---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: i will live by the gun and die by the gun"
description: "\"i will live by the gun and die by the gun\" — Tupac Shakur"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/tupac-shakur-516_gun_i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gu_1615922.jpg"
---

#  i will live by the gun and die by the gun

![“i will live by the gun and die by the gun” quote by Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/tupac-shakur-516_gun_i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gu_1615922.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/tupac-shakur-516_gun_i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gu_1615922.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/tupac-shakur-516_gun_i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gu_1615922.jpg)

> “i will live by the gun and die by the gun”

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Living by violence leads to a violent end, reflecting a fatalistic worldview.

**In simple terms:** Violence begets violence.

Key Takeaway

Break the cycle of violence.

Themes

violence fatalism street life consequences

Mood

somber reflective

Type

cautionary philosophical

When to use this quote

- personal conflict
- community safety
- gang intervention
- rehabilitation programs

Key Concepts

self‑destruction survival social environment

Questions to Reflect On

- What choices can break this deadly pattern?
- How does environment shape such beliefs?

A Different Perspective

Romanticizing violence can perpetuate harm.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gun/)

## Related quotes

> [Live by the gun die by the bullet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2pac/live-by-the-gun-die-by-the-bullet/)

[2pac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2pac/)

> [Live by a Gun or die by a Bullet!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mb-max/live-by-a-gun-or-die-by-a-bullet/)

Mb Max

> [You live by the gun and knife, and die by the gun and knife.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-valachi/you-live-by-the-gun-and-knife-and-die-by-the-gun-and-knife/)

Joe Valachi

> [You can live by the gun or die by the bullet. Niggaz push me for sho I'm gonna pull it, material objects got the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-yayo/you-can-live-by-the-gun-or-die-by-the-bullet-niggaz-push-me-for-sho-i/)

[Tony Yayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-yayo/)

> [Live by the gun. Die by the gun-](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/2pac/live-by-the-gun-die-by-the-gun/)

[2pac](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/2pac/)

> [You live by the gun or die by the gun](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-live-by-the-gun-or-die-by-the-gun/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [Guns get blast niggaz on that shook shit, so live by the gun or die by the bullet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-yayo/guns-get-blast-niggaz-on-that-shook-shit-so-live-by-the-gun-or-die-by/)

[Tony Yayo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-yayo/)

> [Ya doing ya job, every day And then you work so hard til ya hair turn gray Let me tell you about life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/snoop-dogg/ya-doing-ya-job-every-day-and-then-you-work-so-hard-til-ya-hair-turn/)

[Snoop Dogg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/snoop-dogg/)

> [When a person has a gun, sometimes their mind clicks that this thing will win arguments and straighten people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/when-a-person-has-a-gun-sometimes-their-mind-clicks-that-this-thing/)

[Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/)

> [If you really want to kill yourself, you get a gun and blow your head off](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lorna-luft/if-you-really-want-to-kill-yourself-you-get-a-gun-and-blow-your-head/)

[Lorna Luft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lorna-luft/)

> [It's one thing to shoot yourself in the foot. Just don't reload the gun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-graham/it-s-one-thing-to-shoot-yourself-in-the-foot-just-don-t-reload-the-gun/)

[Lindsey Graham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-graham/)

> [I'd take a bullet for just about anyone! If someone pulled out a gun, I'd step in front of you even though I've never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-wilkos/i-d-take-a-bullet-for-just-about-anyone-if-someone-pulled-out-a-gun-i/)

[Steve Wilkos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-wilkos/)

> [Only one chance one bullet in the gun. This is my life and I only got one, yeah. The safety’s off and I put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicki-minaj/only-one-chance-one-bullet-in-the-gun-this-is-my-life-and-i-only-got/)

[Nicki Minaj](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicki-minaj/)

> [First ship them dope, let them deal to brothers, give them guns, step back and watch them kill each other.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/first-ship-them-dope-let-them-deal-to-brothers-give-them-guns-step/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [It's time we stop worrying, and get angry you know? But not angry and pick up a gun, but angry and open our minds.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-time-we-stop-worrying-and-get-angry-you-know-but-not-angry-and/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

## More by Tupac Shakur

> [This duo inside of me causes the perfect opportunity to live and learn twice as fast as those who choose to accept simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-duo-inside-of-me-causes-the-perfect-opportunity-to-live-and/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-a-constant-man-ego-check-going-on-in-the-streets-in-this-world/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [When an angel comes down and takes me away, memories of me and my songs will always stay until the end of time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/when-an-angel-comes-down-and-takes-me-away-memories-of-me-and-my/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [My mother taught me three things, respect, knowledge-search for knowledge, it's an eternal journey. That's like my hair-cut, the line, 360 degrees, find knowledge…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/my-mother-taught-me-three-things-respect-knowledge-search-for/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [I' ve been shot five times but I'm still breathing living proof there a god if you need a reason.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-ve-been-shot-five-times-but-i-m-still-breathing-living-proof-there/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [I wanna take your misery, replace it with happiness but I need your faith in me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-wanna-take-your-misery-replace-it-with-happiness-but-i-need-your/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [I didn't introduce thug life to America. Thug life is America. I don't get why the whole world is fearing me. I am scared,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-didn-t-introduce-thug-life-to-america-thug-life-is-america-i-don-t/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/sometimes-i-sit-and-look-at-life-from-a-different-angle/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [Everything bad you do comes back around to you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/everything-bad-you-do-comes-back-around-to-you/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [I just spent 11 and a half months in a maximum-security jail, got shot five times, and was wrongly convicted of a crime I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-just-spent-11-and-a-half-months-in-a-maximum-security-jail-got-shot/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [It's like if you plant something in the concrete and if it grow and the rose petal got all kinda scratches and marks, you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/it-s-like-if-you-plant-something-in-the-concrete-and-if-it-grow-and/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [Every female wanna come up to me and show me how much they're not attracted to me... these minority women... they're the only women…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/every-female-wanna-come-up-to-me-and-show-me-how-much-they-re-not/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [I'm 100 percent original, and that's what got me here. My rap music is more understandable, slower. It tells a story. You can write…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-m-100-percent-original-and-that-s-what-got-me-here-my-rap-music-is/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [This time the truth's gettin told, heard enough lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/this-time-the-truth-s-gettin-told-heard-enough-lies/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

