon-10445_cheer_you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye_1182849.jpg" --- # You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when… ![“You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you’ll never know The hell where youth and laughter go.” quote by Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/siegfried-sassoon-10445_cheer_you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye_1182849.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/siegfried-sassoon-10445_cheer_you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye_1182849.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/siegfried-sassoon-10445_cheer_you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye_1182849.jpg) > “You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you’ll never know The hell where youth and laughter go.” [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Crowds cheer war from safety, unaware of the true horror soldiers endure. **In simple terms:** People cheer war without seeing its pain. Key Takeaway Remember the human cost of conflict. Themes war society ignorance youth Mood somber critical Type political poetic When to use this quote - political discourse - education - media coverage Key Concepts militarism empathy propaganda Questions to Reflect On - How does distance affect empathy? - What responsibilities do civilians have? A Different Perspective Spectators often stay detached from frontline reality. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Hell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hell/) [Home](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/home/) [Laughter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/laughter/) [Praying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/praying/) [Soldier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/soldier/) [Youth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/youth/) ## Related quotes > [“You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you'll never know The hell where youth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye-who-cheer-when-soldier-lads-2/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [“Suicide in the trenches: I knew a simple soldier boy Who grinned at life in empty joy, Slept soundly through the lonesome dark, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/suicide-in-the-trenches-i-knew-a-simple-soldier-boy-who-grinned-at/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [Courage must come from the soul within; the man must furnish the will to win. So figure it out for yourself, my lad. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-guest/courage-must-come-from-the-soul-within-the-man-must-furnish-the-will/) [Edgar Guest](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-guest/) > [Ah, fortune and fame shall follow me ... and I shall dwell in the world of the chosen for a few moments of fleeting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/ah-fortune-and-fame-shall-follow-me-and-i-shall-dwell-in-the-world-of/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [What's always got me is the fact that when people talked on the telly about Iraq, before Afghanistan kicked off, you'd get only these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ross-kemp/what-s-always-got-me-is-the-fact-that-when-people-talked-on-the-telly/) [Ross Kemp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ross-kemp/) > [I became more confident within myself and matured as a person and become a little bit more opinionated - maybe the lads might say…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-cunningham/i-became-more-confident-within-myself-and-matured-as-a-person-and/) [Kenny Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-cunningham/) > [Clay lies still, but blood's a rover; Breath's aware that will not keep. Up, lad: when the journey's over then there'll be time enough…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-e-housman/clay-lies-still-but-blood-s-a-rover-breath-s-aware-that-will-not-keep/) [A. E. Housman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-e-housman/) > [I don’t see the problem with footballers taking their shirts off after scoring a goal? They enjoy it and the young ladies enjoy it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-holloway/i-don-t-see-the-problem-with-footballers-taking-their-shirts-off/) [Ian Holloway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-holloway/) > [The proverb says, "Born lucky, always lucky," and I am very superstitious. As a small boy I was notoriously lucky. It was usual for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-twain/the-proverb-says-born-lucky-always-lucky-and-i-am-very-superstitious/) [Mark Twain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-twain/) > [LAOCOON, n. A famous piece of antique scripture representing a priest of that name and his two sons in the folds of two enormous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ambrose-bierce/laocoon-n-a-famous-piece-of-antique-scripture-representing-a-priest/) [Ambrose Bierce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ambrose-bierce/) > [The things we love destroy us every time, lad. Remember that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-things-we-love-destroy-us-every-time-lad-remember-that/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Ambition is all very well, my lad, but you must cloak it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-stroud/ambition-is-all-very-well-my-lad-but-you-must-cloak-it/) [Jonathan Stroud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-stroud/) > [My ma and pa are both very artistic, so I suppose it's in my blood. But my ma's the one who was into theater…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grey-damon/my-ma-and-pa-are-both-very-artistic-so-i-suppose-it-s-in-my-blood-but/) [Grey Damon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grey-damon/) > [The lads really ran their socks into the ground.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-ferguson/the-lads-really-ran-their-socks-into-the-ground/) [Alex Ferguson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-ferguson/) > [a TEN-YEAR-OLD lad in Indianapolis who was arrested for picking up coal along the side of railroad tracks is now in jail. If the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mother-jones/a-ten-year-old-lad-in-indianapolis-who-was-arrested-for-picking-up/) Mother Jones ## More by Siegfried Sassoon > [I believe that the purpose for which I and my fellow soldiers entered upon this war should have been so clearly stated as to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/i-believe-that-the-purpose-for-which-i-and-my-fellow-soldiers-entered/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [Who's this—alone with stone and sky? It's only my old dog and I— It's only him; it's only me; Alone with stone and grass…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/who-s-this-alone-with-stone-and-sky-it-s-only-my-old-dog-and-i-it-s/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [And the wind upon its way whispered the boughs of May, And touched the nodding peony flowers to bid them waken.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/and-the-wind-upon-its-way-whispered-the-boughs-of-may-and-touched-the/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [“Suicide in the trenches: I knew a simple soldier boy Who grinned at life in empty joy, Slept soundly through the lonesome dark, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/suicide-in-the-trenches-i-knew-a-simple-soldier-boy-who-grinned-at/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [The visionless officialized fatuityThat once kept Europe safe for Perpetuity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/the-visionless-officialized-fatuitythat-once-kept-europe-safe-for/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [“I died in hell. They called it Passchendaele.