“You mean I’ve come all this way to kill a man, and you tell me he’s gone?”
Section 3 (p. 183)
Tales of Nevèrÿon (1979)
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Samuel R. Delany 131
American author, professor and literary critic 1942Related quotes
“I know you've come to kill me. Shoot, coward, you are only going to kill a man.”
These reportedly, were his last words, to Sergeant Jaime Terán, who in different accounts had either volunteered to be his executioner, or by most accounts, had been selected by lot (9 October 1967). Because of the many different reports that have arisen, much confusion and uncertainty exists about his actual last words. His last words to Colonel Arnaldo Saucedo Parada, head of intelligence of the Eighth Division who delivered the official report on Che's final moments were reported as: "I knew you were going to shoot me; I should never have been taken alive. Tell Fidel that this failure does not mean the end of the revolution, that it will triumph elsewhere. Tell Aleida to forget this, remarry and be happy, and keep the children studying. Ask the soldiers to aim well."
Variant translations:
I know you are here to kill me. Shoot, you are only going to kill a man.
I know you have come to kill me. Shoot, coward. You are only going to kill a man.
Capture and Death (1967)
“Lord Raoul asked me to tell you that if you get yourself killed, he will never speak to you again.”
Variant: I love you, if you get yourself killed, I will never forgive you.
“If you would tell me the heart of a man, tell me not what he reads, but what he rereads.”
Never Scared (Album Version, 2005)
“I come without explanations or solutions. I can only tell you what I’ve seen.”
2020's, Speech during a 9/11 commemoration at the Flight 93 National Memorial
