you cannot always get what you want
Proposed by a contributor, not yet supported by evidence.
Meaning · English
You may not always achieve your desires
Nghĩa · Tiếng Việt
Không phải lúc nào cũng đạt được điều mình mong muốn
Machine-translated — suggest a fix
Where it’s used:
Used
Widespread English
Sources & notes
Listed on Wikipedia “List of proverbial phrases” (CC BY-SA 4.0, retrieved 2026-07-29); definition pending editorial review. Definition drafted by AI (@cf/meta/llama-3.3-70b-instruct-fp8-fast) and auto-approved by rule on 2026-07-30; pending editor spot-check.
Common questions
What does “you cannot always get what you want” mean?
You may not always achieve your desires
Is “you cannot always get what you want” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.