Easy Rider Quotes
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Source: Easy Rider
Speaker: Wyatt
You know, Billy. We blew it.
Context
This line is spoken by Wyatt (played by Peter Fonda) in the movie Easy Rider, directed by Dennis Hopper (1969).
Coming at the tail end of the '60s, Easy Rider takes a hard-eyed look at America's counterculture and the state of America as a whole. Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper play two outlaw bikers named Wyatt and Billy, who've just scored a bunch of money by running cocaine. Determined to live a life of freedom outside of the mainstream, the boys head out on a road trip to New Orleans in search of their own version of the American dream.
The quote comes late in the movie after they've experienced a lot of tough stuff, mainly the murder of a friend and a seriously bad LSD trip with prostitutes in a New Orleans graveyard. The two are camping and Billy laughs, claiming that they've made it since they still have all the money, and money is freedom. But Wyatt gets all moody and claims they "blew it." To Wyatt, they (and their whole generation) have failed to find the real freedom and spiritual fulfillment they were looking for.
Get your motor runnin' by checking out the clip here.
Where you've heard it
Well, the phrase "We blew it" didn't start with Easy Rider, but we're pretty sure the mega-influential movie helped make it a staple. While it's hard to trace how the specific line has echoed out into pop culture, you can find nods to the movie itself all over the place.
One of our faves is in Borat, when "Born to be Wild" plays as Borat sets across America in an ice cream truck. This spoofs Wyatt and Billy doing the same thing on motorcycles at the beginning of Easy Rider. And, of course, there's that episode of The Office where, at Phyllis's wedding, Michael says that her nickname was Easy Rider in high school. Smooth move, Mr. Scott.
Pretentious Factor
If you were to drop this quote at a dinner party, would you get an in-unison "awww" or would everyone roll their eyes and never invite you back? Here it is, on a scale of 1-10.
Any time you quote a classic movie, there's at least a little pretentious factor, but nobody's gonna write you a ticket for breaking out some well-placed Easy Rider.