--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oh, no no no, it was too cold always…" description: "\"Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning.\" — Stevie Smith" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/stevie-smith-8661_cold_oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still_103095.png" --- # Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one… ![“Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning.” quote by Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/stevie-smith-8661_cold_oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still_103095.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/stevie-smith-8661_cold_oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still_103095.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/stevie-smith-8661_cold_oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still_103095.png) > “Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning.” [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The speaker feels isolated and overwhelmed, likening life to being far out at sea, unable to signal for help and slowly sinking. **In simple terms:** Life feels cold, distant, and drowning. Key Takeaway Isolation intensifies despair. Themes loneliness despair coldness Mood somber desolate Type poetic emotive When to use this quote - grief counseling - mental‑health crisis - creative writing Key Concepts existential angst Practical Applications - reach out for connection - express feelings through art Questions to Reflect On - What 'cold' moments have you endured? - How can you signal for help when feeling adrift? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) ## Related quotes > [Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning. I was much further out than you thought, and not waving but drowning.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/nobody-heard-him-the-dead-man-but-still-he-lay-moaning-i-was-much/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Not Waving but Drowning Nobody heard him, the dead man, But still he lay moaning: I was much further out than you thought And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/not-waving-but-drowning-nobody-heard-him-the-dead-man-but-still-he/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [I'll tell you you're right when you want and if only you could see into me. Oh when you're cold, I'll be there. Hold…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sade/i-ll-tell-you-you-re-right-when-you-want-and-if-only-you-could-see/) [Sade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sade/) > [Oh, it was a cold February morn. East Texas baby girl was born. I pray for her soul to sing a righteous song, oh,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ruthie-foster/oh-it-was-a-cold-february-morn-east-texas-baby-girl-was-born-i-pray/) [Ruthie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ruthie-foster/) > [Soyinka's Death at Dawn, Auden's Musée des Beaux Arts, Stevie Smith's Not Waving but Drowning and Wislawa Szymborska's Some People come to mind immediately.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ama-ata-aidoo/soyinka-s-death-at-dawn-auden-s-mus-e-des-beaux-arts-stevie-smith-s/) [Ama Ata Aidoo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ama-ata-aidoo/) > [“How could you teach someone to survive? You pointed them in the right direction and hoped they'd swim, not sink. Waving, not drowning. There…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lesley-lokko/how-could-you-teach-someone-to-survive-you-pointed-them-in-the-right/) [Lesley Lokko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lesley-lokko/) > [That cold, dead look with something behind it like waiting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-swindells/that-cold-dead-look-with-something-behind-it-like-waiting/) [Robert Swindells](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-swindells/) > [“Why go for something cold and dead, when you can have something hot and panting?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-r-smith/why-go-for-something-cold-and-dead-when-you-can-have-something-hot/) K.R. Smith > [“If you’re cold, you’re dead, but if you’re cool, you’re only halfway there.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grace-krilanovich/if-you-re-cold-you-re-dead-but-if-you-re-cool-you-re-only-halfway/) [Grace Krilanovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grace-krilanovich/) > [You can have my gun when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlton-heston/you-can-have-my-gun-when-you-pry-it-from-my-cold-dead-fingers/) [Charlton Heston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlton-heston/) > [They can have my beer when they pry it out of my cold, dead hand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-schwalb/they-can-have-my-beer-when-they-pry-it-out-of-my-cold-dead-hand/) Ben Schwalb > [I do a job I really, really love and I kind of have fun with. People think you can't be grown up unless you're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-smith/i-do-a-job-i-really-really-love-and-i-kind-of-have-fun-with-people/) [Robert Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-smith/) > [Learn to appreciate what you have instead of constantly moaning about things you can't have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/learn-to-appreciate-what-you-have-instead-of-constantly-moaning-about/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People forget they have options. And they forget that those things don't really matter. They should concentrate on what they have and not what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/people-forget-they-have-options-and-they-forget-that-those-things-don/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [ “Downloading's the same as what I used to do. I used to tape the charts of the songs I liked \[off the radio\]. I… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/liam-gallagher/downloading-s-the-same-as-what-i-used-to-do-i-used-to-tape-the-charts/) [Liam Gallagher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/liam-gallagher/) ## More by Stevie Smith > [I only asked my friends to be friendly and polite, I found them indifferent and censorious; The one I left to silence, the other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-only-asked-my-friends-to-be-friendly-and-polite-i-found-them/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Wild creatures' eyes, the colonel said, Are innocent and fathomless And when I look at them I see That they are not aware of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/wild-creatures-eyes-the-colonel-said-are-innocent-and-fathomless-and/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Raise from your bed of languor Raise from your bed of dismay Your friends will not come tomorrow As they did not come today…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/raise-from-your-bed-of-languor-raise-from-your-bed-of-dismay-your/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“There is a god in whom I do not believe Yet to this god my love stretches, This god whom I do not believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-is-a-god-in-whom-i-do-not-believe-yet-to-this-god-my-love/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [So I fancy my Muse says, when I wish to die, Oh no, Oh no, we are not yet friends enough, And Virtue also…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/so-i-fancy-my-muse-says-when-i-wish-to-die-oh-no-oh-no-we-are-not-yet/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [If a lady comes up to you and tells you that your dear mama is lying in a faint on the pavement round the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/if-a-lady-comes-up-to-you-and-tells-you-that-your-dear-mama-is-lying/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [I like food, I like stripping vegetables of their skins, I like to have a slim young parsnip under my knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-like-food-i-like-stripping-vegetables-of-their-skins-i-like-to-have/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Death's not a separation or alteration or parting; it's just a one-handled door.