Ordinaryish People – English Lyrics

• By: AJR, Blue Man Group
• Album: OK Orchestra

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

Your happy friends call you depressing

'Cause you wonder why we're all alive

Your downer friends think you're too happy, too happy

'Cause you still celebrate sometimes

Your hippie friends call you a sellout

'Cause you buckle down and get a job

You still get high, but you're no hippie, no hippie

But all your work friends think you are

I guess the last time you had any fun

Was way back when you weren't anyone

So goodbye ordinaryish people

We had quite the run, didn't we, though?

But you gotta be somebody sometime

I don't wanna pack up and leave, though

When you're nobody, then nobody minds

Your pretty friends, they call you ugly

Your ugly friends, they call you vain

No, you're not stupid, you're just special, special

Well, that's what all your smart friends say

I guess the last time you had any fun

(Oh, the last time you had any fun)

Was way back when you weren't anyone

(Way back when you weren't anyone)

So goodbye ordinaryish people

We had quite the run, didn't we, though?

But you gotta be somebody sometime

I don't wanna pack up and leave, though

When you're nobody, then nobody minds

I don't wanna pack up and leave, though

When you're nobody, then nobody minds

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
depressing /dɪˈprɛsɪŋ/ B1	adjective - causing sadness or a feeling of hopelessness
wonder /ˈwʌndər/ A2	verb - to think about something with curiosity
celebrate /ˈsɛləbreɪt/ A2	verb - to observe a special day or event with festivities
hippie /ˈhɪpi/ B1	noun - a person who rejects conventional values and practices, often associated with the 1960s counterculture
sellout /ˈsɛlˌaʊt/ B2	noun - a person who abandons their principles for personal gain
buckle /ˈbʌkəl/ B1	verb - to work hard or apply oneself diligently
high /haɪ/ A1	adjective - intoxicated or under the influence of drugs
run /rʌn/ A1	verb - to go or move quickly
ordinaryish /ˈɔrdnɛrɪɪʃ/ C1	adjective - somewhat ordinary or average
somebody /ˈsʌmˌbɑdi/ A1	noun - an important or notable person
pack /pæk/ A2	verb - to gather belongings together to leave
pretty /ˈprɪti/ A1	adjective - attractive or beautiful
ugly /ˈʌɡli/ A1	adjective - unpleasant or unattractive in appearance
vain /veɪn/ B1	adjective - excessively proud of one's appearance or achievements
special /ˈspɛʃəl/ A2	adjective - better or more important than others

Key Grammar Structures

• Your happy friends call you depressing

  ➔ Present Simple Tense

  ➔ The verb 'call' is in the Present Simple Tense, indicating a habitual action.

• 'Cause you wonder why we're all alive

  ➔ Subordinating Conjunction

  ➔ The word 'Cause' is a subordinating conjunction introducing a dependent clause.

• Your downer friends think you're too happy, too happy

  ➔ Adverbial Intensifier

  ➔ The phrase 'too happy, too happy' uses repetition as an adverbial intensifier.

• But all your work friends think you are

  ➔ Present Simple with 'think'

  ➔ The verb 'think' is in the Present Simple Tense, expressing an opinion.

• So goodbye ordinaryish people

  ➔ Interjection

  ➔ 'Goodbye' is an interjection used to bid farewell.

• But you gotta be somebody sometime

  ➔ Modal Verb 'gotta'

  ➔ 'Gotta' is a modal verb expressing necessity or obligation.

• When you're nobody, then nobody minds

  ➔ Conditional Sentence Type 1

  ➔ This is a Type 1 conditional sentence, indicating a likely result in the present or future.

• No, you're not stupid, you're just special, special

  ➔ Adverbial Emphasis

  ➔ The word 'just' is used for adverbial emphasis, highlighting 'special'.