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/i-died-in-hell-they-called-it-passchendaele/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [“I am banished from the patient men who fight. They smote my heart to pity, built my pride. Shoulder to aching shoulder, side by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/i-am-banished-from-the-patient-men-who-fight-they-smote-my-heart-to/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [December stillness, teach me through your trees That loom along the west, one with the land, The veiled evangel of your mysteries. While nightfall,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/december-stillness-teach-me-through-your-trees-that-loom-along-the/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [I am not protesting against the conduct of the war, but against the political errors and insincerities for which the fighting men are being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/i-am-not-protesting-against-the-conduct-of-the-war-but-against-the/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [“Dim, gradual thinning of the shapeless gloom Shudders to drizzling daybreak that reveals Disconsolate men who stamp their sodden boots And turn dulled, sunken…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/dim-gradual-thinning-of-the-shapeless-gloom-shudders-to-drizzling/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [“In 1917 I was only beginning to learn that life, for the majority of the population, is an unlovely struggle against unfair odds, culminating…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/in-1917-i-was-only-beginning-to-learn-that-life-for-the-majority-of/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [“Phantoms of thought and memory thinned and fled.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/phantoms-of-thought-and-memory-thinned-and-fled/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [Oh yes, I know the way to heaven was easy. We found the little kingdom of our passion that all can share who walk…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/oh-yes-i-know-the-way-to-heaven-was-easy-we-found-the-little-kingdom/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [“I keep such music in my brain No din this side of death can quell; Glory exulting over pain, And beauty, garlanded in hell.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/i-keep-such-music-in-my-brain-no-din-this-side-of-death-can-quell/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) > [And it's been proved that soldiers don't go mad Unless they lose control of ugly thoughts That drive them out to jabber among the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/and-it-s-been-proved-that-soldiers-don-t-go-mad-unless-they-lose/) [Siegfried Sassoon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) [Explore all 65 Siegfried Sassoon quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/) ## More Cheer quotes > [Laughing, laughing, laughing, laughing! It is the jester! A voice from the Void, to cheer poor Cicero! I accept your gift, dearest Night Mother.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-tullius-cicero/laughing-laughing-laughing-laughing-it-is-the-jester-a-voice-from-the/) [Marcus Tullius Cicero](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-tullius-cicero/) > [Hardy thinks they're cheering for him. I'm not going to tell him differently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-hoeppner/hardy-thinks-they-re-cheering-for-him-i-m-not-going-to-tell-him/) Terry Hoeppner > [When I step into the batters box. The fans, the noise, the cheers, they all disappear. For that moment, the world is just a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/when-i-step-into-the-batters-box-the-fans-the-noise-the-cheers-they/) [Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-wollstonecraft-shelley/) > [When the American people saw the LA riots and crowds of Blacks cheering O.J. Simpson (who was acquitted by the almost all Black jury),…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-duke/when-the-american-people-saw-the-la-riots-and-crowds-of-blacks/) [David Duke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-duke/) > [I'm neurotic in the sense that I can have a crowd of 300 people cheering you, applauding you, standing O, but one guy come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wayne-white/i-m-neurotic-in-the-sense-that-i-can-have-a-crowd-of-300-people/) [Wayne White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wayne-white/) > [All the people in Korea are cheering me like I'm a gold medalist or something, so I have a responsibility to my country.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/psy/all-the-people-in-korea-are-cheering-me-like-i-m-a-gold-medalist-or/) [PSY](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/psy/) > [“Kurt smiled a shy smile. "You're just trying to cheer me up," he said. "Course I am," Andy said. "You deserve to be full…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cory-doctorow/kurt-smiled-a-shy-smile-you-re-just-trying-to-cheer-me-up-he-said/) [Cory Doctorow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cory-doctorow/) > [Be of good cheer. Do not think of today's failures, but of the success that may come tomorrow. You have set yourselves a difficult…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-keller/be-of-good-cheer-do-not-think-of-today-s-failures-but-of-the-success/) [Helen Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/helen-keller/) > [I am, beneath everything else, a fan. I was fixed in this mode as a young boy and am awed by people who take…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roger-ebert/i-am-beneath-everything-else-a-fan-i-was-fixed-in-this-mode-as-a/) [Roger Ebert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roger-ebert/) > [ People had been so attached to the Diane \[Cheers\] character that audiences and producers found it difficult to think of me in any other… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shelley-long/people-had-been-so-attached-to-the-diane-cheers-character-that/) [Shelley Long](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shelley-long/) > [I decided very early that I was going to be a reporter, that I would not cheer for the team. I don't denigrate people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-harwell/i-decided-very-early-that-i-was-going-to-be-a-reporter-that-i-would/) [Ernie Harwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-harwell/) > [It's fun, and a laugh for you... you can boo me and feel happy about yourself because you're part of the crowd that did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-goodes/it-s-fun-and-a-laugh-for-you-you-can-boo-me-and-feel-happy-about/) [Adam Goodes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-goodes/) > [Poetical taste is the only magician whose wand is not broken. 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There is probably at least 1 bug in your room.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramandeep-singh/cheer-up-you-re-never-alone-there-is-probably-at-least-1-bug-in-your/) [Ramandeep Singh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramandeep-singh/) Browse all 1,099 Cheer quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you’ll never know The hell where youth and laughter go.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Siegfried Sassoon" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye-who-cheer-when-soldier-lads/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cheer" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye-who-cheer-when-soldier-lads/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/siegfried-sassoon-10445_cheer_you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye_1182849.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/siegfried-sassoon-10445_cheer_you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye_1182849.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a80/siegfried-sassoon-10445_cheer_you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye_1182849.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye Who cheer when soldier lads march by, Sneak home and pray you’ll…” — Siegfried Sassoon", "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": "Siegfried Sassoon", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siegfried-sassoon/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye-who-cheer-when-soldier-lads/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siegfried-sassoon/you-smug-faced-crowds-with-kindling-eye-who-cheer-when-soldier-lads/#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 } } ] } ```