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/death-s-not-a-separation-or-alteration-or-parting-it-s-just-a-one/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [The flower and fruit of love are mine The ant, the fieldmouse and the mole](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/the-flower-and-fruit-of-love-are-mine-the-ant-the-fieldmouse-and-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [“Prate not to me of suicide, Faint heart in battle, not for pride I say Endure, but that such end denied Makes welcomer yet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/prate-not-to-me-of-suicide-faint-heart-in-battle-not-for-pride-i-say/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [It is an amiable part of human nature, that we should love our animals; it is even better to love them to the point…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/it-is-an-amiable-part-of-human-nature-that-we-should-love-our-animals/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [My Muse sits forlorn She wishes she had not been born She sits in the cold No word she says is ever told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/my-muse-sits-forlorn-she-wishes-she-had-not-been-born-she-sits-in-the/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [There are moments of despair that come sometimes, when night sets in and a white fog presses against the windows. Then our house changes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/there-are-moments-of-despair-that-come-sometimes-when-night-sets-in/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [Fourteen-year-old, why must you giggle and dote, Fourteen-year-old, why are you such a goat? I'm fourteen years old, that is the reason, I giggle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/fourteen-year-old-why-must-you-giggle-and-dote-fourteen-year-old-why/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) > [I'm sorry to say my dear wife is a dreamer, and as she dreams she gets paler and leaner. Then be off to your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/i-m-sorry-to-say-my-dear-wife-is-a-dreamer-and-as-she-dreams-she-gets/) [Stevie Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) [Explore all 79 Stevie Smith quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/) ## More Cold quotes > [Once ye made up yer mind to do somethin', 'tis better t'stumble o'er the small hillock of jump-ahead than t'bash yer head on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/once-ye-made-up-yer-mind-to-do-somethin-tis-better-t-stumble-o-er-the/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [When you're scared - and I mean really scared, not just hearing a noise in the night, or standing toe to toe with someone…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-gordon-smith/when-you-re-scared-and-i-mean-really-scared-not-just-hearing-a-noise/) [Alexander Gordon Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-gordon-smith/) > [From the bitter cold winter at Valley Forge, to the mountains of Afghanistan and the deserts of Iraq, our soldiers have courageously answered when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/solomon-ortiz/from-the-bitter-cold-winter-at-valley-forge-to-the-mountains-of/) [Solomon Ortiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/solomon-ortiz/) > [When I get a chance to play golf or go on a boat with good people, take the boat out and put some lobsters…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bernie-mac/when-i-get-a-chance-to-play-golf-or-go-on-a-boat-with-good-people/) [Bernie Mac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bernie-mac/) > [Of course Messi could handle a cold Tuesday night in Stoke. He'd be drinking tea and relaxing beforehand. Me? I'd probably be the same.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neymar/of-course-messi-could-handle-a-cold-tuesday-night-in-stoke-he-d-be/) [Neymar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neymar/) > [This cold weather has set all the young Folks to providing Bedfellows. I have signed two or three Licences every Day \[as a Fairfax…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-mason/this-cold-weather-has-set-all-the-young-folks-to-providing-bedfellows/) [George Mason](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-mason/) > [When my main character in 'Heat' climbs the tower, the highest diving platform, hoping to resume competitive diving after an injury, I am there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-cadnum/when-my-main-character-in-heat-climbs-the-tower-the-highest-diving/) [Michael Cadnum](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-cadnum/) > [You start playing when it's cold and you want to be playing when it's cold again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimy-williams/you-start-playing-when-it-s-cold-and-you-want-to-be-playing-when-it-s/) Jimy Williams > [It would be a piece of ingenuousness to accuse the man of today of his lack of moral code. The accusation would leave him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jose-ortega-y-gasset/it-would-be-a-piece-of-ingenuousness-to-accuse-the-man-of-today-of/) [Jose Ortega y Gasset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jose-ortega-y-gasset/) > [I would have touched it like a child But knew my finger could but have touched Cold stone and water. I grew wild, Even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/i-would-have-touched-it-like-a-child-but-knew-my-finger-could-but/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) > [What's to become of the morally sound? Left out in the cold, I suppose. We must heal the sick.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrik-ibsen/what-s-to-become-of-the-morally-sound-left-out-in-the-cold-i-suppose/) [Henrik Ibsen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrik-ibsen/) > [When I first started, all the reviews of Cold Chisel would say, 'This singer won't have a voice in six months.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmy-barnes/when-i-first-started-all-the-reviews-of-cold-chisel-would-say-this/) [Jimmy Barnes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmy-barnes/) > [One of the problems trying to play an instrument outside in the cold is your fingers give up on you and you can't wear…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-macdonald/one-of-the-problems-trying-to-play-an-instrument-outside-in-the-cold/) [Amy Macdonald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-macdonald/) > [God tempers the cold to the shorn sheep.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henri-etienne-sainte-claire-deville/god-tempers-the-cold-to-the-shorn-sheep/) Henri Etienne Sainte-Claire Deville > [Those nights lying alone are not discontinuous with this cold hectic dawn. It is who I am.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/those-nights-lying-alone-are-not-discontinuous-with-this-cold-hectic/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) [Browse all 5,381 Cold quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cold/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And not waving but drowning.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stevie Smith" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still-the-dead-one-lay-moaning-i/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cold" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still-the-dead-one-lay-moaning-i/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/stevie-smith-8661_cold_oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still_103095.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/stevie-smith-8661_cold_oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still_103095.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b23/stevie-smith-8661_cold_oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still_103095.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Oh, no no no, it was too cold always (Still the dead one lay moaning) I was much too far out all my life And…” — Stevie Smith", "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": "Stevie Smith", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stevie-smith/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Oh, no no no, it was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still-the-dead-one-lay-moaning-i/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stevie-smith/oh-no-no-no-it-was-too-cold-always-still-the-dead-one-lay-moaning-i/#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 } } ] } ```