Concrete Angel – English Lyrics

• By: Martina McBride

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music can be a deeply moving experience, and Martina McBride's "Concrete Angel" offers a powerful, albeit somber, lesson in storytelling and emotional expression in English. The song's clear narrative and evocative lyrics provide an opportunity to understand how language can be used to tackle difficult social issues with grace and empathy. What makes this song special is its ability to transcend the country genre to deliver a universal message about protecting the innocent, making it a memorable and impactful piece of music.

[English]

She walks to school with the lunch she packed

Nobody knows what she's holding back

Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday

She hides the bruises with the linen and lace ohhh

...

The teacher wonders but she doesn't ask

It's hard to see the pain behind the mask

Bearin' the burden of the secret storm

Sometimes she wishes she was never born

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone

In a world that she can't rise above

But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place where she's loved

Concrete angel

...

Somebody cries in the middle of the night

The neighbors hear but they turn out the light

A fragile soul caught in the hands of fate

When morning comes it'll be too late

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone

In a world that she can't rise above

But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place where she's loved

Concrete angel

...

A statue stands in a shaded place

An angel girl with an upturned face

A name is written on a polished rock

A broken heart that the world forgot

Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone

In a world that she can't rise above

But her dreams give her wings and she flies to a place where she's loved

Concrete angel

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
walk /wɔːk/ A1	verb - to move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn
school /skuːl/ A1	noun - an institution for educating children
dream /driːm/ A2	noun - a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep verb - to imagine or hope for something
pain /peɪn/ B1	noun - physical suffering or discomfort
fragile /ˈfrædʒaɪl/ B2	adjective - easily broken or damaged
burden /ˈbɜːrdən/ B2	noun - a heavy load or responsibility
angel /ˈeɪndʒəl/ B2	noun - a spiritual being believed to act as a messenger of God
stone /stoʊn/ B1	noun - a hard, solid substance found in the ground
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - the earth and all its inhabitants
place /pleɪs/ A1	noun - a particular position or point in space
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
heart /hɑːrt/ A2	noun - the organ that pumps blood in the body noun - the central or most important part
forgot /fərˈɡɒt/ B1	verb - to fail to remember
wings /wɪŋz/ B2	noun - the appendages used for flying by birds and insects

Key Grammar Structures

• Nobody knows what she's holding back

  ➔ Embedded question with 'what'

  ➔ The clause "what she's holding back" functions as the object of the verb "knows". It's an embedded question, meaning it's a question contained within a statement.

• Wearing the same dress she wore yesterday

  ➔ Participle clause of reason/description

  ➔ "Wearing the same dress..." describes the girl and gives context to her situation. It implies that she is wearing the same dress *because* of her circumstances.

• It's hard to see the pain behind the mask

  ➔ Impersonal 'it' + adjective + to-infinitive

  ➔ The "it" is a dummy subject, and the real subject is the to-infinitive phrase "to see the pain behind the mask". This structure emphasizes the difficulty of the action.

• Sometimes she wishes she was never born

  ➔ Subjunctive mood in 'wish' clauses for unreal past situations

  ➔ The phrase "she was never born" is in the subjunctive mood (using "was" instead of "were" which is more strictly correct, but common in spoken English) to express a wish about something that cannot be changed in the past. It indicates a regret about the past.

• Through the wind and the rain she stands hard as a stone

  ➔ Simile using 'as...as'

  ➔ The phrase "hard as a stone" uses a simile to compare the girl's resilience to the hardness of a stone. It highlights her ability to endure difficult circumstances.

• In a world that she can't rise above

  ➔ Relative clause with omitted relative pronoun

  ➔ The relative pronoun "that" or "which" (acting as the object of "rise above") is omitted. The full clause would be "In a world that she can't rise above."

• When morning comes it'll be too late

  ➔ First conditional with future simple in the main clause

  ➔ This is a first conditional sentence, expressing a possible future situation and its likely consequence. "When morning comes" is the if-clause (though the 'if' is implied), and "it'll be too late" is the main clause, describing what will happen if the condition is met.