--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Here were decent godless people; Their…" description: "\"Here were decent godless people; Their only monument the asphalt road And a thousand lost golf balls.\" — T. S. Eliot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/t-s-eliot-633_asphalt_here-were-decent-godless-people-their-on_1593893.png" --- # Here were decent godless people; Their only monument the… ![“Here were decent godless people; Their only monument the asphalt road And a thousand lost golf balls.” quote by T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/t-s-eliot-633_asphalt_here-were-decent-godless-people-their-on_1593893.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/t-s-eliot-633_asphalt_here-were-decent-godless-people-their-on_1593893.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/7c3/t-s-eliot-633_asphalt_here-were-decent-godless-people-their-on_1593893.png) > “Here were decent godless people; Their only monument the asphalt road And a thousand lost golf balls.” [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Even godless people leave modest marks, like roads and forgotten objects, hinting at fleeting human impact. **In simple terms:** Godless people leave small, temporary marks. Key Takeaway Notice the modest legacy we leave. Themes mortality legacy humility Mood contemplative melancholic Type poetic philosophical When to use this quote - urban life - environmental awareness - memorials - personal reflection Key Concepts existentialism modernism Questions to Reflect On - What small marks do you want to leave? - How do everyday objects reflect humanity? A Different Perspective Legacy may be overlooked or erased over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Godless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/godless/) [Golf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/golf/) [Monument](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/monument/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) ## Related quotes > [“And the wind shall say: 'Here were decent Godless people: Their only monument the asphalt road And a thousand lost golf balls.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot-3/and-the-wind-shall-say-here-were-decent-godless-people-their-only/) [T S Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot-3/) > [“All I know about the Jews is what my grandfather taught me. "They are the most godless people," he used to say. "They start…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/umberto-eco/all-i-know-about-the-jews-is-what-my-grandfather-taught-me-they-are/) [Umberto Eco](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/umberto-eco/) > [“gravity chains us to the asphalt with such grace, we think it is kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maura-o-connor/gravity-chains-us-to-the-asphalt-with-such-grace-we-think-it-is-kind/) Maura O'Connor > [Big 35's whinin' on the asphalt. Grabbin' mud, and slingin' up some red dirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jackson/big-35-s-whinin-on-the-asphalt-grabbin-mud-and-slingin-up-some-red/) [Alan Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jackson/) > [At the Tour, you always have some fantastic days and some days where you hit the asphalt. Today was an asphalt day for me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-voigt/at-the-tour-you-always-have-some-fantastic-days-and-some-days-where/) [Jens Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-voigt/) > [Marilyn was one step from oblivion when I directed her in The Asphalt Jungle. I remember she impressed me more off the screen than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-huston/marilyn-was-one-step-from-oblivion-when-i-directed-her-in-the-asphalt/) [John Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-huston/) > [I was the first home-grown sex symbol, rather like Britain's naughty seaside postcards. When Marilyn Monroe's first film was shown here \[The Asphalt Jungle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-dors/i-was-the-first-home-grown-sex-symbol-rather-like-britain-s-naughty/) Diana Dors > [One way or another we all work for our vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-maddow/one-way-or-another-we-all-work-for-our-vice/) [Ben Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-maddow/) > [I learned to swing on monkey bars over asphalt. I learned that if you fall, it hurts, so you try not to fall. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cordes/i-learned-to-swing-on-monkey-bars-over-asphalt-i-learned-that-if-you/) Tim Cordes > [The dog writhing in the gutter, its back broken by a passing car, knows what it is to be alive. So too with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-greenstein/the-dog-writhing-in-the-gutter-its-back-broken-by-a-passing-car-knows/) George Greenstein > [In my old age, I have come to believe that love is not a noun but a verb. An action. Like water, it flows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-richman/in-my-old-age-i-have-come-to-believe-that-love-is-not-a-noun-but-a/) [Alyson Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-richman/) > [Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticide grain, For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. America, America, man sheds his waste on thee, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/oh-beautiful-for-smoggy-skies-insecticide-grain-for-strip-mined/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [Probably no single event highlights the strength of Campbell's argument (on peak oil) better than the rapid development of the Alberta tar sands. Bitumen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/probably-no-single-event-highlights-the-strength-of-campbell-s/) Andrew Nikiforuk > [And I saw it didn't matter who had loved me or who I loved. I was alone. The black oily asphalt, the slick beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/and-i-saw-it-didn-t-matter-who-had-loved-me-or-who-i-loved-i-was/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) ## More by T. S. Eliot > [The Nobel is a ticket to one's own funeral. No one has ever done anything after he got it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-nobel-is-a-ticket-to-one-s-own-funeral-no-one-has-ever-done/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Dear Mother, I am getting on nicely in my work at the bank, and like it ... I want to find out something about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/dear-mother-i-am-getting-on-nicely-in-my-work-at-the-bank-and-like-it/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith, But the faith and the love and the hope are all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/for-love-would-be-love-of-the-wrong-thing-there-is-yet-faith-but-the/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We must always take risks. That is our destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-must-always-take-risks-that-is-our-destiny/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [All significant truths are private truths. As they become public they cease to become truths; they become facts, or at best, part of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/all-significant-truths-are-private-truths-as-they-become-public-they/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [When forced to work within a strict framework, the imagination is taxed to its utmost and will produce its richest ideas. Given total freedom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/when-forced-to-work-within-a-strict-framework-the-imagination-is/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Honest criticism and sensitive appreciation are directed not upon the poet but upon the poetry.