A Century Of Fakers – English Lyrics

• By: Belle and Sebastian

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the nuanced language of social observation in Belle and Sebastian's 'A Century of Fakers.' This song offers a great opportunity to explore the subtleties of English irony and wit through its cleverly crafted lyrics. It’s a perfect example of how gentle music can carry a powerful and critical message, making it a special track for any language learner interested in the art of lyrical storytelling.

[English]

...

There are people going hungry every day

...

They've got nothing on their plates

And you're filling your fat face with every different kind of cake

And if you ever go lardy, or go lame

...

I will drop you straight away

That's the price you have to pay

For every stupid thing you say

...

There are people going lonely, and they'll stay

...

Lonely fay into the year

...

Because you're making blinkers fashionable

...

And fashionably you'll say

all is equal in love and war and

i'm sorry, but I've got some things to do

...

And you pretend to read a book you'll never finish till the day

...

That the author dedicates it

...

To a century of fakers

...

They took your mould and they burned it on the fire in history today

...

Yeah, the author dedicates it

...

To a century of fakers

...

He was an anarchist, he tried his best but it wasn't good enough

...

Did I say I would see you soon?

Well I'm sorry, but I just came off my bike

And my face is scarred

And chance has barred me seeing you tonight

...

I was over the other side of the city

...

And if the truth be known I'd say

That you look great from there before you shaved your golden hair today

...

Everybody's trying to make us

...

Another century of fakers

...

They took you mould and burned it on the fire of history today

Everybody's trying to make us

Another cool decade of fakers

...

Another century of fakers

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
people /ˈpiːpəl/ A1	noun - human beings in general or considered collectively
hungry /ˈhʌŋɡri/ A2	adjective - feeling or showing the need for food
face /feɪs/ A1	noun - the front part of a person's head
cake /keɪk/ A1	noun - a sweet baked food made from a mixture of flour, sugar, and other ingredients
lame /leɪm/ B1	adjective - unable to walk properly because of an injury or illness
price /praɪs/ A2	noun - the amount of money expected, required, or given in payment for something
lonely /ˈloʊnli/ B1	adjective - sad because one has no friends or company
fashionable /ˈfæʃənəbl/ B2	adjective - characterized by or representing the current popular style
truth /truːθ/ B1	noun - the quality or state of being in accordance with fact or reality
great /ɡreɪt/ A2	adjective - of an extent, amount, or intensity considerably above the normal or average
scarred /skɑːrd/ B2	adjective - marked with scars
history /ˈhɪstəri/ A2	noun - the study of past events, particularly in human affairs
century /ˈsɛnʧəri/ B1	noun - a period of one hundred years
anarchist /ˈænərkɪst/ C1	noun - a person who believes in or tries to bring about anarchy
mould /moʊld/ B2	noun - a hollow container used to give shape to molten or hot liquid material when it cools and hardens
burned /bɜrnd/ B1	verb - to consume or be consumed by fire

Key Grammar Structures

• There are people going hungry every day

  ➔ existential 'there is/are' + noun + verb-ing

  ➔ 'There are' expresses the existence of multiple people or objects.

• And you're filling your fat face with every different kind of cake

  ➔ present continuous tense for ongoing action

  ➔ 'Filling' indicates an action happening currently or repeatedly.

• And if you ever go lardy, or go lame

  ➔ conjunction 'if' + present tense + 'ever' for conditional statements

  ➔ 'If' introduces a condition that might happen.

• That's the price you have to pay

  ➔ relative clause + modal 'have to' + verb base

  ➔ 'Have to' express necessity or obligation.

• They took your mould and they burned it on the fire of history today

  ➔ past simple tense for completed actions

  ➔ 'Took' and 'burned' are past tense verbs showing completed actions.

• And my face is scarred

  ➔ present simple tense + past participle (passive voice)

  ➔ 'Is scarred' uses the present tense of 'be' + past participle to form the passive voice.

• They took your mould and they burned it on the fire of history today

  ➔ past simple tense for narrative or sequence of events

  ➔ Past simple tense narrates completed actions in chronological order.