High Road

• By: Koe Wetzel, Jessie Murph
• Album: 9 Lives

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
mad /mæd/ A2	adjective - angry
cut /kʌt/ A1	verb - to divide or penetrate with a sharp instrument
bleed /bliːd/ B1	verb - to lose blood
rumor /ˈruːmər/ B2	noun - a currently circulating story or report of uncertain or doubtful truth
yelling /ˈjelɪŋ/ B1	verb - to shout something loudly
fighting /ˈfaɪtɪŋ/ A2	noun - the act of fighting; violent conflict
driving /ˈdraɪvɪŋ/ A1	verb - operating a vehicle
high /haɪ/ A1	adjective - of great vertical extent
stoned /stoʊnd/ B2	adjective - under the influence of drugs
terrible /ˈterəbl/ B1	adjective - extremely bad or serious
cool /kuːl/ A2	verb - to become less hot
walk /wɔːk/ A1	verb - to move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn
messing /ˈmesɪŋ/ B1	verb - to interfere thoughtlessly or ignorantly
shitshow /ˈʃɪtʃoʊ/ C1	noun - a situation or event that is badly mismanaged or full of problems
honest /ˈɒnɪst/ A2	adjective - free of deceit; truthful and sincere
quit /kwɪt/ A2	verb - to leave a job or stop doing something
losing /ˈluːzɪŋ/ A2	verb - to be deprived of something

Grammar:

• Well, I can tell that you're mad.

  ➔ Subject-Verb-Complement (SVC) with adjective as complement, that-clause

  ➔ The sentence follows the basic SVC structure. "I" is the subject, "can tell" is the verb phrase, and "that you're mad" is a that-clause acting as the complement, specifying what the speaker can tell.

• It's always who cuts first and never who bleeds last.

  ➔ Cleft sentence with "it's", relative clauses with "who", adverb of frequency "always"

  ➔ This is a cleft sentence, used to emphasize a particular part of the sentence. The "it's" structure highlights the following clause. "who cuts first" and "who bleeds last" are relative clauses defining the subject of the sentence.

• Rumors always turn into yelling and fighting.

  ➔ Subject-Verb-Prepositional Phrase, adverb of frequency "always", gerunds (yelling and fighting)

  ➔ "Rumors" is the subject, "turn into" is the phrasal verb, and "yelling and fighting" are gerunds functioning as the object of the preposition "into". "Always" modifies the verb, indicating frequency.

• And what's this in your mind, only one way you're driving

  ➔ Interrogative structure with ellipsis, reduced relative clause

  ➔ The beginning is elliptical, implying "And what is this...?" followed by a statement describing the situation. "only one way you're driving" is a reduced relative clause; the full clause would be something like "...only one way that you are driving."

• I'ma take the high road, baby get stoned

  ➔ Informal contraction "I'ma", imperative clause (baby get stoned)

  ➔ "I'ma" is a colloquial contraction of "I am going to." "Baby get stoned" is used like an imperative expression, implying that the speaker wants to get intoxicated.

• Have a little too much of something terrible.

  ➔ Quantifier "a little too much", adjective as modifier "terrible", implied subject

  ➔ "a little too much" quantifies the noun phrase "something terrible." "terrible" describes the 'something'. The implied subject is 'I', as this action is related to the previous 'I'ma'.

• You ain't messing me up like the times before

  ➔ Negative contraction "ain't", comparative structure with "like"

  ➔ "Ain't" is a non-standard contraction for "am not," "is not," or "are not." The phrase "like the times before" creates a comparison.

• Knock yourself out and hit a new low.

  ➔ Imperative verbs, reflexive pronoun "yourself", determiner "a" + adjective + noun (a new low)

  ➔ "Knock yourself out" and "hit a new low" are both commands using imperative verbs. "Yourself" is the reflexive pronoun referring back to the implied subject, 'you'.