Ghost in the Machine – English Lyrics

• By: SZA, Phoebe Bridgers
• Album: SOS

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the poignant lyrics and evocative sounds of "Ghost in the Machine" by SZA and Phoebe Bridgers, a song that beautifully blends R&B with indie pop. Its conversational style and exploration of raw human emotions offer a rich context for language learners to grasp contemporary English expressions related to disillusionment, authenticity, and the desire for connection. The unique collaboration between two distinct artists makes this track a compelling listen, perfect for understanding modern lyrical storytelling and the nuances of emotional expression in English.

[English]

Everything disgusting, conversation is so boring

Heard about what? I hate her, I don't agree, I did it first

I give a fuck, I just wanna fuck, eat, sleep, love, happy

Can you make me happy? Can you keep me happy?

Can you distract me from all the disaster?

Can you touch on me and not call me after?

Can you hate on me and mask it with laughter?

Can you lead me to the ark? What's the password?

I need humanity

You're like a melody, drowning in vanity

Craving humanity

Y'all lack humanity, I need humanity

I need

Everybody wanna be beautiful, scared of the unusual

Scared of giving mutual respect, all that you hate

You reflect all that God like, you forget how to love somebody

I hate everybody, I hate everyone

Let's talk about A.I., robot got more heart than I

Robot got future, I don't

Robot get sleep but I don't power down

I'm wide open, I'm awake, I'm on autopilot

I'm out of my mind and I'm wide open

Can you distract me from all the disaster?

Can you touch on me and not call me after?

Can you hate on me and mask it with laughter?

Can you lead me to the ark? What's the password?

I need humanity

You're like a melody, drowning in vanity

Craving humanity

Y'all lack humanity, I need humanity

I need

You said all of my friends are on my payroll

You're not wrong, you're an asshole

Screaming at you in the Ludlow

I was yours for free

I don't get existential

I just think about myself and look where that got me

Standing on my own in an airport bar or hotel lobby

Waiting to feel clean

That's so fucking boring

Can you distract me from all the disaster?

Can you touch on me and not call me after?

Can you hate on me and mask it with laughter?

Can you lead me to the ark? What's the password?

I need humanity

You're like a melody, drowning in vanity

Craving humanity

Y'all lack humanity, I need humanity

I need

Those who have forsaken their humanity

They like to patch their life with morality

I think I might be tryna patch my life with morality

(Curious, I'm curious)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
humanity /hjuːˈmænɪti/ C1	noun - the quality of being human; human nature or the human race
disaster /dɪˈzæstər/ B2	noun - a sudden event causing great damage or suffering
melody /ˈmɛlədi/ B2	noun - a sequence of musical notes that are pleasing to hear
vanity /ˈvænɪti/ C1	noun - excessive pride in or admiration of one's appearance or achievements
craving /ˈkreɪvɪŋ/ B2	noun - a powerful desire for something
reflect /rɪˈflɛkt/ B2	verb - to show an image of; to think deeply about something
patch /pætʃ/ B2	verb - to fix or mend a damaged area
existential /ˌɛɡzɪˈstɛntʃəl/ C1	adjective - relating to existence or the experience of existing
mask /mæsk/ B2	verb - to cover or conceal noun - a covering for the face
lead /liːd/ B1	verb - to guide or direct noun - a position at the front or leading
wanna /ˈwɒnə/ A2	verb (informal) - want to (contracted form)
power /ˈpaʊər/ B1	noun - ability to control or influence verb - to supply energy or electricity
awake /əˈweɪk/ B2	adjective - not sleeping verb - to stop sleeping
exist /ɪɡˈzɪst/ B1	verb - to be real or alive
mortal /ˈmɔːrtəl/ C1	adjective - subject to death; human
curious /ˈkjʊəriəs/ B2	adjective - eager to know or learn something

Key Grammar Structures

• Everything disgusting, conversation is so boring

  ➔ Reduced relative clause: "Everything" is a pronoun subject, and "disgusting" functions as a post-nominal adjective implying the elided clause '[that is] disgusting'; the second clause uses the copula "is" with the adjective "boring", intensified by "so".

  ➔ Highlight the pair "Everything" and "disgusting" to show a reduced relative clause.

• I hate her

  ➔ Simple present tense; "hate" is a stative verb; direct object "her".

  ➔ Use of the simple present with a stative verb and a pronoun object.

• I give a fuck, I just wanna fuck, eat, sleep, love, happy

  ➔ Colloquial intensifier "give a fuck"; "wanna" = contraction of "want to"; following verbs (eat, sleep, love) are bare infinitives after "wanna"

  ➔ Highlight "give a fuck" and "wanna" as examples of informal grammar and bare infinitives after want to.

• Can you make me happy? Can you keep me happy?

  ➔ Modal "Can" for requests; causative verbs "make" and "keep" introduce a result/state change caused by the subject.

  ➔ Highlight "make" and "keep" as causative verbs forming a cause-to-become meaning.

• Can you distract me from all the disaster?

  ➔ Phrasal verb structure: "distract from"; preposition "from" marks the source/thing to be distracted.

  ➔ Explain the phrasal verb and the use of "from".

• Can you touch on me and not call me after?

  ➔ Phrasal verb "touch on" meaning 'bring up/mention'; negation with "not" before the second verb; temporal preposition "after"

  ➔ Highlight the phrasal verb and the negation structure.

• You're like a melody, drowning in vanity

  ➔ Simile using "like"; participial phrase "drowning in vanity" acts as a non-finite clause modifying "melody"; prepositional phrase "in vanity"

  ➔ Highlight the simile marker "like" and the participial phrase.

• Craving humanity

  ➔ Noun phrase built from present participle/gerund 'Craving' functioning as a noun; acts as a subject or tagline fragment.

  ➔ Show how a participle can function as a noun.

• Those who have forsaken their humanity

  ➔ Relative clause: "who have forsaken" uses present perfect; demonstrative pronoun "Those" introduces the clause.

  ➔ Highlight the relative pronoun and the present perfect tense in the clause.

• They like to patch their life with morality

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose after 'like to' (prefer to); prepositional phrase 'with morality' indicates instrument/mashion.

  ➔ Note the use of 'like to' followed by bare infinitives and the instrument phrase.

• Those who have forsaken their humanity

  ➔ Relative clause: 'who have forsaken' uses present perfect; demonstrative 'Those' introduces the clause.

  ➔ Emphasize the relative pronoun and the present perfect tense in the clause.