– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

there was a very old crocodile so old

that he had witnessed the building of

the

pyramids but now he was suffering from

rheumatism and no longer able to catch

his

food the quality of his diet was

deteriorating by the

[Applause]

day in desperation he decided to eat one

of his

[Applause]

family what's he munching on now the old

Croc does get on my nerves thought the

old crocodile youngest

granddaughter you rotten Beast you at my

son didn't

you although his thousands of years of

longevity entitled him to much respect

the family decided he would have to be

put down

however no one could make even a dent in

his thick aged

skin and so they decided to hold another

family

meeting unable to Bear the disrespect of

his family the old crocodile said

goodbye to the Nile

one day he went out into the

sea he felt lighter somehow and the

salty taste was quite

Pleasant the salt water and the sun did

wonders for his

rheumatism hello big

lizard hello big spider

I'm not a spider I'm an

octopus then hi octopus say you do have

a lot of

legs normally an octopus has eight legs

but I have

12 have you tried to count them of

course I can count to

12 the octopus treated her new friend to

a variety of fish that she caught just

for him

with 12 legs surely she won't notice if

I eat just

one she might even be lighter on her

feet with less body weight

[Applause]

good morning Mr Crocodile it's time to

get

up good morning Miss octopus how are

your

legs very well thank you did you count

them yes of course all 12 of

them per perfect she can't count thought

the

Crocodile by the way there's a sea

that's even better than this for your

rheumatism shall I take you there let's

go right

away the two of them swam through the

sez canal and into the Red Sea

before dark they reached a small

uninhabited

Island the crocodile asked the octopus

to bring him some

dinner the octopus was exhausted from

the heat but managed to must enough

energy to catch some fish for

him the greedy crocodile was well

satisfied but when night fell he

couldn't restrain himself from eating

another of the octopus's

legs the crocodile ate the fish that she

brought every day and helped himself to

a leg every night just one no

more since he could count up to one he

suddenly realized that there was only

one leg

left is that it I thought 12 legs was a

bit more than

that there was a terrible struggle going

going on in the crocodile's heart his

love for the octopus was

twofold on the one hand was the love for

her kindness her modesty and her

knowledge on the other was the love for

her juicy

legs that night the octopus lost her

last leg

crocodile I think I can't

move it's so hot and we've been here

quite a long time

now yes it's been 12

days I thought you couldn't count well

that's right I can't can I I must have

made a

mistake you know you've got

rheumatism when mine was bad I couldn't

feel my

legs it was almost as if they'd been cut

off

it's funny I feel no sensation in my

legs if I couldn't count or didn't know

that I have all 12 legs I would think

they were all

gone well don't worry about it anyway

today I'll go and catch the fish

the octopus slept happily reassured by

the crocodile's

kindness but that night the crocodile

was burning with desire to devour his

love

[Applause]

she tasted absolutely

marvelous but when the crocodile had

finished eating her he wept bitter tears

of remorse

alone on the Rock the crocodile soon

became

bored he tried to think up games to

amuse himself like taking big breaths

through his mouth and blowing the air

out of his

nose or picking his teeth with

Fishbones or holding big shells up to

his ear to hear the sound of the

ocean but even so he was bored he really

regretted having polished off his

lover the one thing that gave him any

pleasure at all was remembering how

wonderful she

tasted why do I have to stay

here I could just go home to

Egypt why didn't I think of that

before the crocodile pondered the

question for a long time but eventually

made his departure without giving

himself an

[Applause]

answer they are funny they seem to be

scared of

something ah they seem to remember me

but I can't see why they make so much

fuss about me eating one silly little

Croc the crocodile got really tired of

being by himself and finally decided

that starvation was a better

option he lay down on the dry mud and

waited for

death I think I must be dead

I seem to be in crocodile

heaven now what is going on here

[Music]

[Music]

after eating a girl the crocodile became

sleepy as usual

[Music]

[Music]

the crocodile installed on an altar and

given a young Maiden to eat every day is

alive to this

day but he hasn't a clue why all the

other crocodiles ran away from him or

why humans adore him so

much the old crocodile is a modest

fellow and if he found out the truth it

would surely make him even more modest

because the truth is the hot water from

the Red Sea has turned his body as red

as a

lobster for

[Music]

[Applause]

[Music]

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
crocodile /ˈkrɒk.ə.daɪl/ B2	noun - A large predatory semiaquatic reptile
witness /ˈwɪt.nəs/ B2	verb - To see an event take place
rheumatism /ˈruː.mə.tɪ.zəm/ C2	noun - Any disease marked by inflammation and pain in the joints
deteriorate /dɪˈtɪə.ri.ə.reɪt/ C1	verb - To become progressively worse
desperation /ˌdes.pəˈreɪ.ʃən/ B2	noun - A state of despair, typically one which causes extreme behavior
longevity /lɒnˈdʒev.ə.ti/ C2	noun - Long existence or service
disrespect /ˌdɪs.rɪˈspekt/ B2	noun - Lack of respect or courtesy
pleasant /ˈplez.ənt/ A2	adjective - Giving a sense of happy satisfaction or enjoyment
octopus /ˈɒk.tə.pəs/ B1	noun - A sea creature with a soft body and eight tentacles
exhausted /ɪɡˈzɔː.stɪd/ A2	adjective - Extremely tired
restrain /rɪˈstreɪn/ B2	verb - To hold back from an action
struggle /ˈstrʌɡ.əl/ B1	noun - A forceful or violent effort to get free of restraint
modesty /ˈmɒd.ɪ.sti/ C1	noun - The quality or state of being unassuming in the estimation of one's abilities
remorse /rɪˈmɔːs/ C2	noun - Deep regret or guilt for a wrong committed
starvation /stɑːˈveɪ.ʃən/ B2	noun - The suffering caused by lack of food

Key Grammar Structures

• there was a very old crocodile so old that he had witnessed the building of the pyramids

  ➔ Past Perfect Tense

  ➔ Use "had witnessed" to describe an action that happened before another point in the past.

• the family decided he would have to be put down

  ➔ Passive Voice with Modal Verbs

  ➔ The phrase "would have to be put down" indicates a future obligation in the past, expressed in the passive voice.

• she might even be lighter on her feet with less body weight

  ➔ Modal Verb of Possibility (might)

  ➔ "might" expresses a weak possibility or speculation about a future outcome.

• if I couldn't count or didn't know that I have all 12 legs, I would think they were all gone

  ➔ Second Conditional

  ➔ The structure "If + past simple, ... would + verb" is used for hypothetical or unlikely situations.

• The octopus was exhausted from the heat but managed to muster enough energy

  ➔ Verb + to-infinitive (manage to)

  ➔ "manage to" is followed by an infinitive to show success in doing something difficult.

• I could just go home to Egypt why didn't I think of that before

  ➔ Past Negative Interrogative

  ➔ "why didn't I" is used to express self-reproach or surprise that something wasn't realized earlier.

• after eating a girl the crocodile became sleepy as usual

  ➔ Preposition + Gerund

  ➔ Prepositions like "after" are followed by a gerund (verb + -ing) when describing sequences of events.

• the truth is the hot water from the Red Sea has turned his body as red as a lobster

  ➔ Comparative Structure (as ... as)

  ➔ "as red as" is a comparative structure used to show equality in degree.