--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I was standing outside myself trying to…" description: "\"“I was standing outside myself trying to stop those hangings with ghost fingers... I am a ghost wanting what every ghost wants-a body-after the Long Ti..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/william-s-burroughs-528_long-time_i-was-standing-outside-myself-trying-to_559410.jpg" --- # I was standing outside myself trying to stop those… ![“I was standing outside myself trying to stop those hangings with ghost fingers... I am a ghost wanting what every ghost wants-a body-after the Long Time moving through odorless alleys of space where no life is, only the colorless no smell of death...Nobody can breath and smell it through pink…” quote by William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/william-s-burroughs-528_long-time_i-was-standing-outside-myself-trying-to_559410.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/william-s-burroughs-528_long-time_i-was-standing-outside-myself-trying-to_559410.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f5e/william-s-burroughs-528_long-time_i-was-standing-outside-myself-trying-to_559410.jpg) > ““I was standing outside myself trying to stop those hangings with ghost fingers... I am a ghost wanting what every ghost wants-a body-after the Long Time moving through odorless alleys of space where no life is, only the colorless no smell of death...Nobody can breath and smell it through pink convolutions of gristle laced with crystal snot, time shit and black blood filters of flesh.”” [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A surreal depiction of alienation and the yearning for physical existence amid a lifeless, oppressive environment. **In simple terms:** A ghost longs for a body in a dead world. Key Takeaway Seek tangible connections despite existential emptiness. Themes alienation existentialism despair surrealism Mood melancholic introspective Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - psychological introspection - philosophical contemplation Key Concepts identity mortality materiality Questions to Reflect On - How does feeling like a ghost affect daily choices? - What anchors can ground you in reality? A Different Perspective The metaphor may obscure practical coping strategies. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Fingers Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fingers-ghost-4641695/) [Ghost Wanting](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost-wanting-4641697/) [Ghost Wants](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ghost-wants-4641696/) [Long time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/long-time/) [Smell Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/smell-death-352796/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Wanting Ghost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/wanting-ghost-4641698/) ## Related quotes > [“Stay with me to-night; you must see me die. I have long had the taste of death on my tongue, I smell death, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/stay-with-me-to-night-you-must-see-me-die-i-have-long-had-the-taste/) [Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wolfgang-amadeus-mozart/) > [“I have been acquainted with the smell of death. 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I don't want to die in my sleep, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-wouldn-t-mind-dying-in-a-plane-crash-it-d-be-a-good-way-to-go-i-don/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [I wouldnt mind dying in a plane crash. Itd be a good way to go. I dont want to die in my sleep, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-morrison/i-wouldnt-mind-dying-in-a-plane-crash-itd-be-a-good-way-to-go-i-dont/) [Jim Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-morrison/) > [The richness of the world, all artificial pleasures, have the taste of sickness and give off a smell of death in the face of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/georges-rouault/the-richness-of-the-world-all-artificial-pleasures-have-the-taste-of/) [Georges Rouault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/georges-rouault/) ## More by William S. Burroughs > [“Control never be a means to any practical end. 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The truth of a painting, or a book or a man.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/when-all-lies-deceit-pretense-is-stripped-away-what-remains-the-truth/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“There is no final enough of wisdom, experience - any fucking thing. No Holy Grail, No Final Satori, no solution. Just conflict. Only thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-is-no-final-enough-of-wisdom-experience-any-fucking-thing-no/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“For John Dillinger In hope he is still alive Thanksgiving Day, November 28, 1986 In hope he is still alive Thanks for the wild…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/for-john-dillinger-in-hope-he-is-still-alive-thanksgiving-day/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“Did I ever tell you about the man who taught his asshole to talk? His whole abdomen would move up and down, you dig,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/did-i-ever-tell-you-about-the-man-who-taught-his-asshole-to-talk-his/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [You need a good bedside manner with doctors or you will get nowhere.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/you-need-a-good-bedside-manner-with-doctors-or-you-will-get-nowhere/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [There couldn't be a society of people who didn't dream. They'd be dead in two weeks.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/there-couldn-t-be-a-society-of-people-who-didn-t-dream-they-d-be-dead/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [I prefer cats to people, for the most part. Most people aren't cute at all, and if they are cute they very rapidly outgrow…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/i-prefer-cats-to-people-for-the-most-part-most-people-aren-t-cute-at/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [ \[Arab peoples\] are stuck back thousands of years and they think they're going to get out with a TV set. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/arab-peoples-are-stuck-back-thousands-of-years-and-they-think-they-re/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“It is not the intensity but the duration of pain that breaks the will to resist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/it-is-not-the-intensity-but-the-duration-of-pain-that-breaks-the-will/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) [Explore all 484 William S. Burroughs quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) ## More Long time quotes > [“I locked the door and turned on the water to fill the tub. I made it so hot that I had to get in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-crandall/i-locked-the-door-and-turned-on-the-water-to-fill-the-tub-i-made-it/) [Susan Crandall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-crandall/) > [“But my best friend from college was silent for a long time. She, of all of my friends, had seen the parade of sad…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lauren-groff/but-my-best-friend-from-college-was-silent-for-a-long-time-she-of-all/) [Lauren Groff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lauren-groff/) > [As a child, I had a lot of older gay men taking care of me. There's a trust there. I feel like little girls…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cho/as-a-child-i-had-a-lot-of-older-gay-men-taking-care-of-me-there-s-a/) [Margaret Cho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cho/) > [Forever is a really long time, you know? What do you do with forever?" "The same thing you do when you don't have forever."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-hocking/forever-is-a-really-long-time-you-know-what-do-you-do-with-forever/) [Amanda Hocking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-hocking/) > [Our young Marines of today are courageous, willing to make sacrifices, and are marvelous team players. I am confident our Corps, and indeed our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-t-conway/our-young-marines-of-today-are-courageous-willing-to-make-sacrifices/) [James T. Conway](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-t-conway/) > [Well, I've been politically involved for a really long time. 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They know that I have strong…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-turnbull/i-ve-been-around-in-public-life-for-a-long-time-i-think-people-know/) [Malcolm Turnbull](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-turnbull/) > [“For a long time before I met you, I felt my life was this kind of test. I was in deep, cold water, swimming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leah-raeder/for-a-long-time-before-i-met-you-i-felt-my-life-was-this-kind-of-test/) [Leah Raeder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leah-raeder/) > [“If you go to bed too early and get up too late you probably won't sleep especially well. This could show up as either…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/penelope-a-lewis/if-you-go-to-bed-too-early-and-get-up-too-late-you-probably-won-t/) [Penelope A. 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