Keep the Family Close – English Lyrics

• By: Drake
• Album: Views

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Drake's "Keep the Family Close," a poignant and cinematic track that opens his 'Views' album. This song offers a rich emotional landscape, exploring themes of loyalty, betrayal, and the deep significance of family. As Drake reflects on fractured friendships and the solitude of success, you'll encounter a wealth of conversational English and introspective vocabulary, perfect for understanding contemporary spoken language and emotional expression. Its narrative depth and Drake's signature blend of singing and rapping make it a compelling piece for language learners to unpack complex feelings and real-life scenarios.

[English]

It's a little chilly out there

How you can stand there is beyond me

...

All of my "let's just be friends" are friends I don't have anymore

How do you not check on me when things go wrong

Guess I should've tried to keep my family closer

Much closer

All of my "let's just be friends" are friends I don't have anymore

Guess that's what they say you need family for

Cause I can't depend on you anymore

...

Always saw you for what you could've been

Ever since you met me

Like when Chrysler made that one car that looked just like the Bentley

I always saw you for what you could've been

And even when it's business with you it's personal again

I knew you before you made ends meet now were meeting our ends

And its all because you chose a side

You're supposed to put your pride aside and ride for me

Guess it wasn't time

And of course you went and chose a side that wasn't mine

...

You're so predictable I hate people like you

Kennedy Road taught me not to trust people like you

How you supposed to figure what I'm going through

You can't even figure out what's going on with you

You judge 'fore you met me yeah it figures

I make all the player's anthems for the real niggas

With my dad out in Tennessee is where I belong

Out here in L.A. I don't know what's going on

I don't know what's going on

And its all because you chose a side

You're supposed to put your pride aside and ride for me

Guess it wasn't time

And of course you went and chose a side that wasn't mine

...

You sit and you pray hoping that the stars align

My luck is a sure thing cause I'm living right

When I needed you, you couldn't give me any advice

But you always had something to say every other time

Everybody that I met on the way tries to get in the way

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

Someone up there must just love testing my patience

Someone up there must be in need of some entertainment

Forgiveness for your ways

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

Same way I'm right here still feeling the wave

Same way I'm realizing on a day to day

All of my "let's just be friends" are friends I don't have anymore

How do you not check on me when things go wrong

Guess I should've tried to keep my family closer

Much closer

All of my "let's just be friends" are friends I don't have anymore

Guess that's what they say you need family for

Cause I can't depend on you anymore

Much closer

...

Anytime people want to start problems

For real are you done

You know who mans are

I'm not afraid no gyal heart man

And I'm not afraid of no catty

And I'm not afraid of no waste neither

So anybody who want it can get it

Its that fact

...

Key Vocabulary

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.

Key Grammar Structures

• 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.