Although it was to become Davies' best-known poem, it was not included in any of the five Georgian Poetry anthologies published by Edward Marsh between 1912 and 1922.
It warns that "the hectic pace of modern life has a detrimental effect on the human spirit.
"[2] Stonesifer traces the central idea to a number of Davies' other poems - "The Housebuilder" (from the 1914 The Bird of Paradise), "A Happy Life" and "Traffic", as well as "Bells" and "This World".
[citation needed] The poem was misquoted, by the KGB in a 1991 secret message to their spy inside the FBI, Robert Hanssen.
The opening two lines of the poem, sung in English, are also used in the refrain of the song Monakh (Monk), by Ukrainian band DakhaBrakha, from their 2016 album The Road.