Fake Plastic Trees – English Lyrics

• By: Radiohead
• Album: The Bends

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a profound journey into the English language with Radiohead's 'Fake Plastic Trees.' This haunting and emotionally resonant song offers a unique opportunity to explore nuanced vocabulary related to authenticity, disillusionment, and societal critique. Its poetic lyrics, combined with Thom Yorke's raw and vulnerable delivery, make it a powerful piece for understanding complex themes in English songcraft.

[English]

Her green plastic watering can

For her fake Chinese rubber plant

In the fake plastic earth

...

That she bought from a rubber man

In a town full of rubber plans

To get rid of itself

It wears her out

It wears her out

It wears her out

It wears her out

...

She lives with a broken man

A cracked polystyrene man

Who just crumbles and burns

...

He used to do surgery

For girls in the eighties

But gravity always wins

And it wears him out

It wears him out

It wears him out

It wears

She looks like the real thing

She tastes like the real thing

My fake plastic love

...

But I can't help the feeling

I could blow through the ceiling

If I just turn and run

And it wears me out

It wears me out

It wears me out

It wears me out

And if I could be who you wanted

If I could be who you wanted

All the time

All the time

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
watering /ˈwɔːtərɪŋ/ B1	noun - the act of watering plants
plastic /ˈplæstɪk/ A2	adjective - made of or resembling plastic noun - a synthetic material made from polymers
earth /ɜːrθ/ A2	noun - the planet on which we live
crumbles /ˈkrʌm.bəlz/ B2	verb - to break into small pieces
burns /bɜːrnz/ B1	verb - to be on fire or generate heat and light
gravity /ˈɡrævɪti/ B2	noun - the force that attracts objects toward the center of the earth
love /lʌv/ A2	noun - a deep feeling of affection verb - to feel deep affection for someone
feeling /ˈfiːlɪŋ/ B1	noun - an emotional state or reaction
help /hɛlp/ A2	verb - to assist or aid
ceiling /ˈsiːlɪŋ/ B2	noun - the upper interior surface of a room
wanted /ˈwɒntɪd/ B1	verb - past tense of want, to desire
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - a measured or measurable period

Key Grammar Structures

• Her green plastic watering can

  ➔ Adjective + Noun

  ➔ In this line, "green" is an adjective describing the noun "watering can".

• It wears her out

  ➔ Present Simple Tense

  ➔ This line uses the present simple tense to express a habitual action.

• He used to do surgery

  ➔ Used to + base form of the verb

  ➔ This structure indicates a past habit or state that no longer exists.

• But gravity always wins

  ➔ Adverb + Verb

  ➔ In this line, "always" is an adverb modifying the verb "wins".

• I could blow through the ceiling

  ➔ Modal verb + base form of the verb

  ➔ This structure expresses possibility or ability in the past.

• If I could be who you wanted

  ➔ Conditional sentence (if clause)

  ➔ This line uses a conditional structure to express a hypothetical situation.