Homeward Bound

• By: Simon & Garfunkel
• Album: The Concert in Central Park

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
station /ˈsteɪʃən/ A2	noun - a place where trains or buses regularly stop so that passengers can get on and off
ticket /ˈtɪkɪt/ A1	noun - a piece of paper or card that gives you the right to enter a place or travel on a vehicle
destination /ˌdestɪˈneɪʃən/ B1	noun - the place to which someone or something is going or being sent
tour /tʊr/ A2	noun - a journey for pleasure in which you visit several different places verb - to go on a tour
suitcase /ˈsuːtkeɪs/ A2	noun - a rectangular case with a handle for carrying clothes and other personal possessions when travelling
guitar /ɡɪˈtɑːr/ A1	noun - a musical instrument with six strings that you play by pulling or strumming the strings
stop /stɒp/ A1	noun - an act of stopping; a place where a bus or train regularly stops verb - to (cause something to) finish doing something
poet /ˈpoʊɪt/ B2	noun - a person who writes poems
band /bænd/ A2	noun - a group of musicians who play popular music
thoughts /θɔːts/ A2	noun - the act or power of producing ideas
escaping /ɪˈskeɪpɪŋ/ B1	verb - to get free from something, or avoid something
music /ˈmjuːzɪk/ A1	noun - a set of notes combined in a way that is pleasant to listen to
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - a strong feeling of affection verb - to have a strong feeling of affection for
waiting /ˈweɪtɪŋ/ A1	verb - to stay in a place until someone comes, or something happens
stranger /ˈstreɪndʒər/ A2	noun - a person you do not know
comfort /ˈkʌmfərt/ B1	verb - to make someone feel better when they are sad or worried noun - a feeling of not being worried or in any pain
mediocrity /ˌmiːdiˈɒkrəti/ C1	noun - the quality of being not very good
emptiness /ˈemptinəs/ B2	noun - the state of containing nothing
harmony /ˈhɑːrməni/ B2	noun - a situation in which people are peaceful and agree with each other, or when things seem right or suitable together

Grammar:

• I'm sittin' in the railway station, got a ticket for my destination

  ➔ Present Continuous Tense (sitting) used for an action happening now/around now; Ellipsis (omission of 'I have' in 'got a ticket')

  ➔ This line uses the present continuous tense, "sittin'", to describe an action happening at the moment of speaking. The ellipsis of "I have" in "got a ticket" is common in informal speech and song lyrics.

• And every stop is neatly planned for a poet and a one-man band

  ➔ Passive Voice (is planned); Use of "for" to indicate purpose

  ➔ "Is planned" is in the passive voice, emphasizing that the planning was done to the speaker/performer, not by the speaker. "For" indicates the purpose of the planning: to accommodate the performer.

• Home, where my thoughts are escaping

  ➔ Relative Clause (where my thoughts are escaping) using "where" as a relative adverb.

  ➔ "Where" introduces a relative clause modifying "Home." It refers to the place where the action of the clause happens.

• Every day's an endless stream of cigarettes and magazines

  ➔ Subject-Verb Agreement (Day's/is); Use of genitive "'s" to indicate possession/attribution.

  ➔ "Day's" is a contraction of "Day is." The 's shows that the endless stream is attributed to or a characteristic of every day on the tour.

• And every stranger's face I see reminds me that I long to be

  ➔ Subject-Verb Agreement (face reminds); Noun Clause (that I long to be) as object of "reminds".

  ➔ The singular subject "face" agrees with the singular verb "reminds." The clause "that I long to be" functions as the direct object of the verb "reminds".

• But all my words come back to me in shades of mediocrity

  ➔ Prepositional Phrase (in shades of mediocrity); Subject-Verb Agreement (words come)

  ➔ "In shades of mediocrity" is a prepositional phrase modifying the verb "come back". "Words" is plural, so the verb is also plural.

• Like emptiness in harmony I need someone to comfort me

  ➔ Inversion (I need someone; normal word order); Infinitive of purpose (to comfort me).

  ➔ The structure "I need someone to comfort me" is a typical structure. "To comfort me" shows the purpose for needing someone.