--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you're on top and you lead the…" description: "\"When you're on top and you lead the parade, everyone's there throwing lilies and lilac water on your head. But when those parades have gone by and ther..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/sylvester-stallone-966_gone_when-you-re-on-top-and-you-lead-the-para_671060.jpg" --- # When you're on top and you lead the parade, everyone's… ![“When you're on top and you lead the parade, everyone's there throwing lilies and lilac water on your head. But when those parades have gone by and there's a storm in your heart, there are very few people that are going to sit there and listen to you bemoan life.” quote by Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/sylvester-stallone-966_gone_when-you-re-on-top-and-you-lead-the-para_671060.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/sylvester-stallone-966_gone_when-you-re-on-top-and-you-lead-the-para_671060.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ae6/sylvester-stallone-966_gone_when-you-re-on-top-and-you-lead-the-para_671060.jpg) > “When you're on top and you lead the parade, everyone's there throwing lilies and lilac water on your head. But when those parades have gone by and there's a storm in your heart, there are very few people that are going to sit there and listen to you bemoan life.” [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Public acclaim fades; only true friends stay during hardship. **In simple terms:** Fame fades, friends stay. Key Takeaway Value genuine relationships over applause. Themes fame loneliness friendship Mood reflective melancholic Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - Career peaks - personal crises - social media backlash Key Concepts Celebrity public perception emotional resilience Questions to Reflect On - Who supports you when you’re not in the spotlight? - How can you cultivate lasting friendships? A Different Perspective Popularity can be fleeting and shallow. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Lilies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lilies/) [Listen to your heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/listen-to-your-heart/) [Parade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parade/) [Parades](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/parades/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Water](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/water/) ## Related quotes > [I tell you, if you're in the front row of the parade and you stop walking, pretty soon you're back in the tuba section.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-mcgraw/i-tell-you-if-you-re-in-the-front-row-of-the-parade-and-you-stop/) [Phil McGraw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-mcgraw/) > [I definitely didn't want to be that person that came out and was like, 'O.K. I'm going to lead every parade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-bass/i-definitely-didn-t-want-to-be-that-person-that-came-out-and-was-like/) [Lance Bass](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-bass/) > [We all have the drum major instinct. We all want to be important, to surpass others, to achieve distinction, to lead the parade.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/we-all-have-the-drum-major-instinct-we-all-want-to-be-important-to/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [I remember, I remember The roses, red and white, The violets, and the lily-cups, Those flowers made of light! The lilacs, where the robin…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-hood/i-remember-i-remember-the-roses-red-and-white-the-violets-and-the/) [Thomas Hood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-hood/) > [The American spring is like the country itself: abundant, rich, flowing over you like a full tide. ... Azaleas were suddenly ablaze. White dogwoods…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alliluyeva/the-american-spring-is-like-the-country-itself-abundant-rich-flowing/) [Svetlana Alliluyeva](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alliluyeva/) > [“And the lost heart stiffens and rejoices in the lost lilac and the lost sea voices and the weak spirit quickens to rebel for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/and-the-lost-heart-stiffens-and-rejoices-in-the-lost-lilac-and-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [O months of blossoming, months of transfigurations, May without cloud and June stabbed to the heart, I shall not ever forget the lilacs or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-aragon/o-months-of-blossoming-months-of-transfigurations-may-without-cloud/) [Louis Aragon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-aragon/) > [Budapest in late May is a city of lilacs. The sweet, languid, rather sleepy smell of lilacs wafts everywhere. And it is a city…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-carol-oates/budapest-in-late-may-is-a-city-of-lilacs-the-sweet-languid-rather/) [Joyce Carol Oates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-carol-oates/) > [I opened the large central window of my office room to its full on the fine early May morning. Then I stood for a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angus-wilson/i-opened-the-large-central-window-of-my-office-room-to-its-full-on/) [Angus Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angus-wilson/) > [Love is the hardest thing in the world to write about. So simple. You've got to catch it through details, like the early morning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-wilder/love-is-the-hardest-thing-in-the-world-to-write-about-so-simple-you/) [Billy Wilder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-wilder/) > [The lilac branches are bowed under the weight of the flowers: blooming is hard, and the most important thing is - to bloom. (“A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yevgeny-zamyatin/the-lilac-branches-are-bowed-under-the-weight-of-the-flowers-blooming/) [Yevgeny Zamyatin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yevgeny-zamyatin/) > [I imagine the earth when I am no more: Women's dresses, dewy lilacs, a song in the valley. Yet the books will be there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/czeslaw-milosz/i-imagine-the-earth-when-i-am-no-more-women-s-dresses-dewy-lilacs-a/) [Czeslaw Milosz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/czeslaw-milosz/) > [There is an infinity of landscape here, caused by the purity of the atmosphere. It has been said that there is a lack of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hans-heysen/there-is-an-infinity-of-landscape-here-caused-by-the-purity-of-the/) Hans Heysen > [When you chopped logs with the ax and they split open they smelled beautiful, like Christmas. But when you split someone's head open it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-atkinson/when-you-chopped-logs-with-the-ax-and-they-split-open-they-smelled/) [Kate Atkinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-atkinson/) > [Now that the lilacs are in bloom She has a bowl of lilacs in her room](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/now-that-the-lilacs-are-in-bloom-she-has-a-bowl-of-lilacs-in-her-room/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by Sylvester Stallone > [I think kids growing up, if they were picked on and feeling inferior at 12, they're going to feel that way at 72. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-think-kids-growing-up-if-they-were-picked-on-and-feeling-inferior/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I just like stories about redemption about getting a second chance at life, I think everyone in the world has a few major mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-just-like-stories-about-redemption-about-getting-a-second-chance-at/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I am not the richest, smartest or most talented person in the world, but I succeed because I keep going and going and going.