--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: For a long while- for many years, in…" description: "\"“For a long while- for many years, in fact- he had not thought of how it was before he came to the farm. His memory of those times was like a house whe..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/truman-capote-376_memory_for-a-long-while-for-many-years-in-fact_1633262.jpg" --- # For a long while- for many years, in fact- he had not… ![“For a long while- for many years, in fact- he had not thought of how it was before he came to the farm. His memory of those times was like a house where no one lives and where the furniture has rotted away. But tonight it was as if lamps had been lighted through all the gloomy dead rooms. It had…” quote by Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/truman-capote-376_memory_for-a-long-while-for-many-years-in-fact_1633262.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/truman-capote-376_memory_for-a-long-while-for-many-years-in-fact_1633262.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f8/truman-capote-376_memory_for-a-long-while-for-many-years-in-fact_1633262.jpg) > ““For a long while- for many years, in fact- he had not thought of how it was before he came to the farm. His memory of those times was like a house where no one lives and where the furniture has rotted away. But tonight it was as if lamps had been lighted through all the gloomy dead rooms. It had begun to happen when he saw Tico Feo coming through the dusk with his splendid guitar. Until that moment he had not been lonesome. Now, recognizing his loneliness, he felt alive. He had not wanted to be alive. To be alive was to remember brown rivers where the fish run, and sunlight on a lady's hair.”” [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A solitary man’s life is revived by music and companionship, illuminating how art can awaken dormant emotions and a sense of belonging. **In simple terms:** Music and friendship revive a lonely soul. Key Takeaway Seek art and companionship to feel alive. Themes loneliness artistic awakening transformation Mood hopeful melancholic inspirational Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - personal crisis - artistic inspiration - healing moments Key Concepts music companionship emotional rebirth Questions to Reflect On - What role does music play in your own moments of loneliness? - Can companionship replace inner emptiness? A Different Perspective Art may not reach everyone; loneliness can persist despite stimuli. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ## Related quotes > [“He had no thought og how it was before he came to the farm. 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That's my goal.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patch-adams/what-i-really-want-is-a-world-where-no-one-alive-can-remember-what/) [Patch Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patch-adams/) > [We were alive. I remember it that way. We were still alive, and we couldn't see how close we were to the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nova-ren-suma/we-were-alive-i-remember-it-that-way-we-were-still-alive-and-we/) [Nova Ren Suma](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nova-ren-suma/) > [“At such hours there was a democracy of loneliness; one felt the smog of it to be equitably distributed. Lucy”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-lodato/at-such-hours-there-was-a-democracy-of-loneliness-one-felt-the-smog/) [Victor Lodato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-lodato/) > [“And she would feel that sharp loneliness she had felt every long evening since she was a child. It was the kind of loneliness…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/and-she-would-feel-that-sharp-loneliness-she-had-felt-every-long/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [“Night is coming on and I am filled with indescribable loneliness. Felt feverish; bathed in a black, silent stream;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-muir/night-is-coming-on-and-i-am-filled-with-indescribable-loneliness-felt/) [John Muir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-muir/) > [I'll never forget how the depression and loneliness felt good and bad at the same time. Still does.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-rollins/i-ll-never-forget-how-the-depression-and-loneliness-felt-good-and-bad/) [Henry Rollins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-rollins/) > [“I lay there with my mind running amuck, on the brink of madness. And somehow, gradually, early Sunday morning, I became calm. I can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-marsden/i-lay-there-with-my-mind-running-amuck-on-the-brink-of-madness-and/) [John Marsden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-marsden/) > [“The loneliness she felt before Frank walked her home from Wang's cleaners began to dissolve and in its place a shiver of freedom, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toni-morrison/the-loneliness-she-felt-before-frank-walked-her-home-from-wang-s/) [Toni Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toni-morrison/) > [At the enchanted metropolitan twilight I felt a haunting loneliness sometimes, and felt it in others -- poor young clerks who loitered in front…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/f-scott-fitzgerald/at-the-enchanted-metropolitan-twilight-i-felt-a-haunting-loneliness/) [F. Scott Fitzgerald](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/f-scott-fitzgerald/) > [I left the library. Crossing the street, I was hit head-on by a brutal loneliness. I felt dark and hollow. Abandoned, unnoticed, forgotten, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicole-krauss/i-left-the-library-crossing-the-street-i-was-hit-head-on-by-a-brutal/) [Nicole Krauss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicole-krauss/) ## More by Truman Capote > [“You can beat your brains out for her, and she’ll hand you horseshit on a platter.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/you-can-beat-your-brains-out-for-her-and-she-ll-hand-you-horseshit-on/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“The walls of the cell fell away, the sky came down, I saw the big yellow bird.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/the-walls-of-the-cell-fell-away-the-sky-came-down-i-saw-the-big/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“Don't wanna ride on the devil's side...just wanna ride with you”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/don-t-wanna-ride-on-the-devil-s-side-just-wanna-ride-with-you/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [Wrinkles and bones, white hair and diamonds: I can't wait.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/wrinkles-and-bones-white-hair-and-diamonds-i-can-t-wait/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [You can't blame a writer for what the characters say.