--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: So often times it happens that we live…" description: "\"“So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key.\" ( Already Gone )”\" — The Eagles" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/the-eagles-16746_gone_so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-o_766608.jpg" --- # So often times it happens that we live our lives in… ![“So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key." ( Already Gone )” quote by The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/the-eagles-16746_gone_so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-o_766608.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/the-eagles-16746_gone_so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-o_766608.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/the-eagles-16746_gone_so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-o_766608.jpg) > ““So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key." ( Already Gone )”” [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. We often feel trapped by unseen constraints, unaware that we possess the means to free ourselves. **In simple terms:** We’re trapped without realizing we have the key to freedom. Key Takeaway Recognize and use your inner freedom. Themes freedom self-awareness limitations Mood reflective hopeful Type inspirational motivational When to use this quote - relationships - career - mental health - creative projects Key Concepts psychology personal empowerment Questions to Reflect On - What hidden constraints are you unaware of? - How can you discover the key to your freedom? A Different Perspective The key may be hidden by fear or denial, making it hard to recognize. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Chains Know](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chains-know-505275/) [Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) [Key Gone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/key-gone-808901/) [Lives Chains](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lives-chains-505274/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Times Happens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/times-happens-352456/) ## Related quotes > [So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-our-lives-in-chains-and-we-2/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“So often does it happen that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know there is no key.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chuck-klosterman/so-often-does-it-happen-that-we-live-our-lives-in-chains-and-we-never/) [Chuck Klosterman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chuck-klosterman/) > [So often in time it happens, we all live our life in chains, and we never even know we have the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/so-often-in-time-it-happens-we-all-live-our-life-in-chains-and-we/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [“I see.” Her troubled gaze focused on the lock. “And the key would be ... ?” “Gone,” he said. “Lost years ago. Not that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patricia-coughlin/i-see-her-troubled-gaze-focused-on-the-lock-and-the-key-would-be-gone/) [Patricia Coughlin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patricia-coughlin/) > [We all live our lives in chains, and we never even notice we have the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/we-all-live-our-lives-in-chains-and-we-never-even-notice-we-have-the/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Who among us is free? Only those who see their chains know what freedom means.-pg. 123 Welland Hevington, A Memoir "The Demon's Daughter”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emma-holly/who-among-us-is-free-only-those-who-see-their-chains-know-what/) [Emma Holly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emma-holly/) > [“If I've heard this saying once, I've heard it a thousand times - Everything happens for a reason. And it possibly does. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/if-i-ve-heard-this-saying-once-i-ve-heard-it-a-thousand-times/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I have written and said countless times it is not what happens to you in life that makes a difference! It is how we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-pena/i-have-written-and-said-countless-times-it-is-not-what-happens-to-you/) [Dan Pena](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-pena/) > [But if I've heard this saying once, I've heard it a thousand times- everything happens for a reason. And possibly it does. I just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerry-lawler/but-if-i-ve-heard-this-saying-once-i-ve-heard-it-a-thousand-times/) [Jerry Lawler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jerry-lawler/) > [A lot of times what happens is, not even just with child actors, but people in general, is they get so caught up in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-jamal-warner/a-lot-of-times-what-happens-is-not-even-just-with-child-actors-but/) [Malcolm-Jamal Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-jamal-warner/) > [Even if we love someone very much, at times it happens that we forget about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zbigniew-herbert/even-if-we-love-someone-very-much-at-times-it-happens-that-we-forget/) [Zbigniew Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zbigniew-herbert/) > [“I'm not sure how old I am, mainly because there are so many different ways to tel time-one one way with clocks and watches…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-m-not-sure-how-old-i-am-mainly-because-there-are-so-many-different/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Things change. Sometimes it’s abrupt, knocking you off your feet as life throws a curveball nobody expected, turning worlds upside down and leaving those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-m-darhower/things-change-sometimes-it-s-abrupt-knocking-you-off-your-feet-as/) [J.M. Darhower](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-m-darhower/) > [I don't take for granted that I wake up. I appreciate it when I do, those times when it still happens.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/king-diamond/i-don-t-take-for-granted-that-i-wake-up-i-appreciate-it-when-i-do/) [King Diamond](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/king-diamond/) > [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/) ## More by The Eagles > [Some people never come clean, I think you know what I mean. You're walking a wire between pain and desire, and looking for love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/some-people-never-come-clean-i-think-you-know-what-i-mean-you-re/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [Freedom, well, that's just some people talking. Your prison is walking through this world all alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/freedom-well-that-s-just-some-people-talking-your-prison-is-walking/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [“Mirrors on the ceiling, The pink champagne on ice And she said 'We are all just prisoners here, of our own device' And in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/mirrors-on-the-ceiling-the-pink-champagne-on-ice-and-she-said-we-are/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [The towns lay out across the dusty planes, like graveyards filled with tombstones, waiting for the names.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/the-towns-lay-out-across-the-dusty-planes-like-graveyards-filled-with/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [Some rich man came and raped the land, nobody caught him. Put up a bunch of ugly boxes, and Jesus, people bought them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/some-rich-man-came-and-raped-the-land-nobody-caught-him-put-up-a/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [I was standing all alone against the world outside. You were searching for a place to hide. Lost and lonely, now you've given me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/i-was-standing-all-alone-against-the-world-outside-you-were-searching/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [They will never forget you until somebody new comes along.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/they-will-never-forget-you-until-somebody-new-comes-along/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [In one hand I've got a Bible, in the other I've got a gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/in-one-hand-i-ve-got-a-bible-in-the-other-i-ve-got-a-gun/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [Why do we give up our hearts to the past?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/why-do-we-give-up-our-hearts-to-the-past/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [“Freeways flickering; cell phones chiming a tune We're riding to Utopia; road map says we'll be arriving soon Captains of the old order clinging…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/freeways-flickering-cell-phones-chiming-a-tune-we-re-riding-to-utopia/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [Every form of refuge has it's price.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/every-form-of-refuge-has-it-s-price/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [Mirrors on the ceiling and pink champagne on ice, we are just prisoners here of own device.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/mirrors-on-the-ceiling-and-pink-champagne-on-ice-we-are-just/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [Her mind is Tiffany twisted.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/her-mind-is-tiffany-twisted/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [“Every place of refuge has its price.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/every-place-of-refuge-has-its-price/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) > [Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy, she'll beat you if she's able. You know, the Queen of Hearts is always your best…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/don-t-you-draw-the-queen-of-diamonds-boy-she-ll-beat-you-if-she-s/) [The Eagles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) [Explore all 39 The Eagles quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/) ## 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.. 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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 ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gone/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key.\" ( Already Gone )”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "The Eagles" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-our-lives-in-chains-and-we/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Gone" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-our-lives-in-chains-and-we/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/the-eagles-16746_gone_so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-o_766608.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/the-eagles-16746_gone_so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-o_766608.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/111/the-eagles-16746_gone_so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-o_766608.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“So often times it happens that we live our lives in chains, and we never even know we have the key.\" (…” — The Eagles", "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": "The Eagles", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/the-eagles/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“So often times it happens that...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-our-lives-in-chains-and-we/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/the-eagles/so-often-times-it-happens-that-we-live-our-lives-in-chains-and-we/#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 } } ] } ```