---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was drowned, he used to say, and lying…"
description: "\"“He was drowned, he used to say, and lying on a cliff with gulls screaming over him. He would look over the edge of the sofa down into the sea. Or he w..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/virginia-woolf-49_hearing-music_he-was-drowned-he-used-to-say-and-lying_1377160.jpg"
---

#  He was drowned, he used to say, and lying on a cliff with…

![“He was drowned, he used to say, and lying on a cliff with gulls screaming over him. He would look over the edge of the sofa down into the sea. Or he was hearing music… But “Lovely!” he used to cry and the tears would run down his cheeks, which was to her the most dreadful thing of all, to see a…” quote by Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/virginia-woolf-49_hearing-music_he-was-drowned-he-used-to-say-and-lying_1377160.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/virginia-woolf-49_hearing-music_he-was-drowned-he-used-to-say-and-lying_1377160.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dec/virginia-woolf-49_hearing-music_he-was-drowned-he-used-to-say-and-lying_1377160.jpg)

> ““He was drowned, he used to say, and lying on a cliff with gulls screaming over him. He would look over the edge of the sofa down into the sea. Or he was hearing music… But “Lovely!” he used to cry and the tears would run down his cheeks, which was to her the most dreadful thing of all, to see a man like Septimus, who had fought, who was brave, crying. And he would lie listening until suddenly he would cry that he was falling down, down into the flames!””

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

## About This Quote

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

The passage describes a man's intense emotional turmoil, mixing fear, beauty, and despair in a surreal, lyrical way.

**In simple terms:** A man feels deep, conflicting emotions.

Key Takeaway

Acknowledge and process complex feelings.

Themes

emotion art despair

Mood

melancholic introspective

Type

literary philosophical

When to use this quote

- grief
- artistic creation
- mental health
- personal crisis

Key Concepts

existentialism stream of consciousness

Questions to Reflect On

- What does “lovely” signify here?
- How do you confront inner turmoil?

A Different Perspective

Interpretation may vary widely.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Brave Crying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brave-crying-4759220/) [Crying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/crying/) [Drowned](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/drowned/) [Hearing music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/hearing-music/) [Like Septimus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/like-septimus-4127270/) [Music](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/music/) [Septimus Fought](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/septimus-fought-2781824/)

## Related quotes

> [“And it was cowardly for a man to say he would kill himself, but Septimus had fought; he was brave; he was not Septimus…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/and-it-was-cowardly-for-a-man-to-say-he-would-kill-himself-but/)

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> [I really like Septimus Heap. he is my favorite guy in the story. I should make you all read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angie-sage/i-really-like-septimus-heap-he-is-my-favorite-guy-in-the-story-i/)

[Angie Sage](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angie-sage/)

> [“So he was deserted. The whole world was clamouring: Kill yourself, kill yourself, for our sakes. But why should he kill himself for their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/so-he-was-deserted-the-whole-world-was-clamouring-kill-yourself-kill-2/)

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> [“Naturally men are drowned in a storm, but it is a perfectly straightforward affair, and the depths of the sea are only water after…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/naturally-men-are-drowned-in-a-storm-but-it-is-a-perfectly/)

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> [“She looked pale, mysterious, like a lily, drowned under water, he thought.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-looked-pale-mysterious-like-a-lily-drowned-under-water-he-thought/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [I've always believed in good music over bad music. I believe in two sorts of musics. And the lines that separate us, I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jay-z/i-ve-always-believed-in-good-music-over-bad-music-i-believe-in-two/)

[Jay-Z](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jay-z/)

> [In the past, hearing music had more value.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/girl-talk/in-the-past-hearing-music-had-more-value/)

[Girl Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/girl-talk/)

> [I've been changed watching films or reading books or hearing music, and that helps you to live your life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/juliette-binoche/i-ve-been-changed-watching-films-or-reading-books-or-hearing-music/)

[Juliette Binoche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/juliette-binoche/)

> [The still, sad music of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-greenleaf-whittier/the-still-sad-music-of-humanity/)

[John Greenleaf Whittier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-greenleaf-whittier/)

> [When I hear music, I fear no danger. I am invulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/when-i-hear-music-i-fear-no-danger-i-am-invulnerable/)

[Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/)

> [People are still hearing your music. They might not be buying it, but they might be having it and you don't know it. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keith-sweat/people-are-still-hearing-your-music-they-might-not-be-buying-it-but/)

[Keith Sweat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keith-sweat/)

> [To listen fully means to pay close attention to what is being said beneath the words. You listen not only to the 'music,' but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-senge/to-listen-fully-means-to-pay-close-attention-to-what-is-being-said/)

