Quotes from Lonesome Dove

Larry McMurtry ·  945 pages

Rating: (122.8K votes)


“If you want one thing too much it’s likely to be a disappointment. The healthy way is to learn to like the everyday things, like soft beds and buttermilk—and feisty gentlemen.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“It ain’t dying I’m talking about, it’s living. I doubt it matters where you die, but it matters where you live.” ~spoken by Augustus McCrae”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“The older the violin, the sweeter the music.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“Yesterday's gone on down the river and you can't get it back.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“I'm sure partial to the evening,' Augustus said. 'The evening and the morning. If we just didn't have to have the rest of the dern day I'd be a lot happier.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove



“I'm glad I've been wrong enough to keep in practice. . . You can't avoid it, you've got to learn to handle it. If you only come face to face with your own mistakes once or twice in your life it's bound to be extra painful. I face mine every day--that way they ain't usually much worse than a dry shave.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“It's a fine world, though rich in hardships at times.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“Call saw that everyone was looking at him, the hands and cowboys and townspeople alike. The anger had drained out of him, leaving him feeling tired. He didn't remember the fight, particularly, but people were looking at him as if they were stunned. He felt he should make some explanation, though it seemed to him a simple situation.
"I hate a man that talks rude," he said. "I won't tolerate it.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“He had known several men who blew their heads off, and he had pondered it much. It seemed to him it was probably because they could not take enough happiness just from the sky and the moon to carry them over the low feelings that came to all men.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“It's like I told you last night son. The earth is mostly just a boneyard. But pretty in the sunlight, he added”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove



“I never met a soul in this world as normal as me.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“I think its a sickness to grieve too much for those who never cared a fig for you.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“The hardest thing on earth is choosing what matters”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“Live through it," Call said. "That's all we can do.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“If I had a mind to rent pigs, I'd be mighty upset. A man that likes to rent pigs won't be stopped.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove



“Anyway, whacking a surly bartender ain't much of a crime.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“I hate rude behavior in a man,' he explained in his quiet, unassuming drawl. 'I won't tolerate it.' He politely tipped his hat, and rode away.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“Nobody run off with her,” Roscoe said. "She just run off with herself, I guess.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“The eastern sky was red as coals in a forge, lighting up the flats along the river. Dew had wet the million needles of the chaparral, and when the rim of the sun edged over the horizon the chaparral seemed to be spotted with diamonds. A bush in the backyard was filled with little rainbows as the sun touched the dew.
It was tribute enough to sunup that it could make even chaparral bushes look beautiful, Augustus thought, and he watched the process happily, knowing it would only last a few minutes. The sun spread reddish-gold light through the shining bushes, among which a few goats wandered, bleating. Even when the sun rose above the low bluffs to the south, a layer of light lingered for a bit at the level of the chaparral, as if independent of its source. The the sun lifted clear, like an immense coin. The dew quickly died, and the light that filled the bushes like red dirt dispersed, leaving clear, slightly bluish air.
It was good reading light by then, so Augustus applied himself for a few minutes to the Prophets. He was not overly religious, but he did consider himself a fair prophet and liked to study the styles of his predecessors. They were mostly too long-winded, in his view, and he made no effort to read them verse for verse—he just had a look here and there, while the biscuits were browning.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“From him to the stars, in all directions, there was only silence and emptiness.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove



“My main skills are talking and cooking biscuits,' Augustus said. 'And getting drunk on the porch.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“A man who wouldn't cheat for a poke don't want one bad enough. --Augustus "Gus" McCrae”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“The reason men are so awful is because some woman has spoiled them.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“Occasionally the very youngness of the young moved him to charity--they had no sense of the swiftness of life, nor of its limits. The years would pass like weeks, and loves would pass too, or else grow sour.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“At times he felt that he had almost rather not be in love with her, for it brought him no peace. What was the use of it, if it was only going to be painful?”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove



“I figured out something, Lorie,” he said. “I figured out why you and me get along so well. You know more than you say and I say more than I know. That means we’re a perfect match, as long as we don’t hang around one another more than an hour at a stretch.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“Who asked them dern pigs?” he said. “I guess they tracked us,” Augustus said. “They’re enterprising pigs.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“They don't know it, but the wrath of the Lord is about to descend upon them.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“I don't see how being married could be any worse than listening to you talk for twenty years, but that still ain't much of a recommendation for it.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove


“You don't look strong enough to trouble nobody around here.... We grow our own troubles--it would be a novelty to have some we ain't already used to.”
― Larry McMurtry, quote from Lonesome Dove



About the author

Larry McMurtry
Born place: in Wichita Falls, Texas, The United States
Born date June 3, 1936
See more on GoodReads

Popular quotes

“It is exceptionally lonely, being Draco Malfoy. I will always be suspected. There is no escaping the past.”
― John Tiffany, quote from Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two


“It’s simple guy logic: If a woman is angry? It means she cares. If you’re in a relationship and a chick can’t even be bothered to yell at you? You’re screwed. Indifference is a woman’s kiss of death. It’s the equivalent of a man not interested in sex. In either case—it’s over. You’re done.”
― Emma Chase, quote from Tangled


“Gabriel was trying to smile, but the expression kept breaking apart. He was looking at her as if he hadn't seen her for years and years of searching, and had just now walked into a room and come upon her unexpectedly. As if he wanted to look at every part of her, now that he could do it honestly.”
― L.J. Smith, quote from Dark Visions


“The Portuguese man-of-war,” Sayle continued. He had a heavy accent brought with him from the Cairo marketplace. “It’s beautiful, don’t you think?” “I wouldn’t keep one as a pet,” Alex said. “I”
― Anthony Horowitz, quote from Stormbreaker


“God hates a coward."
I don't actually believe this is true. But it's something to aim for.”
― Laura Ingalls Wilder, quote from These Happy Golden Years


Interesting books

Everything and the Moon
(8.6K)
Everything and the M...
by Julia Quinn
Victory of Eagles
(15.5K)
Victory of Eagles
by Naomi Novik
The Visitor
(1.6K)
The Visitor
by Sheri S. Tepper
Young, Only Once
(12)
The Buccaneers
(4.9K)
The Buccaneers
by Edith Wharton
The Damned Utd
(5.7K)
The Damned Utd
by David Peace

About BookQuoters

BookQuoters is a community of passionate readers who enjoy sharing the most meaningful, memorable and interesting quotes from great books. As the world communicates more and more via texts, memes and sound bytes, short but profound quotes from books have become more relevant and important. For some of us a quote becomes a mantra, a goal or a philosophy by which we live. For all of us, quotes are a great way to remember a book and to carry with us the author’s best ideas.

We thoughtfully gather quotes from our favorite books, both classic and current, and choose the ones that are most thought-provoking. Each quote represents a book that is interesting, well written and has potential to enhance the reader’s life. We also accept submissions from our visitors and will select the quotes we feel are most appealing to the BookQuoters community.

Founded in 2023, BookQuoters has quickly become a large and vibrant community of people who share an affinity for books. Books are seen by some as a throwback to a previous world; conversely, gleaning the main ideas of a book via a quote or a quick summary is typical of the Information Age but is a habit disdained by some diehard readers. We feel that we have the best of both worlds at BookQuoters; we read books cover-to-cover but offer you some of the highlights. We hope you’ll join us.