Anxiety– English Lyrics

• By: Portugal. The Man, Paul Williams
• Album: Chris Black Changed My Life

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music is a powerful tool, and "Anxiety:Clarity" by Portugal. The Man offers a unique opportunity to explore complex emotional vocabulary in English. The song's introspective lyrics and the poetic spoken-word outro by Paul Williams provide a rich text for understanding nuanced expressions of anxiety, acceptance, and the passage of time. The song is special for its raw honesty and its beautiful, melancholic melody that perfectly captures the feeling of finding a moment of clarity within turmoil.

[English]

I'm not supposed to be here

I'd rather be running, never wanted to be here

I question the feelings I feel

Hard to feel it coming when you don't wanna be here

I don't wanna let go

But everyone's running, running back into the fold

Will the pain bring you back home?

Or find yourself going the way the buffalo goes?

And everyone's running like they don't wanna be here

And everyone's running like they don't wanna be here

And everyone's running like they don't wanna be-, wanna be here

And everyone's running, thinking they're gonna be-

Why don't you go to fucking Disneyland, you know

And build a monument to your delusional thinking?

Why don't you go to fucking Disneyland

And build a monument to your delusional thinking?

But wait, but wait

There is another breath

Just breathe, there is another breath

Oh yeah, everybody's scared

Heavy games

Oh

You can't take this back

Because the present has a past

Now you're stuck here forever

Heavy games

Oh

You can't take this back

Because the present has a past

Now you're stuck here forever

Heavy games

Oh

You can't take this back

Because the present has a past

Now you're fucked up forever

Now you're fucked up forever

Now you're fucked up forever

Now you're fucked up

Forever

And before you see that horrible forest fire, you see this

massive cloud of smoke, and it's-, and-, and-

and it's cinematic, and it's biblical.

You know, does the end become just entertainment?

Wow, that's a fantastic looking fire

that's about to sweep through me.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
running /ˈrʌnɪŋ/ A1	verb - to move quickly on foot
feelings /ˈfiːlɪŋz/ A2	noun - an emotional state or reaction
pain /peɪn/ A1	noun - physical or emotional suffering
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - one's place of residence
delusional /dɪˈluʒənl/ C1	adjective - characterized by or holding false beliefs
monument /ˈmɒnjuːmənt/ B1	noun - a statue or building erected to remind of a person or event
breath /brɛθ/ A1	noun - air taken into or expelled from the lungs
scared /skɛrd/ A2	adjective - feeling fear or alarm
stuck /stʌk/ A2	verb - to be trapped or unable to move
cinematic /ˌsɪnəˈmætɪk/ C1	adjective - relating to film or resembling a film
biblical /ˈbɪblɪkəl/ B2	adjective - relating to the Bible or of great magnitude
entertainment /ˌɛntərˈteɪnmənt/ B1	noun - something providing amusement or enjoyment
fantastic /fænˈtæstɪk/ B1	adjective - extraordinarily good or impressive
sweep /swip/ B1	verb - to move with force or speed
fold /foʊld/ B2	noun - a group or community

Key Grammar Structures

• I'm not supposed to be here

  ➔ Present continuous with 'be' for future arrangements

  ➔ The phrase 'I'm not supposed to be here' uses the present continuous with 'be' to indicate a future arrangement or expectation that is not being met.

• Will the pain bring you back home?

  ➔ Simple future with 'will' for a question

  ➔ The sentence 'Will the pain bring you back home?' uses the simple future with 'will' to ask about a potential future event.

• Why don't you go to fucking Disneyland?

  ➔ Present tense in a rhetorical question

  ➔ The phrase 'Why don't you go to fucking Disneyland?' uses the present tense in a rhetorical question to express frustration or sarcasm.

• There is another breath

  ➔ Present tense with 'there is' for existence

  ➔ The phrase 'There is another breath' uses the present tense with 'there is' to indicate the existence of something.

• Now you're stuck here forever

  ➔ Present tense with 'be' for a current state

  ➔ The phrase 'Now you're stuck here forever' uses the present tense with 'be' to describe a current state or condition.