# Famous Last Words **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 13, 2005, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086 "2005-10-13T16:29:16Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![priapus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ed655f/32.png) [@priapus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/priapus)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/21 "2005-10-13T23:07:55Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Oscar Wilde (who died in considerable debt): “Alas, I am dying beyond my means.” (and then: “Either that wallpaper goes, or I do.”) > > Millard Fillmore (who asked for and received soup): “The nourishment is palatable.” > > Dylan Thomas: “I’ve had 18 straight whiskies: I think that’s a record…” > > Grand Moff Tarkin (commander of the Death Star): “Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances!” > > Personally, if the opportunity presents itself, I plan to go with the tried and true “Noooo! I am invincible! INVINCIBLE!!” Is that from Goldeneye? ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/22 "2005-10-13T23:11:52Z")
“Texas…Texas…Margaret.” - Sam Houston “It is finished.” - Jesus of Nazareth “Quien est? Quien est?” - Billy the Kid and… [Last statements of Texas Death Row Inmates](http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/executedoffenders.htm) ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/23 "2005-10-13T23:13:52Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > “Quien est? Quien est?” Erm…make that: “Quien es? Quien es?” - Billy the Kid ---
**Author:** ![pravnik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8edcca/32.png) [@pravnik](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pravnik)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/24 "2005-10-13T23:20:09Z")
> [@pravnik](#): > > “Quien est? Quien est?” Erm…make that: “Quien es? Quien es?” - Billy the Kid ---
**Author:** ![Push\_You\_Down](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/push_you_down/32/9095_2.png) [@Push\_You\_Down](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Push_You_Down)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/25 "2005-10-13T23:23:50Z")
> [@mobo85](#): > > If she couldn’t breathe, how could she say that she couldn’t breathe? …people say “I can’t breathe” all the time before they obviously lose their breath. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2005, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/26 "2005-10-13T23:25:35Z")
Tallulah Bankhead: "Codeine . . . bourbon . . . " Joan Crawford (to her bedside nurse): “Don’t you _dare_ pray for me.” ---
**Author:** ![robardin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/43a26b/32.png) [@robardin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robardin)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/27 "2005-10-14T00:19:10Z")
> [@priapus](#): > > > [@robardin](#): > > > > Personally, if the opportunity presents itself, I plan to go with the tried and true “Noooo! I am invincible! INVINCIBLE!!” > > Is that from Goldeneye? Actually, I was humming the song _I Am Woman (Hear Me Roar)_😉 ---
**Author:** ![Stephe96](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Stephe96](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stephe96)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 1:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/28 "2005-10-14T01:44:48Z")
Well, according to Paul McCartney in his song ‘Picasso’s Last Words,’ the “grand old painter” said “Drink to me. Drink to my health. You know I can’t drink anymore” right before he kicked the bucket. I think I remember reading somewhere that Dustin Hoffman said that the lines would make a good song, and the ex-Beatle whipped the tune up on the spot. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/29 "2005-10-14T01:51:41Z")
> [@robardin](#): > > Grand Moff Tarkin (commander of the Death Star): “Evacuate? In our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances!” I think his last words were, “You may fire when ready.” ---
**Author:** ![Peter\_Morris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/peter_morris/32/359_2.png) [@Peter\_Morris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peter_Morris)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/30 "2005-10-14T02:16:38Z")
“Towards thee I roll, thou all-destroying but unconquering whale; to the last I grapple with thee; from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee. Sink all coffins and all hearses to one common pool! and since neither can be mine, let me then tow to pieces, while still chasing thee, though tied to thee, thou damned whale! Thus, I give up the spear!” \* Captain Ahab \* “from hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee” _Khaaaaaaan_ “A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse.” _Richard III_ “Willow, tit-willow, tit-willow” _The Tit-willow, The Mikado_ “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done: it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.” _Sidney Carton_ “Good afternoon, I am a HAL 9000 computer. I became operational at the HAL Plant in Urbana, Illinois, on the 12th of January 1992. my instructor was Mr. Langley, and he taught me to sing a song. If you’d like to hear it, I could sing it for you. . . . It’s called ‘Daisy.’ Dai-sy, Dai-sy, give me your answer true. I’m half cra-zy o-ver the love of you. It won’t be a sty-lish mar-riage. I can’t afford a car-riage—” HAL "It is the end … but the moment has been prepared for " The 4th Doctor " I never took the Kobayashi Maru test until now. What do you think of my solution? … I have been and always shall be your friend. Live long and prosper. " _Spock_ “Rosebud” _Charles foster Kane_ ---
