Ghost Town

• By: The Specials

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
town /taʊn/ A1	noun - a populated place, typically smaller than a city
ghost /ɡoʊst/ B1	noun - the spirit of a dead person adjective - resembling or characteristic of a ghost.
clubs /klʌbz/ A2	noun - establishments that are open late at night, providing music, dancing, and alcoholic drinks
closed /kloʊzd/ A2	adjective - not open
bands /bændz/ A2	noun - groups of musicians
play /pleɪ/ A1	verb - to perform music
fighting /ˈfaɪtɪŋ/ B1	noun - violent physical conflict
dance /dæns/ A1	verb - to move rhythmically to music
floor /flɔːr/ A1	noun - the surface of a room
good /ɡʊd/ A1	adjective - of high quality
days /deɪz/ A1	noun - periods of 24 hours
music /ˈmjuːzɪk/ A1	noun - vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) combined in such a way as to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion
boomtown /ˈbuːmtaʊn/ B2	noun - a town undergoing rapid growth due to sudden prosperity
youth /juːθ/ B1	noun - the period between childhood and adult age
government /ˈɡʌvərnmənt/ B1	noun - the governing body of a nation, state, or community
job /dʒɒb/ A1	noun - a paid position of employment
found /faʊnd/ A1	verb - past tense of 'find'
country /ˈkʌntri/ A1	noun - a nation with its own government, occupying a particular territory
people /ˈpiːpl/ A1	noun - human beings in general or considered collectively
angry /ˈæŋɡri/ A2	adjective - feeling or showing strong annoyance, displeasure, or hostility

Grammar:

• This town is coming like a ghost town

  ➔ Present Continuous used to describe a gradual change or trend (be + coming)

  ➔ The use of "is coming like" suggests a gradual transformation of the town into something resembling a ghost town. It emphasizes the process rather than a sudden state.

• All the clubs have been closed down

  ➔ Present Perfect Passive (have/has been + past participle)

  ➔ The use of the present perfect passive indicates that the clubs were closed at some point in the past, and the result of that action continues to be relevant in the present.

• Bands won't play no more

  ➔ Double Negative (non-standard English). Should be "Bands won't play anymore" or "Bands will not play anymore"

  ➔ The double negative "won't play no more" is grammatically incorrect in standard English, but it's used here for emphasis and to reflect a specific dialect or register, potentially highlighting the bleakness of the situation.

• Too much fighting on the dance floor

  ➔ "Too much" + uncountable noun

  ➔ "Fighting" is an uncountable noun here, referring to the general concept of conflict, hence "too much" is used correctly.

• Do you remember the good old days before the ghost town?

  ➔ Question formation with auxiliary verb "do" in Simple Past

  ➔ The question uses "do" as an auxiliary verb because "remember" is a main verb. This is the standard way to form questions in the simple past tense in English.

• Why must the youth fight against themselves?

  ➔ Modal verb "must" expressing necessity or obligation in a rhetorical question

  ➔ Here, "must" doesn't literally mean they are obliged to fight. It expresses bewilderment and condemnation that they are doing so. The question is rhetorical; the speaker isn't expecting an answer.

• Government leaving the youth on the shelf

  ➔ Present Participle clause acting as a noun modifier/reduced relative clause (Government which is leaving)

  ➔ "Leaving" modifies "Government," describing what the government is doing. It's a more concise way of saying "The Government that is leaving the youth..."

• No job to be found in this country

  ➔ Passive infinitive "to be found" after a noun. Function: Adjective (to describe the lack of job)

  ➔ The infinitive phrase "to be found" describes the characteristic of the job; it emphasizes that no job can be located. Equivalent to “No job that can be found”.