> [If that's what the court can do, then punish me more then I've been punished already.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/if-that-s-what-the-court-can-do-then-punish-me-more-then-i-ve-been/)

[Tupac Shakur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

[Explore all 505 Tupac Shakur quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/)

## More Bullet quotes

> [Luckily, the bullet that hit my chest never got to me. It was stopped by a silver case I got for my brother's wedding.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-doohan/luckily-the-bullet-that-hit-my-chest-never-got-to-me-it-was-stopped/)

[James Doohan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-doohan/)

> [“Lately, it had been an endless procession of long, black nights and gray mornings, when her sense of failure swept over her like a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-flagg/lately-it-had-been-an-endless-procession-of-long-black-nights-and/)

[Fannie Flagg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-flagg/)

> [So far I'm still standing on 'Sons of Anarchy' but all the rest of the people on the show have me in their crosshairs…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mitch-pileggi/so-far-i-m-still-standing-on-sons-of-anarchy-but-all-the-rest-of-the/)

Mitch Pileggi

> [The bullet that will kill me is not yet cast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/napoleon-bonaparte/the-bullet-that-will-kill-me-is-not-yet-cast/)

[Napoleon Bonaparte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/napoleon-bonaparte/)

> [When a person has a gun, sometimes their mind clicks that this thing will win arguments and straighten people out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/when-a-person-has-a-gun-sometimes-their-mind-clicks-that-this-thing/)

[Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/)

> [When you give someone a second chance, you're giving them an extra bullet to shoot you with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-give-someone-a-second-chance-you-re-giving-them-an-extra/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“If mankind's destined to bite the bullet, let's bite it and be damned.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darren-shan/if-mankind-s-destined-to-bite-the-bullet-let-s-bite-it-and-be-damned/)

[Darren Shan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darren-shan/)

> [This is like playing Russian roulette with a Luger rather than a revolver. One bullet, one chamber - and we're pulling the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/this-is-like-playing-russian-roulette-with-a-luger-rather-than-a/)

[Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/)

> [For Whom Would You Take This Bullet ?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ali-bassam/for-whom-would-you-take-this-bullet/)

[Ali Bassam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ali-bassam/)

> [“I don’t know how these things died without benefit of a bullet to the brain pan. They seemed to exist in an eternal twilight…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-ramirez/i-don-t-know-how-these-things-died-without-benefit-of-a-bullet-to-the/)

[Steven Ramirez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-ramirez/)

> [I was playing in the league when Ray Guy was playing in the league. He was the best kicker I've ever seen. He could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gale-sayers/i-was-playing-in-the-league-when-ray-guy-was-playing-in-the-league-he/)

[Gale Sayers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gale-sayers/)

> [I carved your name into this bullet so that everyone would know that you were the last thing going through my head.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-carved-your-name-into-this-bullet-so-that-everyone-would-know-that/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [If you take a shot at someone, you keep firing until they can no longer return fire. Wound them, and you have an angry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-traviss/if-you-take-a-shot-at-someone-you-keep-firing-until-they-can-no/)

[Karen Traviss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-traviss/)

> [“So I heard the boom of my father's rifle when he shot my best friend. A bullet only costs about two cents, and anybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherman-alexie/so-i-heard-the-boom-of-my-father-s-rifle-when-he-shot-my-best-friend/)

[Sherman Alexie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherman-alexie/)

> [I'll be your number one with a bullet. A loaded god complex, cock it and pull it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fall-out-boy/i-ll-be-your-number-one-with-a-bullet-a-loaded-god-complex-cock-it/)

[Fall Out Boy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fall-out-boy/)

Browse all 493 Bullet quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "i will live by the gun and die by the gun",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Tupac Shakur"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gun/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Bullet"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gun/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/tupac-shakur-516_gun_i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gu_1615922.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/tupac-shakur-516_gun_i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gu_1615922.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/493/tupac-shakur-516_gun_i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gu_1615922.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“i will live by the gun and die by the gun” — Tupac Shakur",
                "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": "Tupac Shakur",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tupac-shakur/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "i will live by the gun...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gun/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tupac-shakur/i-will-live-by-the-gun-and-die-by-the-gun/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
