Israelites

• By: Desmond Dekker

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
morning /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/ A1	noun - the period of time between sunrise and noon
slaving /ˈsleɪvɪŋ/ B2	verb - working very hard
bread /bred/ A1	noun - food made of flour, water, and yeast mixed together and baked
mouth /maʊθ/ A1	noun - the opening in the face used for eating and speaking
fed /fed/ A1	verb - past tense of feed; to give food to
poor /pʊr/ A1	adjective - lacking sufficient money to live comfortably
Israelites /ˈɪzriəˌlaɪts/ B2	noun - descendants of Jacob; ancient Hebrew people
wife /waɪf/ A1	noun - a married woman
kids /kɪdz/ A1	noun - children
packed /pækt/ A2	verb - filled a bag or container with items for travel
darling /ˈdɑːrlɪŋ/ A2	noun - a term of endearment
receive /rɪˈsiːv/ B1	verb - to get something
shirt /ʃɜːrt/ A1	noun - a garment worn on the upper body
tear /tɪr/ B1	verb - to damage by pulling apart
trousers /ˈtraʊzərz/ A1	noun - pants
gone /ɡɔːn/ A2	adjective - no longer present; departed
end /end/ A2	verb - to finish; to stop
storm /stɔːrm/ A2	noun - a violent weather condition with strong winds and rain, snow, etc.
calm /kɑːm/ B1	noun - a state of peace and quiet adjective - not showing or feeling nervousness, anger, or other emotions
catch /kætʃ/ A2	verb - to seize or take hold of
farm /fɑːrm/ A1	noun - an area of land and its buildings used for growing crops and rearing animals
alarm /əˈlɑːrm/ B1	noun - a warning sound or signal verb - to frighten or disturb
working /ˈwɜːrkɪŋ/ A1	verb - to exert effort to do, make, or perform something
hard /hɑːrd/ A1	adjective - solid, firm, and difficult to break, bend, or pierce adverb - with great effort

Grammar:

• Get up in the morning, slaving for bread, sir

  ➔ Present participle as an adjective

  ➔ Here, "slaving" acts as an adjective describing the state of the person "getting up". It implies continuous action. Equivalent to "getting up and slaving for bread."

• So that every mouth can be fed

  ➔ Subordinate clause of purpose with "so that"

  ➔ "So that" introduces a clause that explains the purpose of the action in the main clause. "Every mouth can be fed" is the desired outcome of "slaving for bread".

• My wife and my kids, they packed up and a-leave me

  ➔ Non-standard dialectal use of "a-" before verb

  ➔ The "a-" before "leave" is a feature of some dialects, particularly in the Caribbean and African American Vernacular English (AAVE). It doesn't have a specific grammatical function but emphasizes the action. Standard English would simply be "and leave me".

• Darling, she said, "I was yours to receive"

  ➔ Past tense with "to be + yours + to + infinitive" structure

  ➔ This structure implies a predetermined or destined role. "I was yours to receive" suggests the speaker believed it was her fate to be taken in or accepted by the person she's addressing. The "to + infinitive" functions as an adverbial of purpose or result.

• Shirt, them a-tear up, trousers are gone

  ➔ Subject-verb agreement issues in dialectal English, passive voice ("are gone")

  ➔ "Them a-tear up" demonstrates non-standard subject-verb agreement. In standard English, it would be "They are torn up". The use of "are gone" is a passive construction, implying the trousers are missing or lost.

• I don't want to end up like Bonnie and Clyde

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose after "want"

  ➔ "To end up" expresses the desired outcome or avoidance of a particular situation. The infinitive phrase "to end up like Bonnie and Clyde" clarifies what the speaker wishes to avoid.

• Dem a wonder we not working so hard

  ➔ Non-standard English: subject-verb agreement and omitted verb

  ➔ "Dem" is used as a subject pronoun instead of "they." The phrase "we not working" is missing the auxiliary verb "are," it should be "we are not working." The sentence in standard English would be: "They are wondering why we are not working so hard."