Keep the Family Close

• By: Drake
• Album: Views

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
friends /frendz/ A1	noun - a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection
family /ˈfæməli/ A1	noun - a group of people related by blood, marriage, or adoption
wrong /rɔːŋ/ A1	adjective - not correct or true; incorrect
need /niːd/ A1	verb - require (something) because it is essential or very important.
saw /sɔː/ A1	verb - past tense of see, to perceive with the eyes
business /ˈbɪznɪs/ A2	noun - a person's regular occupation, profession, or trade
meet /miːt/ A1	verb - to encounter (someone) for the first time
pride /praɪd/ B2	noun - a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of those with whom one is closely associated, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.
trust /trʌst/ B1	verb - to have confidence in someone
judge /dʒʌdʒ/ B1	verb - form an opinion or conclusion about
real /ˈriːəl/ A2	adjective - actually existing or occurring; not imagined or pretended
belong /bɪˈlɒŋ/ B1	verb - be the property of
pray /preɪ/ B1	verb - address a solemn request or expression of thanks to a deity or other object of worship
luck /lʌk/ A2	noun - success or failure apparently brought by chance rather than through one's own actions
advice /ədˈvaɪs/ B1	noun - guidance or recommendations concerning prudent future action, typically given by someone regarded as knowledgeable or authoritative
patience /ˈpeɪʃns/ B2	noun - the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.
problems /ˈprɒbləmz/ A2	noun - a matter or situation regarded as unwelcome or harmful and needing to be dealt with and overcome.

Grammar:

• How you *can stand* there is beyond me

  ➔ Inversion for emphasis/stylistic effect

  ➔ Normally the sentence would be "How you *can stand* there..." demonstrates an inverted sentence structure. Inversion is used to emphasize 'beyond me'.

• Guess I *should've tried* to keep my family closer

  ➔ Modal verb of regret (should have + past participle)

  ➔ "Should've tried" expresses regret that the speaker did not try harder to keep their family close.

• Always saw you *for what you could've been*

  ➔ Conditional perfect expressing unrealized potential (could have + past participle)

  ➔ "Could've been" implies that the speaker believed the person had a greater potential than what they actually achieved. It expresses a sense of disappointment or unfulfilled expectations.

• Kennedy Road taught me *not to trust* people like you

  ➔ Negative infinitive

  ➔ Using "not to trust" negates the action of the infinitive "to trust."

• You sit and you pray *hoping that the stars align*

  ➔ Present participle as a reduced relative clause (hoping = who hope)

  ➔ "Hoping that the stars align" functions as a reduced relative clause modifying "You". It's equivalent to "You sit and you pray, who hope that the stars align."

• If I ever loved ya, I'll always love ya that's *how I was raised*

  ➔ Passive voice (was raised)

  ➔ The passive voice "was raised" indicates that the speaker was brought up in a particular way or with specific values. It focuses on the action being done *to* the speaker.

• I'm fooding and serving them all *like I'm working* for minimum wage

  ➔ Subjunctive mood in 'as if/as though' clauses (like I were working...)

  ➔ Although "like I'm working" is grammatically acceptable in informal speech, the more grammatically correct form for expressing a hypothetical or untrue situation after "like" (or "as if/as though") is the subjunctive. In this case, it would be "like I *were* working". The use of *were* is typical in formal writing or when emphasizing the hypothetical nature of the situation. It suggests he's working hard (serving everyone) but isn't actually being paid minimum wage.