Childhood's End – English Lyrics

• By: Pink Floyd
• Album: Obscured By Clouds

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the poignant themes of growing up and facing reality with Pink Floyd's "Childhood's End". This song, a blend of progressive and hard rock, offers a glimpse into the transition from innocence to experience. By studying its lyrics, you can improve your understanding of metaphorical language and the ways in which music expresses complex emotions.

[English]

You shout in your sleep

perhaps the price is just too steep.

Is your conscience at rest

if once put to the test?

You awake with a start

to just the beating of your heart.

Just one man beneath the sky.

Just two ears, just two eyes.

You set sail across the sea

of long past thoughts and memories.

Childhood's end

Your fantasies

merge with harsh realities.

And then as the sail is hoist

you find your eyes are growing moist.

And all the fears never voiced

say you have to make your final choice.

Who are you and who am I

to say we know the reason why?

Some are born

Some men die

beneath one infinite sky.

There'll be war

There'll be peace

but everything one day will cease

All the iron turned to rust

All the proud men turned to dust

And so all things, time will mend

So this song will end

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
shout /ʃaʊt/ A2	verb - to call out loudly noun - a loud cry
price /praɪs/ B1	noun - the amount of money required for something
conscience /ˈkɒnʃəns/ C1	noun - inner sense of right and wrong that guides a person's behavior
steep /stiːp/ B2	adjective - having a sharp inclination; very high
awake /əˈweɪk/ B1	verb - to stop sleeping and become conscious
heart /hɑːt/ A2	noun - the organ that pumps blood; the centre of emotions
sky /skaɪ/ A1	noun - the expanse above the earth
sail /seɪl/ B1	verb - to travel on water using a sail noun - a piece of fabric that catches wind to propel a boat
memories /ˈmɛm(ə)riːz/ B2	noun - recollections of past events
fantasies /ˈfæntəsiːz/ B2	noun - imagined ideas or daydreams
merge /mɜːrdʒ/ B2	verb - to combine or join together into one
harsh /hɑːʃ/ B2	adjective - severe, unkind, or unpleasant
realities /riˈælətiːz/ C1	noun - the state of things as they actually exist
infinite /ˈɪnfənət/ C1	adjective - without limits or end
war /wɔːr/ A2	noun - armed conflict between groups or nations
peace /piːs/ A2	noun - a state of tranquility and freedom from conflict
rust /rʌst/ B2	noun - the reddish‑brown coating formed on iron by oxidation verb - to become covered with rust; to corrode
mend /mɛnd/ B2	verb - to repair or fix something that is broken

Key Grammar Structures

• if once put to the test?

  ➔ Elliptical Conditional Clause

  ➔ Omission of subject/auxiliary in conditional clauses. Full form: "if it is once put to the test"

• you find your eyes are growing moist.

  ➔ Complex Object Construction

  ➔ Verb "find" + object ("your eyes") + complement clause ("are growing moist")

• as the sail is hoist

  ➔ Archaic Passive Voice

  ➔ Use of "hoist" (past participle) instead of "hoisted" for poetic rhythm. Means "is raised"

• Some are born, Some men die

  ➔ Parallelism with Ellipsis

  ➔ Omission of verbs in second clause ("Some men die" = "Some men are born to die") for rhythmic balance

• All the iron turned to rust

  ➔ Intransitive Phrasal Verb

  ➔ "turn to" functions as intransitive verb meaning "transform into" without direct object

• everything one day will cease

  ➔ Future Simple for Universal Truths

  ➔ Future tense ("will cease") used for philosophical predictions rather than personal plans

• to just the beating of your heart

  ➔ Prepositional Phrase as Adverbial

  ➔ Prepositional phrase "to...heart" modifies the verb "awake" indicating manner/circumstance

• Who are you and who am I to say...

  ➔ Rhetorical Question + Infinitive of Purpose

  ➔ Question implies no answer exists + "to say" shows intended action questioning authority