Holiday in Cambodia
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 |
|
crawl /krɔːl/ B1 |
|
jazz /dʒæz/ B1 |
|
slums /slʌmz/ B2 |
|
taste /teɪst/ A2 |
|
fear /fɪər/ B1 |
|
tough /tʌf/ B1 |
|
life /laɪf/ A1 |
|
star /stɑːr/ A1 |
|
suck /sʌk/ B1 |
|
leech /liːtʃ/ B2 |
|
kiss /kɪs/ A2 |
|
rich /rɪtʃ/ A2 |
|
slave /sleɪv/ B1 |
|
starve /stɑːrv/ B2 |
|
crack /kræk/ B2 |
|
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.