Girl In Amber – English Lyrics

• By: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
• Album: Ghosteen

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the poignant world of Nick Cave's "Girl In Amber," a song born from personal tragedy and imbued with raw emotion. Explore themes of grief, memory, and the struggle to move forward. Discover how this haunting track offers a window into the depths of human experience and provides a unique opportunity to connect with the language of sorrow and resilience.

[English]

Some go on and some stay behind

Some never move at all

Girl in amber trapped forever, spinning down the hall

Let no part of her go unremembered, clothes across the floor

Girl in amber long to slumber shuts the bathroom door

The phone, the phone, the phone it rings, the phone it rings no more

The song, the song, the song it spins since nineteen eighty-four

The phone, the phone, the phone, it rings, the phone, it rings no more

The song, the song it's been spinning now since nineteen

If you want to bleed, just bleed

If you want to bleed, just bleed

But if you want to leave, don't breathe

a word

The world, just step away

and let the world turn, it turn

You kneel, you lace up his boots, your little blue-eyed boy

Take him by the hand, go floating, moving down the hall

I get lucky, I get lucky 'cause I tried again

I knew the world it would stop spinning now since you've been gone

I used to think that when you died, you kind of wandered the world

In a slumber till you crumbled, were absorbed into the earth

Well, I don't think that any more, the phone it rings no more

The song, the song it spins, it spins since nineteen eighty-four

The song, the song, the song it spins, it's been spinning now

And if you'll hold me, I will tell you that you know that

If you want to leave, don't breathe

And if you want to leave, don't breathe

And if you want to leave, don't breathe a word

The world, just step away

and let the world turn

The song, the song, the song it spins, the song, it spins no more

The phone it rings and rings and you won't stay

Don't touch me

Don't touch me

Don't touch me

Don't touch me

Don't touch me

Don't touch me

Don't touch me

Don't touch me

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
girl /ɡɜːl/ A1	noun - a female child or young woman
amber /ˈæm.bɚ/ B2	noun - a hard, translucent yellow‑brown fossilized resin
hall /hɔːl/ A2	noun - a large room or corridor in a building
phone /foʊn/ A1	noun - a telephone, device for voice communication
song /sɒŋ/ A1	noun - a short musical composition with words
world /wɜːld/ A1	noun - the earth, or all of humanity and its environment
boots /buːts/ A2	noun - sturdy shoes that cover the ankle
boy /bɔɪ/ A1	noun - a male child
hand /hænd/ A1	noun - the end part of the arm
bleed /bliːd/ B2	verb - to lose blood
leave /liːv/ A2	verb - to go away from a place
breathe /briːð/ B1	verb - to take air into the lungs and expel it
step /stɛp/ A2	verb - to move by lifting one foot and placing it forward
turn /tɜːn/ A2	verb - to rotate or cause to rotate
kneel /niːl/ B2	verb - to rest on one's knees
lace /leɪs/ B2	verb - to fasten with a cord or string
slumber /ˈslʌm.bɚ/ C1	noun - sleep, especially a deep or prolonged one
wander /ˈwɒn.dər/ B2	verb - to move about without a fixed course

Key Grammar Structures

• Girl in amber trapped forever, spinning down the hall

  ➔ Participle Clauses (Past and Present Participles as modifiers)

  ➔ "trapped" (past participle) modifies "Girl", indicating a state resulting from an action. "spinning" (present participle) describes an ongoing action of the "Girl". These are examples of reduced relative clauses or adjective phrases.

• Let no part of her go unremembered, clothes across the floor

  ➔ Imperative with "Let" + Object + Bare Infinitive + Negative Past Participle

  ➔ "Let no part of her go unremembered" uses "let" to express a desire or command, followed by "no part of her" (object) and "go" (bare infinitive). "unremembered" is a negative past participle functioning as a subject complement, describing the state of "no part of her."

• The song, the song, the song it spins since nineteen eighty-four

  ➔ Present Simple with "since" (for actions continuing from the past)

  ➔ Although "since" usually triggers the present perfect or present perfect continuous, here "spins" (present simple) is used. This is a common stylistic choice in poetry and song lyrics to emphasize the ongoing, timeless nature of the action, implying "has been spinning" without explicitly stating it.

• If you want to bleed, just bleed

  ➔ Conditional Clause (Type 0/1) + Imperative

  ➔ The "if" clause ("If you want to bleed") sets a condition, and the main clause ("just bleed") gives a direct command or suggestion. This structure combines a conditional statement with an imperative.

• But if you want to leave, don't breathe a word

  ➔ Conditional Clause (Type 1) + Negative Imperative

  ➔ Similar to the previous example, "If you want to leave" is the condition. "don't breathe a word" is a negative command, instructing silence. This is a classic First Conditional structure where the result is an imperative.

• The world, just step away and let the world turn, it turn

  ➔ Imperative + "Let" + Object + Bare Infinitive

  ➔ "just step away" is a direct command. "let the world turn" uses "let" to grant permission or allow something to happen, followed by "the world" (object) and "turn" (bare infinitive). The repeated "it turn" is a poetic or colloquial reinforcement.

• I used to think that when you died, you kind of wandered the world

  ➔ "Used to" (for past habits/states) + Subordinate Clause with "that"

  ➔ "I used to think" expresses a past belief or habit that is no longer true. The clause "that when you died, you kind of wandered the world" acts as the object of "think," introduced by the conjunction "that."

• Well, I don't think that any more, the phone it rings no more

  ➔ Negative Adverbial Phrases ("any more" and "no more")

  ➔ "any more" is used in negative sentences to mean "not additionally" or "not currently." "no more" (often meaning "not any more") is also used to indicate the cessation of an action or state, often with a stronger emphasis. Both indicate an end to something.

• And if you'll hold me, I will tell you that you know that

  ➔ First Conditional (with "will" in the 'if' clause - informal/poetic)

  ➔ This is a First Conditional structure ("if + present simple, will + infinitive") where the 'if' clause ("if you'll hold me") includes "will" ("you'll" for "you will"). While "if + simple present" is standard, "if + will" can be used in informal contexts or to express willingness in the condition. The main clause ("I will tell you...") shows a future result.

• Don't touch me

  ➔ Negative Imperative

  ➔ "Don't touch me" is a direct command telling someone not to do something. It uses the auxiliary verb "do" with "not" to form a negative imperative.