Let's Get Married – English Lyrics

• By: The Proclaimers
• Album: Hit The Highway

Lyrics & Translation

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
married /ˈmærɪd/ A2	adjective - having a spouse; united in marriage
love /lʌv/ A1	verb - to feel deep affection or attachment noun - a strong feeling of affection
want /wɒnt/ A2	verb - to desire or wish for something
grow /ɡroʊ/ A2	verb - to increase in size or develop
hold /hoʊld/ A2	verb - to grasp or carry with the hands
kids /kɪdz/ A2	noun - children
children /ˈtʃɪl.drən/ B1	noun - young human beings below the age of puberty
questions /ˈkwɛs.tʃənz/ B2	noun - sentences or phrases requesting information
defining /dɪˈfaɪ.nɪŋ/ C1	verb - to describe the nature or characteristics of something
success /səkˈsɛs/ B2	noun - the achievement of a desired aim or result
define /dɪˈfaɪn/ B2	verb - to state the meaning of a word or concept
pride /praɪd/ B2	noun - a feeling of deep pleasure from one's own achievements

Key Grammar Structures

• We've been, going together Too long to be vague

  ➔ Present Perfect Continuous (Progressive) tense

  ➔ Uses "We've been going" to indicate an action that started in the past and continues up to the present moment. The continuous aspect emphasizes the duration of the relationship. "We've" is a contraction of "We have".

• If it's not now, then it's never

  ➔ Conditional Sentence (Zero/First Conditional)

  ➔ Although this can technically be classified as a zero conditional due to the general truth quality, it's closer to a first conditional. It express a consequence based on a condition. "If it's not now" is the conditional clause and "then it's never" is the main clause indicating a strong possibility.

• We know, other people Who drifted apart Who broke each others hearts

  ➔ Relative Clauses (Defining)

  ➔ The phrases "who drifted apart" and "who broke each others hearts" are relative clauses modifying "other people". "Who" is the relative pronoun acting as the subject of the relative clauses, and it defines which 'other people' are being referred to.

• We're gonna be more than O.K.

  ➔ Future with "gonna"

  ➔ "Gonna" is a colloquial contraction of "going to". It indicates an intention or prediction about the future. It suggests informality and confidence about the future outcome.

• Yeah, it's just a piece of paper but it says "I Love You"

  ➔ Contrastive Conjunction "but"

  ➔ The conjunction "but" connects two contrasting ideas. The speaker acknowledges that marriage is represented by 'just a piece of paper,' but emphasizes that it symbolizes a much deeper sentiment: "I Love You".

• For the days when we can do no wrong

  ➔ Adverbial Clause of Time introduced by "when"

  ➔ The clause "when we can do no wrong" specifies the time or circumstance related to the good times. "When" introduces a period of time during which the action (we can do no wrong) takes place. It's a time-related reason to marry.

• Still taking pride When we're old if they ask me "How do you define success?"

  ➔ Embedded Question

  ➔ "How do you define success?" is an embedded question. It acts as the object of the verb "ask." Note the word order in the embedded question is that of a statement (subject + verb) rather than a direct question (verb + subject).

• All right you can get a cat just as long as it barks

  ➔ "as long as" Conditional

  ➔ "as long as" introduces a condition that must be met for something else to happen. Here, the condition for getting a cat is that it barks. This highlights humor and non-traditional expectations within the relationship.