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-am-not-the-richest-smartest-or-most-talented-person-in-the-world/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [Every champion was once a contender that refused to give up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/every-champion-was-once-a-contender-that-refused-to-give-up/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [Plan B. You've always got to have a Plan B.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/plan-b-you-ve-always-got-to-have-a-plan-b/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [“It ain't over till its over”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/it-ain-t-over-till-its-over/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [On the sequel, you've lost the element of surprise. Usually, on the first one you may not go very, very deep into character; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/on-the-sequel-you-ve-lost-the-element-of-surprise-usually-on-the/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [In this day and age, if you're aspiring to be an actor, and you're putting all your eggs in one basket, you could be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/in-this-day-and-age-if-you-re-aspiring-to-be-an-actor-and-you-re/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [People asked if I could have played the Terminator. Are you kidding? Not a chance, I never could have played the Terminator.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/people-asked-if-i-could-have-played-the-terminator-are-you-kidding/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [Sometimes worst enemies like a Mohammed Ali and Joe Frazier that's what makes you fight so hard. Without them they never would have achieved…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/sometimes-worst-enemies-like-a-mohammed-ali-and-joe-frazier-that-s/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [A lot of guys have muscles. A lot of strong men in this world. I think it's important to show that even under all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/a-lot-of-guys-have-muscles-a-lot-of-strong-men-in-this-world-i-think/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [That's the hardest thing about doing sequels - you've lost the element of surprise.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/that-s-the-hardest-thing-about-doing-sequels-you-ve-lost-the-element/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I tend to think of action movies as exuberant morality plays in which good triumphs over evil.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-tend-to-think-of-action-movies-as-exuberant-morality-plays-in-which/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [Adrian: It was Thanksgiving. Rocky: Yeah, to you, but to me it's Thursday, right?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/adrian-it-was-thanksgiving-rocky-yeah-to-you-but-to-me-it-s-thursday/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [I think everyone has questions in their mind. Did they do their very best?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-think-everyone-has-questions-in-their-mind-did-they-do-their-very/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) [Explore all 318 Sylvester Stallone quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) ## More Gone quotes > [I made, like, five movies while I was in college. I think they just weren't memorable movies. I've taken breaks as the years have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodie-foster/i-made-like-five-movies-while-i-was-in-college-i-think-they-just/) [Jodie Foster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodie-foster/) > [“I notice when you’re gone. Or do I? How can I observe something that isn’t there?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-notice-when-you-re-gone-or-do-i-how-can-i-observe-something-that/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [You're getting into some kind of shape, cop." Aw, come on, now." Butch grinned. "Don't let that shower we took go to your head."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-r-ward/you-re-getting-into-some-kind-of-shape-cop-aw-come-on-now-butch/) [J.R. Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-r-ward/) > [Would she understand that time had stopped while she was gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miranda-july/would-she-understand-that-time-had-stopped-while-she-was-gone/) [Miranda July](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miranda-july/) > [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/) > [They paved paradise and put up a parkin lot With a pink hotel, a boutique, and a swingin' hot spot Don't it always seem…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joni-mitchell/they-paved-paradise-and-put-up-a-parkin-lot-with-a-pink-hotel-a/) [Joni Mitchell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joni-mitchell/) > [The amazing thing is that we live our lives with the hope that things will go right, that things will happen. And all along…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurel-nakadate/the-amazing-thing-is-that-we-live-our-lives-with-the-hope-that-things/) [Laurel Nakadate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurel-nakadate/) > [I think I need the demons in order to write, but the demons have gone. It bothers me a lot. I've tried and tried,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-wilson/i-think-i-need-the-demons-in-order-to-write-but-the-demons-have-gone/) [Brian Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-wilson/) > [I'm in a business where there's complete anarchy. You can't control it - you can only react to it. The control that people traditionally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-sorrell/i-m-in-a-business-where-there-s-complete-anarchy-you-can-t-control-it/) [Martin Sorrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-sorrell/) > [“I am disappearing, maybe I'm already gone.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-niven/i-am-disappearing-maybe-i-m-already-gone/) [Jennifer Niven](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-niven/) > [“This spending of the best part of one's life earning money in order to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/this-spending-of-the-best-part-of-one-s-life-earning-money-in-order/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [After a few mouthfuls of moon-flavored air, even the stubbornly drowsy can find themselves wide-eyed.. All the normal noises of life were gone, leaving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/after-a-few-mouthfuls-of-moon-flavored-air-even-the-stubbornly-drowsy/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [You don't think. It's all instinct. If you stop to think, you're gone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sugar-ray-robinson/you-don-t-think-it-s-all-instinct-if-you-stop-to-think-you-re-gone/) [Sugar Ray Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sugar-ray-robinson/) > [...Gratitude transforms the torment of memory of good things now gone into silent joy. One bears what was lovely in the past not as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dietrich-bonhoeffer/gratitude-transforms-the-torment-of-memory-of-good-things-now-gone/) [Dietrich Bonhoeffer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dietrich-bonhoeffer/) > [The weird thing was that Soft Cell was supposed to have come and gone before I started the album.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-almond/the-weird-thing-was-that-soft-cell-was-supposed-to-have-come-and-gone/) [Marc Almond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-almond/) Browse all 7,934 Gone quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you're on top and you lead the parade, everyone's there throwing lilies and lilac water on your head. 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