I Can See Clearly Now

• By: Jimmy Cliff

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
see /siː/ A1	verb - to perceive with the eyes
rain /reɪn/ A1	noun - water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere
gone /ɡɒn/ A2	adjective - having gone away; no longer present
dark /dɑːrk/ A1	adjective - with little or no light
clouds /klaʊdz/ A2	noun - visible masses of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere
bright /braɪt/ B1	adjective - giving out or reflecting a lot of light; shining
sunshiny /ˈsʌnʃaɪni/ B2	adjective - bright and cheerful like sunshine
pain /peɪn/ A2	noun - physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury
bad /bæd/ A1	adjective - of poor quality or a low standard
feelings /ˈfiːlɪŋz/ A2	noun - an emotional state or reaction
rainbow /ˈreɪnboʊ/ A2	noun - an arch of colors formed in the sky caused by refraction of the sun's rays by rain
praying /ˈpreɪɪŋ/ B1	verb - addressing a solemn request or expression of thanks to God or another deity
skies /skaɪz/ A2	noun - the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth
obstacles /ˈɒbstəkəlz/ B2	noun - a thing that blocks one's way or prevents or hinders progress.
disappeared /ˌdɪsəˈpɪərd/ B2	verb - cease to be visible

Grammar:

• I can see clearly now the rain is gone

  ➔ Adverb of Time (now), Past Participle as Adjective (gone)

  ➔ Here, "now" indicates the present time of realization. "Gone" acts as an adjective describing "the rain", indicating that it has finished.

• I can see all obstacles in my way

  ➔ Use of 'all' as determiner.

  ➔ "All" quantifies the noun "obstacles", indicating totality.

• Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind

  ➔ Inversion (Gone are), Relative Clause (that had me blind)

  ➔ Instead of 'The dark clouds that had me blind are gone,' the sentence uses inversion for emphasis. The relative clause "that had me blind" modifies "the dark clouds".

• It's gonna be a bright sunshiny day

  ➔ Future with 'gonna' (going to)

  ➔ "Gonna" is a colloquial contraction of "going to," used to express a future intention or prediction.

• Ooh, yes, I can make it now the pain is gone

  ➔ Ability (can), implied causal relationship using 'now'

  ➔ "Can" expresses the speaker's ability to succeed. "Now the pain is gone" implies that the speaker can succeed because the pain is no longer present.

• All of the bad feelings have disappeared

  ➔ Present Perfect Tense (have disappeared), 'all of' + noun

  ➔ The present perfect tense shows that the disappearance happened at an unspecified time in the past but has relevance to the present. "All of" emphasizes that all bad feelings, without exception, are gone.

• Here is that rainbow I've been praying for

  ➔ Present Perfect Continuous (I've been praying), Demonstrative 'that' to emphasize

  ➔ The present perfect continuous emphasizes the duration of the praying. 'That rainbow' singles out a specific rainbow that was anticipated.

• Look all around, there's nothing but blue skies

  ➔ Imperative (Look), 'nothing but' + noun

  ➔ "Look" is an imperative verb, urging the listener to observe. "Nothing but blue skies" means only blue skies exist, implying complete positivity.