After Forever – English Lyrics

• By: Black Sabbath
• Album: Master of Reality

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the powerful world of English heavy metal with 'After Forever.' This song is a fantastic way to learn expressive, theological vocabulary and the use of contrasting dynamics in storytelling, making it as linguistically intriguing as it is musically heavy.

[English]

作曲 : Bill Ward/Terrence Butler/Ozzy Osbourne/Tony Iommi

Have you ever thought about your soul - can it be saved?

Or perhaps you think that when you're dead you just stay in your grave

Is God just a thought within your head or is he a part of you?

Is Christ just a name that you read in a book when you were in school?

When you think about death do you lose your breath or do you keep your cool?

Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope - do you think he's a fool?

Well I have seen the truth, yes I've seen the light and I've changed my ways

And I'll be prepared when you're lonely and scared at the end of our days

Could it be you're afraid of what your friends might say

If they knew you believe in God above?

They should realize before they criticize

that God is the only way to love

Is your mind so small that you have to fall

In with the pack wherever they run

Will you still sneer when death is near

And say they may as well worship the sun?

I think it was true it was people like you that crucified Christ

I think it is sad the opinion you had was the only one voiced

Will you be so sure when your day is near, say you don't believe?

You had the chance but you turned it down, now you can't retrieve

Perhaps you'll think before you say that God is dead and gone

Open your eyes, just realize that he's the one

The only one who can save you now from all this sin and hate

Or will you still jeer at all you hear? Yes! I think it's too late.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
soul /soʊl/ A2	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being
grave /ɡreɪv/ B1	noun - a hole dug in the ground to receive a dead body
breath /brɛθ/ A2	noun - the air taken into or expelled from the lungs
prepared /prɪˈpɛərd/ B1	adjective - ready to do something or to face something
criticize /ˈkrɪtɪsaɪz/ B2	verb - to indicate the faults of someone or something in a disapproving way
sneer /snɪər/ C1	verb - to smile or laugh in a contemptuous or mocking manner
worship /ˈwɜːrʃɪp/ B2	verb - to show reverence and adoration for a deity
crucified /ˈkruːsɪfaɪd/ C1	verb - to put to death by fastening to a cross
opinion /əˈpɪnjən/ B1	noun - a view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact
retrieve /rɪˈtriːv/ B2	verb - to get or bring something back
sin /sɪn/ B2	noun - an immoral act considered to be a transgression against divine law
jeer /dʒɪər/ C1	verb - to make rude and mocking remarks, typically in a loud voice

Key Grammar Structures

• Have you ever thought about your soul - can it be saved?

  ➔ Present Perfect Passive voice

  ➔ The structure "can it be saved?" uses the passive modal to indicate the possibility of an action being performed on the subject.

• Or perhaps you think that when you're dead you just stay in your grave

  ➔ First Conditional (implied/time clause)

  ➔ The use of "when you're dead" functions as a time clause indicating a future state, often taking the present tense in English.

• Would you like to see the Pope on the end of a rope

  ➔ Would like (Polite preference)

  ➔ "Would you like" is a common structure used to ask about someone's desires or preferences in a polite or hypothetical manner.

• And I'll be prepared when you're lonely and scared

  ➔ Future Simple and time conjunction

  ➔ The sentence combines the future state "I'll be prepared" with a time clause introduced by "when".

• Could it be you're afraid of what your friends might say

  ➔ Modal of possibility (might) in reported thought

  ➔ "Might" is used here to indicate a low-probability possibility regarding what friends would say.

• They should realize before they criticize that God is the only way to love

  ➔ Modal verb for advice (should)

  ➔ "Should" indicates that it is expected or recommended that they "realize" this truth.

• I think it was true it was people like you that crucified Christ

  ➔ Cleft sentence (It was X that Y)

  ➔ This structure is used to emphasize the subject "people like you" as the specific agents who crucified Christ.

• You had the chance but you turned it down

  ➔ Phrasal Verb (turn down)

  ➔ "Turn down" is a phrasal verb meaning to refuse or decline an opportunity.