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/you-can-t-blame-a-writer-for-what-the-characters-say/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [There is really no practical help that one can offer; it is a matter of self-discovery, of one's own convictions, or working with one's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/there-is-really-no-practical-help-that-one-can-offer-it-is-a-matter/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“...Narcissus was so egotist...he was merely another of us who, in our unshatterable isolation, recognized, on seeing his reflection, the beautiful comrade, the only…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/narcissus-was-so-egotist-he-was-merely-another-of-us-who-in-our/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“Is it - I'm not certain - possible to love someone if your first interest is the use you can make of him? Doesn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/is-it-i-m-not-certain-possible-to-love-someone-if-your-first-interest/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [One of the most difficult things in writing a novel or anything at all is to choose the point of view from which it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/one-of-the-most-difficult-things-in-writing-a-novel-or-anything-at/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [I've never worked for a newspaper. I've had some very bad reviews in newspapers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/i-ve-never-worked-for-a-newspaper-i-ve-had-some-very-bad-reviews-in/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [But, my dear, so few things are fulfilled: what are most lives but a series of incompleted episodes? 'We work in the dark, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/but-my-dear-so-few-things-are-fulfilled-what-are-most-lives-but-a/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“…she, glittery voyager of secure destination, steamed down the harbor with whistles whistling and confetti in the air.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/she-glittery-voyager-of-secure-destination-steamed-down-the-harbor/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“Because it's indeed difficult to portray, in any meaningful depth, another being, his appearance, speech, mentality, without to some degree, and often for quite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/because-it-s-indeed-difficult-to-portray-in-any-meaningful-depth/) [truman capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“It's a bore, but the answer is good things only happen to you if you're good. Good? Honest is more what I mean. Not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/it-s-a-bore-but-the-answer-is-good-things-only-happen-to-you-if-you/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) > [“In the courtyard there was an angel of black stone, and its angel head rose above giant elephant leaves; the stark glass angel eyes,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/truman-capote/in-the-courtyard-there-was-an-angel-of-black-stone-and-its-angel-head/) [Truman Capote](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) [Explore all 585 Truman Capote quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/truman-capote/) ## More Memory quotes > [I was 3-years-old - to this day it is a vivid memory. My family and I were on a boat, catching fish. As one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joaquin-phoenix/i-was-3-years-old-to-this-day-it-is-a-vivid-memory-my-family-and-i/) [Joaquin Phoenix](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joaquin-phoenix/) > [“Maybe there is something when it all ends. Maybe there is memory, memory of the person you loved, when you lived. Maybe this is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-ellison/maybe-there-is-something-when-it-all-ends-maybe-there-is-memory/) [Kate Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-ellison/) > [In literature and art memory is a synonym for invention. It is the life-blood of imagination, which faints and dies when the veins are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-aris-willmott/in-literature-and-art-memory-is-a-synonym-for-invention-it-is-the/) [Robert Aris Willmott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-aris-willmott/) > [Memory is funny. Once you hit a vein the problem is not how to remember but how to control the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tobias-wolff/memory-is-funny-once-you-hit-a-vein-the-problem-is-not-how-to/) [Tobias Wolff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tobias-wolff/) > [Once upon a time. Ah forget it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/once-upon-a-time-ah-forget-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I am told many children block out the memory of trauma. In fact, the healing process can only truly begin when we are willing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-stone/i-am-told-many-children-block-out-the-memory-of-trauma-in-fact-the/) [Phoebe Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-stone/) > [“The whole town rushed outside to celebrate this crowded minute when the time of suffering had ended and the time of forgetting had not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-camus/the-whole-town-rushed-outside-to-celebrate-this-crowded-minute-when/) [Albert Camus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-camus/) > [I have a memory like an elephant. I remember every elephant I've ever met.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herb-caen/i-have-a-memory-like-an-elephant-i-remember-every-elephant-i-ve-ever/) [Herb Caen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herb-caen/) > [Your memory is a monster; you forget - it doesn't. It simply files things away. It keeps things for you, or hides things from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/your-memory-is-a-monster-you-forget-it-doesn-t-it-simply-files-things/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [My first Olympics memory was watching Haile Gebrselassie in Sydney 2000. His sprint finish to defend his title really moved me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mo-farah/my-first-olympics-memory-was-watching-haile-gebrselassie-in-sydney/) [Mo Farah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mo-farah/) > [That old man dies prematurely whose memory records no benefits conferred. They only have lived long who have lived virtuously.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-brinsley-sheridan/that-old-man-dies-prematurely-whose-memory-records-no-benefits/) [Richard Brinsley Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-brinsley-sheridan/) > [My greatest memories as a kid were playing sports with my dad and watching sports with my dad.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-teixeira/my-greatest-memories-as-a-kid-were-playing-sports-with-my-dad-and/) [Mark Teixeira](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-teixeira/) > [What’s the use of remembering anything? If it was unpleasant it was unpleasant and if it was pleasant it’s over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elaine-dundy/what-s-the-use-of-remembering-anything-if-it-was-unpleasant-it-was/) [Elaine Dundy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elaine-dundy/) > [Always remember a little thing can change everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/always-remember-a-little-thing-can-change-everything/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If God knows me I will never forget him](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trunxbeats/if-god-knows-me-i-will-never-forget-him/) Trunxbeats [Browse all 12,248 Memory quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“For a long while- for many years, in fact- he had not thought of how it was before he came to the farm. His memory of those times was like a house where no one lives and where the furniture has rotted away. 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