[Peter Senge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-senge/)

> [It was amazing to me that, all of a sudden, I was hearing my music on the radio and coming out of cars.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lenny-kravitz/it-was-amazing-to-me-that-all-of-a-sudden-i-was-hearing-my-music-on/)

[Lenny Kravitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lenny-kravitz/)

> [“This girl wasn’t tapping her fingers restlessly, though. Her movements were methodical. Synchronized. Sitting far enough to the left of her to study her…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tammara-webber/this-girl-wasn-t-tapping-her-fingers-restlessly-though-her-movements/)

[Tammara Webber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tammara-webber/)

> [I was hearing music in my head and trying to play it on the clarinet, but it didn't match.' Then, literally the first day,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kamasi-washington/i-was-hearing-music-in-my-head-and-trying-to-play-it-on-the-clarinet/)

[Kamasi Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kamasi-washington/)

## More by Virginia Woolf

> [Fatigue is the safest sleeping draught.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/fatigue-is-the-safest-sleeping-draught/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“The train slows and lengthens, as we approach London, the centre, and my heart draws out too, in fear, in exaltation. I am about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-train-slows-and-lengthens-as-we-approach-london-the-centre-and-my/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Across the broad continent of a woman's life falls the shadow of a sword. On one side all is correct, definite, orderly; the paths…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/across-the-broad-continent-of-a-woman-s-life-falls-the-shadow-of-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Other worshipful objects were content with worship; men, women, God, all let one kneel prostrate; but this form, were it only the shape of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/other-worshipful-objects-were-content-with-worship-men-women-god-all/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [Why does Samuel Butler say, 'Wise men never say what they think of women'? Wise men never say anything else apparently.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/why-does-samuel-butler-say-wise-men-never-say-what-they-think-of/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“Sometimes he woke with a brain like lead; at others it was as if a thousand wax tapers were alight and people were throwing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/sometimes-he-woke-with-a-brain-like-lead-at-others-it-was-as-if-a/)

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> [The extraordinary woman depends on the ordinary woman. It is only when we know what were the conditions of the average woman's life -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/the-extraordinary-woman-depends-on-the-ordinary-woman-it-is-only-when/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [A veil of insanity everywhere: Oh why I was born in this age? It is a terrible age.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/a-veil-of-insanity-everywhere-oh-why-i-was-born-in-this-age-it-is-a/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

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> [“It is so vast an alleviation to be able to point for another to look at. And then not to talk. To follow the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/it-is-so-vast-an-alleviation-to-be-able-to-point-for-another-to-look/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“What a vast fertility of pleasure books hold for me! (...) I think I could happily live here & read forever.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-vast-fertility-of-pleasure-books-hold-for-me-i-think-i-could/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“what a luxury to be alone once more,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/what-a-luxury-to-be-alone-once-more/)

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> [“For one's children so often gave one's own perceptions a little thrust forwards.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/for-one-s-children-so-often-gave-one-s-own-perceptions-a-little/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [“She would not say of anyone in the world now that they were this or were that. She felt very young; at the same…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/she-would-not-say-of-anyone-in-the-world-now-that-they-were-this-or/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

[Explore all 1,872 Virginia Woolf quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

## More Crying quotes

> [U dount need eny cuz when u get in a relaishondhip u love it forever not for crying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/no-athors-name-i-made-it/u-dount-need-eny-cuz-when-u-get-in-a-relaishondhip-u-love-it-forever/)

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> [ That's probably why my face was looking so crazy when I was crying \[in "Hardball"\] because it was some real. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-b-jordan/that-s-probably-why-my-face-was-looking-so-crazy-when-i-was-crying-in/)

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> [When you are not there in my life its like: Shoes without shoe laces A letter without a stamp A flower with no roots…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-you-are-not-there-in-my-life-its-like-shoes-without-shoe-laces-a/)

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> [When you watch movies and you see people cry from happiness, I've never cried from happiness before in my life. So when I'm crying…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leon-edwards/when-you-watch-movies-and-you-see-people-cry-from-happiness-i-ve/)

[Leon Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leon-edwards/)

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> [Break up was not made for you to cry.. But to take you away from the wrong man who you thought was the right…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/break-up-was-not-made-for-you-to-cry-but-to-take-you-away-from-the/)

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> [While the godly father and mother spews poison, the baby crying for help.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/while-the-godly-father-and-mother-spews-poison-the-baby-crying-for/)

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[Nathan Daniels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-daniels/)

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