Cornflake Girl – English Lyrics

• By: Tori Amos
• Album: Under the Pink

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the intricate world of Tori Amos's "Cornflake Girl," a compelling song that masterfully explores the nuances of female relationships and the pain of betrayal. Through its distinctive piano melodies and evocative lyrics, you can learn to appreciate how nuanced language can paint vivid pictures of human emotion. The song's unique vocabulary, like the contrasting "cornflake" and "raisin" girls, offers a fascinating way to understand character description and social dynamics in English, making it special for its artistic depth and relatable themes.

[English]

Never was a cornflake girl

Thought it was a good solution

Hanging with the raisin girls

She's gone to the other side

Giving us the yo heave ho

Things are getting kind of gross

And I go at sleepy time

This is not really

This, this, this is not really happening

You bet your life it is

You bet your life it is

Honey, you bet your life

It's a peel out the watchword

Just peel out the watchword

She knows what's going on

Seems we got a cheaper feel now

All the sweeteaze are gone

Gone to the other side

With my encyclopaedia

They must have paid her a nice price

She's putting on her string bean love

This is not really

This, this, this is not really happening

You bet your life it is

You bet your life it is

Honey, you bet your life

It's a peel out the watchword

Just peel out the watchword

Never was a cornflake girl

Thought that was a good solution

Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl

Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl

Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, oh yeah

Rabbit, where'd you put the keys,

Where'd you put the keys, girl

Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl

Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl, oh this time

Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, oh yeah

Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
girl /ɡɑːrl/ A1	noun - a young female human
solution /səˈluːʃən/ A2	noun - a mixture of substances that is used to clean or treat something
hang /hæng/ A1	verb - to place or hold something in a certain position or place
raisin /ˈreɪsɪn/ A2	noun - a dried grape
side /saɪd/ A1	noun - one of the two parts that something is divided into
give /ɡɪv/ A1	verb - to provide or present something to someone
watchword /ˈwɒtʃˌwɔːrd/ B1	noun - a secret word or phrase that is used as a signal or password
cheaper /ˈtʃiːpər/ B1	adjective - costing less
sweeteaze /switˈiːz/ B2	noun - a person who is considered to be attractive or desirable
encyclopaedia /ˌenˈsɪcləpiə/ C1	noun - a book or set of books that contains a lot of information about many different subjects
nice /naɪs/ A2	adjective - pleasing or pleasant; not unpleasant or annoying
string /strɪŋ/ A1	noun - a long, thin piece of material, usually made of natural fibers
bean /biːn/ A1	noun - a seed, especially one from a legume plant
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - a strong feeling of affection for someone or something verb - to feel affection for someone or something
really /ˈriəli/ A2	adverb - in a true or actual sense; not imaginatively or hypothetically
happening /ˈhæpəniŋ/ B1	noun - an event or occasion verb - to occur or take place
bet /bɛt/ A1	noun - a risk or chance that someone takes in order to win money or something valuable verb - to risk or stake something, especially money, in order to win something else
watch /wɒtʃ/ A1	noun - a small portable device that shows the time and can be used for other purposes such as telling the date and showing who is calling verb - to look at something carefully and often for a long time
peel /piːl/ A1	verb - to remove the outer layer of something noun - the outer layer of something
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the moment or period during which something happens or during which something is valid adverb - at a specific moment or period
put /pʊt/ A1	verb - to place or move something into a certain position or place
keys /kiːz/ A1	noun - a small metal object that you turn in a lock to open a door or start a machine

Key Grammar Structures

• Never was a cornflake girl

  ➔ Negative inversion (Never + auxiliary verb)

  ➔ The word "Never" at the start triggers inversion, so the verb "was" comes before the subject.

• She’s gone to the other side

  ➔ Present perfect (have/has + past participle)

  ➔ The auxiliary "has" plus the past participle "gone" forms the present perfect, indicating a completed action with present relevance.

• Things are getting kind of gross

  ➔ Present continuous (be + verb‑ing)

  ➔ The construction "are getting" uses the auxiliary "are" + present participle "getting" to describe an ongoing change.

• I go at sleepy time

  ➔ Simple present with a time expression

  ➔ The verb "go" is in the simple present, and the phrase "at sleepy time" specifies when the action normally occurs.

• This is not really happening

  ➔ Present continuous negative with adverb

  ➔ The negative particle "not" follows the auxiliary "is"; the adverb "really" modifies the verb phrase "happening".

• You bet your life it is

  ➔ Emphatic inversion (subject‑verb inversion for emphasis)

  ➔ The clause "it is" is placed after the object "your life" for emphasis, creating an inverted order.

• She knows what's going on

  ➔ Indirect question / embedded clause with "what’s"

  ➔ The phrase "what's going on" functions as an embedded question, acting as the object of the verb "knows".

• Rabbit, where'd you put the keys, girl

  ➔ Contraction of past simple "where did"

  ➔ The contracted form "where'd" combines "where" + "did", a typical spoken reduction of the past simple question.

• They must have paid her a nice price

  ➔ Modal perfect (must have + past participle)

  ➔ The modal verb "must" combined with "have" and the past participle "paid" expresses a strong inference about a past action.