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/honest-criticism-and-sensitive-appreciation-are-directed-not-upon-the/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Desire itself is movement Not in itself desirable; Love is itself unmoving, Only the cause and end of movement, Timeless, and undesiring Except in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/desire-itself-is-movement-not-in-itself-desirable-love-is-itself/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [ the ordinary man's experience is chaotic, irregular, fragmentary. \[He\] falls in love or reads Spinoza, and these two experiences have nothing to do with… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-ordinary-man-s-experience-is-chaotic-irregular-fragmentary-he/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [We had the experience, but we missed the meaning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/we-had-the-experience-but-we-missed-the-meaning/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The end is in the beginning.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-end-is-in-the-beginning/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [You have learned enough to see that cats are much like you and me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/you-have-learned-enough-to-see-that-cats-are-much-like-you-and-me/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different than that from which it is torn.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/the-good-poet-welds-his-theft-into-a-whole-of-feeling-which-is-unique/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [It's strange that words are so inadequate. Yet, like the asthmatic struggling for breath, so the lover must struggle for words.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/it-s-strange-that-words-are-so-inadequate-yet-like-the-asthmatic/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) > [Every end is a beginning...And every beginning is an end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-s-eliot/every-end-is-a-beginning-and-every-beginning-is-an-end/) [T. S. Eliot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) [Explore all 433 T. S. Eliot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-s-eliot/) ## More Asphalt quotes > [A man could be a lover and defender of the wilderness without ever in his lifetime leaving the boundaries of asphalt, powerlines, and right-angled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-abbey/a-man-could-be-a-lover-and-defender-of-the-wilderness-without-ever-in/) [Edward Abbey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-abbey/) > [The dog writhing in the gutter, its back broken by a passing car, knows what it is to be alive. So too with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-greenstein/the-dog-writhing-in-the-gutter-its-back-broken-by-a-passing-car-knows/) George Greenstein > [“gravity chains us to the asphalt with such grace, we think it is kind.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maura-o-connor/gravity-chains-us-to-the-asphalt-with-such-grace-we-think-it-is-kind/) Maura O'Connor > [And I saw it didn't matter who had loved me or who I loved. I was alone. The black oily asphalt, the slick beauty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorianne-laux/and-i-saw-it-didn-t-matter-who-had-loved-me-or-who-i-loved-i-was/) [Dorianne Laux](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorianne-laux/) > [Probably no single event highlights the strength of Campbell's argument (on peak oil) better than the rapid development of the Alberta tar sands. Bitumen,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-nikiforuk/probably-no-single-event-highlights-the-strength-of-campbell-s/) Andrew Nikiforuk > [Oh Beautiful for smoggy skies, insecticide grain, For strip-mined mountain's majesty above the asphalt plain. America, America, man sheds his waste on thee, And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-carlin/oh-beautiful-for-smoggy-skies-insecticide-grain-for-strip-mined/) [George Carlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-carlin/) > [In my old age, I have come to believe that love is not a noun but a verb. An action. Like water, it flows…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alyson-richman/in-my-old-age-i-have-come-to-believe-that-love-is-not-a-noun-but-a/) [Alyson Richman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alyson-richman/) > [I learned to swing on monkey bars over asphalt. I learned that if you fall, it hurts, so you try not to fall. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-cordes/i-learned-to-swing-on-monkey-bars-over-asphalt-i-learned-that-if-you/) Tim Cordes > [One way or another we all work for our vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-maddow/one-way-or-another-we-all-work-for-our-vice/) [Ben Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-maddow/) > [I was the first home-grown sex symbol, rather like Britain's naughty seaside postcards. When Marilyn Monroe's first film was shown here \[The Asphalt Jungle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/diana-dors/i-was-the-first-home-grown-sex-symbol-rather-like-britain-s-naughty/) Diana Dors > [Marilyn was one step from oblivion when I directed her in The Asphalt Jungle. I remember she impressed me more off the screen than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-huston/marilyn-was-one-step-from-oblivion-when-i-directed-her-in-the-asphalt/) [John Huston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-huston/) > [At the Tour, you always have some fantastic days and some days where you hit the asphalt. Today was an asphalt day for me,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jens-voigt/at-the-tour-you-always-have-some-fantastic-days-and-some-days-where/) [Jens Voigt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jens-voigt/) > [Big 35's whinin' on the asphalt. Grabbin' mud, and slingin' up some red dirt.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-jackson/big-35-s-whinin-on-the-asphalt-grabbin-mud-and-slingin-up-some-red/) [Alan Jackson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-jackson/) > [The street curves in and out, up and down in great waves of asphalt; at night the granite tomb is noisy with starlings like…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-reznikoff/the-street-curves-in-and-out-up-and-down-in-great-waves-of-asphalt-at/) [Charles Reznikoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-reznikoff/) > [In a future that portends stronger and more-frequent hurricanes striking North America's Atlantic coast, ferocious winds will pummel tall, unsteady structures. Some will topple,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-weisman/in-a-future-that-portends-stronger-and-more-frequent-hurricanes/) [Alan Weisman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-weisman/) Browse all 47 Asphalt quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Here were decent godless people; Their only monument the asphalt road And a thousand lost golf balls.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "T. S. 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