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Previous Thread Next Thread Print Thread The company of strangers #87989 11/28/02 06:40 PM Joined: Feb 2002 Posts: 833 Eastern Ontario, Canada M modestgoddess OP old hand OP modestgoddess old hand M Joined: Feb 2002 Posts: 833 Eastern Ontario, Canada WO'N's post about strangers and saints reminded me of a phrase that keeps cropping up for me: "in the company of strangers." It's the title of a film (I think it was a Canadian film - it was certainly an indie release); it also appears in a couple of my favourite songs: When I left my home and my family I was no more than a boy In the company of strangers In the quiet of the railway station Running scared....(from Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer") and I went in search of alchemy to resurrect the dead Sent my spies to fathom out the secrets in your head They said they heard your laughter spinning through the summer night In the company of strangers, and your eyes were wild and bright....(from Al Stewart's "Where Are They Now") What I'm wondering is, does this phrase have a recognizable, pointable-to origin? I tried looking it up in my Oxford UP Dictionary of Quotations but I got nuthin'. Haven't tried googling it yet but also wonder if others here keep stumbling across it, as I do? It has a nice poetry to it, yet it's a sort of happy/sad phrase - "company" conveying warmth and togetherness, "strangers" conveying uncertainty and individuality. Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: The company of strangers #87990 11/29/02 09:32 AM Joined: Aug 2000 Posts: 2,204 R RhubarbCommando Pooh-Bah RhubarbCommando Pooh-Bah R Joined: Aug 2000 Posts: 2,204 You're right, mg: google throws up 7,500 'finds', and the few I looked at are of a very varied nature, from companies running back-packing tours to a learned paper on digital identity (don't ask - I didn't read much more than the title!) This does seem to put the phrase into the category of 'Well Used' - possibly even into that of "Cliché" The phrase doesn't appear in the Holy Bible, despite over 70 mentions of "strangers" (http://godsview.com/ is a handy concordance, BTW) Shakespeare is a bit better, with two possibles, but neither are exact. The nearest is in King Henry 8th, Act 1 Sc 4, where "A noble troop of strangers" is announced to Cardinal Wolsey, who then refers to them six or eight lines later as "a noble company." That's close, but probably not close enough. The other Shakespearian reference is in All's Well that Ends Well, Act 4, Sc 1, where the Second Lord says, "He must think us some band of strangers ..." - this doesn't seem a very likely source. Both of the above references are to "A company" rather than "The company ...", giving a rather different nuance to the word "Company." I am left wondering if Simon and Garfunkel are actually the originators of the phrase - they are certainly very widely known and their lyrics are usually very original (not that that would debar them from using a cliché to make a particular point.) Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Re: The company of strangers #87991 11/29/02 01:07 PM Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 320 Sarasota, Florida, US S slithy toves enthusiast slithy toves enthusiast S Joined: Jan 2002 Posts: 320 Sarasota, Florida, US Not the same quote, but it brings to mind Blanche Dubois's final speech in A Streetcar Named Desire: "I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Copy Link to Clipboard Share Post on Facebook Share Post on Twitter Moderated by  Jackie  Hop To General Topics ------  Information and announcements  Q&A about words  Wordplay and fun  Words and languages in schools  Miscellany  Weekly Themes  Looking for (writers, speakers,... (Old) Weekly themes. (have been... ------  Words from medicine  Beheading words  Meta-words  Words from classical mythology  Animal Safari  Words with unusual etymologies  Eponyms or words derived from p...  Loanwords from German  English as a global language Print Thread Switch to Threaded Mode Show Likes Link Copied to Clipboard View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary View Profile Private Message Follow User Forum Posts Like Summary Forum Statistics Forums16 Topics13,913 Posts229,372 Members9,182 Most Online3,341 Dec 9th, 2011 Newest Members Ineffable, ddrinnan, TRIALNERRA, befuddledmind, KILL_YOUR_SUV 9,182 Registered Users Who's Online Now 0 members (), 381 guests, and 1 robot. Key: Admin, Global Mod, Mod Top Posters(30 Days) wofahulicodoc 28 A C Bowden 25 LukeJavan8 3 Top Posters wwh 13,858 Faldage 13,803 Jackie 11,613 wofahulicodoc 10,561 tsuwm 10,542 LukeJavan8 9,919 Buffalo Shrdlu 7,210 AnnaStrophic 6,511 Wordwind 6,296 of troy 5,400

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