Ceremony – English Lyrics
Lyrics & Translation
[English]
This is why events unnerve me
They find it all, a different story
Notice whom for wheels are turning
Turn again and turn towards this time
All she asks is the strength to hold me
Then again the same old story
World will travel, oh so quickly
Travel first and lean towards this time
...
Oh, I'll break them down, no mercy shown
...
Heaven knows, it's got to be this time
Watching her, these things she said
The times she cried
Too frail to wake this time
...
Oh, I'll break them down, no mercy shown
Heaven knows, it's got to be this time
Avenues all lined with trees
Picture me and then you start watching
Watching forever, forever
Watching love graw, forever
Letting me know, forever
...
Key Vocabulary
Vocabulary | Meanings |
---|---|
events /ɪˈvɛnts/ B1 |
|
unnerve /ʌnˈnɜːrv/ C1 |
|
story /ˈstɔːri/ A1 |
|
wheels /wiːlz/ A2 |
|
turning /ˈtɜːrnɪŋ/ B1 |
|
strength /strɛŋθ/ B2 |
|
hold /hoʊld/ A2 |
|
world /wɜːrld/ A1 |
|
travel /ˈtrævəl/ A1 |
|
lean /liːn/ B1 |
|
break /breɪk/ A2 |
|
mercy /ˈmɜːrsi/ B2 |
|
heaven /ˈhɛvən/ A2 |
|
frail /freɪl/ B2 |
|
avenues /ˈævənjuːz/ B2 |
|
lined /laɪnd/ B1 |
|
trees /triːz/ A1 |
|
grow /ɡroʊ/ A1 |
|
Key Grammar Structures
-
This is why events unnerve me
➔ Inversion for Emphasis
➔ Normally, it would be "Events unnerve me. This is why." The inversion puts emphasis on "This is why".
-
Notice whom for wheels are turning
➔ Archaic/Poetic Relative Pronoun Usage
➔ "Whom" is used as a relative pronoun. In modern English, "who" would often be used instead, even when referring to the object of a preposition.
-
All she asks is the strength to hold me
➔ Subjunctive Mood (implied)
➔ The sentence implies "All she asks is that she *have* the strength to hold me." The word *have* (subjunctive) is often omitted in modern English.
-
Heaven knows, it's got to be this time
➔ Ellipsis
➔ The phrase "Heaven knows" is a shortened version of "Heaven only knows". The word "only" is omitted for brevity.
-
Too frail to wake this time
➔ Elliptical Clause/Reduced Clause
➔ This is a shortened form of a clause. It could be interpreted as "She is too frail to wake this time" or "(Being) Too frail to wake this time."
-
Avenues all lined with trees
➔ Adjectival Phrase
➔ "Lined with trees" acts as an adjective describing the avenues. It's a participial phrase functioning as an adjective.
-
Watching love graw, forever
➔ Non-finite Clause with Verb + Object
➔ "Watching love graw" uses a present participle "watching" followed by the object "love", and modifying verb "graw", acting like a clause without a subject. The misspelling of "grow" is artistic license.