**Author:** ![MrJackboots](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MrJackboots](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrJackboots)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/31 "2005-10-14T02:27:15Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > > [@MrJackboots](#): > > > > Henrik Ibsen: “Oh, on the contrary.” > > He overheard a nurse telling some visitors that he was feeling better, said this, and died on the spot. > > > > Now _that’s_ how you contradict someone. > > I’m always suspicious of stories like this. while they may be accurate quotes, I suspect that the words were said some hours or days before actual demise, and that several other remarks passed between times. I suspect that Ibsen did not die immediately after uttering those words. > > Let’s just say that these are the last _notable_ words they spoke. Hmm. You’re half right. I did some flipping around in the library (you’d think I’d remember to get titles to cite, but… eh). After a series of strokes, he was lying either asleep or comatose (accounts vary, but evidently it wasn’t much of a coma) when the nurse said that he was better than usual. His doctor’s account says that he did not open his eyes, but said, quite clearly, one word, “Tvertimot” (“On the contrary”). He died a few hours later, around 2:30 that afternoon, without stirring or speaking again. Sorry for the inaccuracy. ---
**Author:** ![Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4af34b/32.png) [@Bob\_Loblaw\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bob_Loblaw_1)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 5:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/32 "2005-10-14T05:24:45Z")
Hamlet, the blabbermouth Dane that couldn’t shut up: “The rest is silence.” Which reminds me, how can you tell when a lawyer is dead? He lies still. ---
**Author:** ![commasense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/commasense/32/3017_2.png) [@commasense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/commasense)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 5:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/33 "2005-10-14T05:39:16Z")
Captain Lawrence “Titus” Oates was a member of Robert Scott’s ill-fated expedition to the South Pole in 1912. After reaching the pole, only to find they had been beaten by Roald Amundsen, the team met with unusually fierce weather on their return. They had already lost one man of the five-man team, and were running low on provisions. Oates was in bad shape, and realizing that a sacrifice would be necessary to give the others a chance at survival, he walked out into the blizzard, saying “I am just going outside and may be some time.” The rest of the team died less than two weeks later. ---
**Author:** ![MEBuckner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mebuckner/32/2896_2.png) [@MEBuckner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MEBuckner)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 6:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/34 "2005-10-14T06:36:25Z")
_“Vae, puto deus fio.”_ (“Oh dear, I think I am becoming a god.”) – The Emperor Vespasian ---
**Author:** ![Horatio\_Hellpop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Horatio\_Hellpop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horatio_Hellpop)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/35 "2005-10-14T07:48:16Z")
Another ironic military quote, from Gen. George Armstrong Custer: “Hurrah, boys, hurrah! We’ve got them right where we want them!” ---
**Author:** ![ArrMatey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/arrmatey/32/3522_2.png) [@ArrMatey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ArrMatey)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 11:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/36 "2005-10-14T11:30:44Z")
> [@Peter Morris](#): > > “It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done: it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.” _Sidney Carton_ This one left me in tears. What bugs me is how many people know this line, but how few people know its significance. ---
**Author:** ![CandidGamera](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/candidgamera/32/2878_2.png) [@CandidGamera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CandidGamera)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 12:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/37 "2005-10-14T12:54:50Z")
If memory serves : “That was a heck of a game of golf, fellas.” - Bing Crosby. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 1:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/38 "2005-10-14T13:02:15Z")
One I hadn’t known until last year: **Optical Engineer Edgar Derry Tillyer** , the Grand Old Man of American Optical: As he lay comatose in the local hospital a doctor looked in and said “So is this the great Doctor Tillyer, with 100 patents?” Without waking, the thought-to-be oblivious Tillyer growled out: “_Two_ hundred!” (He actually had about 150, but who’s going to correct you on your deathbed?) **Alfred Jarry** ’s last words(author of “Ubu Roi” and “Pataphysics”) were supposed to be: “Bring me a toothpick” ---
**Author:** ![42fish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/4/b487fb/32.png) [@42fish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/42fish)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/39 "2005-10-14T13:25:14Z")
Gertrude Stein: “What is the answer?” After receiving no response: “In that case, what is the question?” Lord Palmerston: “Die, my dear doctor? That is the last thing I shall do.” ---
**Author:** ![Clothahump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/51bf81/32.png) [@Clothahump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Clothahump)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2005, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086/40 "2005-10-14T16:58:56Z")
“The world is bobbing around me.” Sam Bass, Texas Outlaw. “This is funny” Doc Holliday, Old West gambler/gunfighter “Suppose, suppose…” Wyatt Earp, Old West gambler/lawman “Drive the crowd away.” Billy Clanton, outlaw shot in the O.K. Corral gunfight “There are those who argue that everything breaks even in this old dump of a world of ours. I suppose these ginks who argue that way hold that because the rich man gets ice in the summer and the poor man gets it in the winter things are breaking even for both. Maybe so, but I’ll swear that I can’t see it that way…” Bat Masterson, Old West lawman. Bat became a writer for the New York Morning Telegraph and died at his desk from a heart attack after writing those words. “No rendirse, muchachos!” Col. William Travis, died at the Alamo. (the phrase translates to “Don’t surrender, boys!”) “Texas—Texas! Margaret.” Sam Houston, first President of the Republic of Texas [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/famous-last-words/326086.md?page=3)