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So, you've been to school for a year or two 00:35
And you know you've seen it all 00:37
In daddy's car, thinking you'll go far 00:40
Back East, your type don't crawl 00:42
Play ethnicky jazz to parade your snazz 00:45
On your five-grand stereo 00:47
Braggin' that you know how the niggers feel cold 00:49
And the slums got so much soul 00:52
It's time to taste what you most fear 00:55
Right Guard will not help you here 00:59
Brace yourself, my dear 01:04
Brace yourself, my dear 01:09
It's a holiday in Cambodia 01:14
It's tough, kid, but it's life 01:17
It's a holiday in Cambodia 01:19
Don't forget to pack a wife 01:21
01:27
You're a star-belly sneech, you suck like a leech 01:39
You want everyone to act like you 01:42
Kiss ass while you bitch so you can get rich 01:44
But your boss gets richer off you 01:47
Well, you'll work harder with a gun in your back 01:49
For a bowl of rice a day 01:52
Slave for soldiers 'til you starve 01:54
Then your head is skewered on a stake 01:56
Now you can go where people are one 01:59
Now you can go where they get things done 02:04
What you need, my son 02:08
What you need, my son 02:14
Is a holiday in Cambodia 02:18
Where people dress in black 02:20
A holiday in Cambodia 02:23
Where you'll kiss ass or crack 02:25
02:33
Pol Pot 03:12
Pol Pot 03:15
Pol Pot 03:17
Pol Pot 03:19
Pol Pot 03:22
Pol Pot 03:24
Pol Pot 03:27
Pol Pot, and it's a-- 03:29
Holiday in Cambodia 03:31
Where you'll do what you're told 03:34
A holiday in Cambodia 03:36
Where the slums got so much soul 03:38
Pol Pot 03:42
03:43

Holiday in Cambodia

By
Dead Kennedys
Album
Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables
Viewed
22,739,899
Learn this song

Lyrics:

[English]

So, you've been to school for a year or two

And you know you've seen it all

In daddy's car, thinking you'll go far

Back East, your type don't crawl

Play ethnicky jazz to parade your snazz

On your five-grand stereo

Braggin' that you know how the niggers feel cold

And the slums got so much soul

It's time to taste what you most fear

Right Guard will not help you here

Brace yourself, my dear

Brace yourself, my dear

It's a holiday in Cambodia

It's tough, kid, but it's life

It's a holiday in Cambodia

Don't forget to pack a wife

...

You're a star-belly sneech, you suck like a leech

You want everyone to act like you

Kiss ass while you bitch so you can get rich

But your boss gets richer off you

Well, you'll work harder with a gun in your back

For a bowl of rice a day

Slave for soldiers 'til you starve

Then your head is skewered on a stake

Now you can go where people are one

Now you can go where they get things done

What you need, my son

What you need, my son

Is a holiday in Cambodia

Where people dress in black

A holiday in Cambodia

Where you'll kiss ass or crack

...

Pol Pot

Pol Pot

Pol Pot

Pol Pot

Pol Pot

Pol Pot

Pol Pot

Pol Pot, and it's a--

Holiday in Cambodia

Where you'll do what you're told

A holiday in Cambodia

Where the slums got so much soul

Pol Pot

...

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary Meanings

school

/skuːl/

A1
  • noun
  • - an institution for educating children

crawl

/krɔːl/

B1
  • verb
  • - to move on your hands and knees

jazz

/dʒæz/

B1
  • noun
  • - a type of music of black American origin

slums

/slʌmz/

B2
  • noun
  • - a squalid and overcrowded urban street or district inhabited by very poor people.

taste

/teɪst/

A2
  • verb
  • - to perceive or experience the flavor of

fear

/fɪər/

B1
  • noun
  • - an unpleasant emotion caused by the perception of danger, pain, or threat
  • verb
  • - to be afraid of (someone or something)

tough

/tʌf/

B1
  • adjective
  • - difficult; requiring effort

life

/laɪf/

A1
  • noun
  • - the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter

star

/stɑːr/

A1
  • noun
  • - a fixed luminous point in the night sky

suck

/sʌk/

B1
  • verb
  • - draw into the mouth by contracting the muscles of the lips and mouth to create a partial vacuum

leech

/liːtʃ/

B2
  • noun
  • - a carnivorous or bloodsucking worm.

kiss

/kɪs/

A2
  • verb
  • - to touch with the lips as a sign of love, greeting, etc.

rich

/rɪtʃ/

A2
  • adjective
  • - having a great deal of money or assets; wealthy

slave

/sleɪv/

B1
  • verb
  • - work excessively hard
  • noun
  • - a person who is the legal property of another and is forced to obey them.

starve

/stɑːrv/

B2
  • verb
  • - suffer severely or die from hunger

crack

/kræk/

B2
  • verb
  • - to break without separating into pieces

Grammar:

  • So, you've been to school for a year or two And you know you've seen it all

    ➔ Present Perfect Tense

    ➔ The phrase "you've been to school" uses the present perfect tense to indicate an action that started in the past and has relevance to the present. It suggests the experience of being in school has an impact on the current situation of the person being addressed. "You've seen it all" implies an overconfident attitude of having experienced everything.

  • Thinking you'll go far

    ➔ Future Simple (using 'will')

    ➔ The phrase implies a belief or expectation about the future. "you'll go" is a shortened form of "you will go", predicting a future outcome based on the person's current circumstances (driving daddy's car).

  • Back East, your type don't crawl

    ➔ Simple Present Tense (Generalization)

    ➔ Uses the simple present tense to express a general truth or a common characteristic of a group. "Your type don't crawl" makes a broad statement about the behavior of a specific social class in a particular region (Back East).

  • Braggin' that you know how the niggers feel cold

    ➔ Present Participle (Gerund) as Noun Modifier & Reported Speech (indirect)

    "Braggin'" (bragging) is a present participle used as a noun modifier, describing the action of bragging. The phrase "that you know how...feel cold" represents reported speech, indicating a claim the person makes about their understanding of others' feelings. The use of a derogatory term is important to note for its impact on meaning and tone.

  • It's time to taste what you most fear

    ➔ It + be + time + to + infinitive, Relative Clause with 'what'

    ➔ The structure "It's time to taste..." indicates that the moment for a particular action has arrived. The clause "what you most fear" is a relative clause acting as the object of the verb "taste". It uses 'what' to refer to the thing that is feared.

  • Right Guard will not help you here

    ➔ Future Simple (Negation with 'will not')

    ➔ This line employs the future simple tense in its negative form. "Will not help" (or its contraction "won't help") expresses a prediction that something will *not* occur in the future. It indicates that the product 'Right Guard' (deodorant) will be ineffective in the situation.

  • Slave for soldiers 'til you starve

    ➔ Imperative (implied), Subordinating Conjunction ('til')

    ➔ While not explicitly stated as "You slave...", the sentence carries an implied imperative tone, suggesting a command or inevitability. "'Til" is a shortened form of "until", a subordinating conjunction introducing a time clause indicating when the slaving will continue.

  • Now you can go where people are one

    ➔ Modal Verb 'can' (possibility/permission), Relative Clause (where)

    "Can go" indicates possibility or permission to travel. "Where people are one" is a relative clause modifying the place where the person is now able to go, implying a place of unity or conformity, possibly achieved through oppressive means.