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It was the third of September 01:56

That day I'll always remember, yes I will 01:59

'Cause that was the day, that my daddy died 02:04

I never got a chance to see him 02:13

Never heard nothin' but bad things about him 02:17

Momma I'm depending on you, to tell me the truth 02:21

Momma just hung her head and said, son 02:26

Papa was a rolling stone, 02:28

Where ever he laid his hat was his home 02:32

And when he died, all he left us was alone 02:36

Papa was a rolling stone, (my son, yeah) 02:44

Where ever he laid his hat was his home 02:48

And when he died, all he left us was alone 02:52

Hey Momma! 03:16

Is it true what they say that Papa never worked a day, in his life 03:32

And Momma, some bad talk goin' round town sayin' that 03:38

Papa had three outside children 03:42

And another wife, and that ain't right 03:45

Heard some talk Papa doing some store front preachin' 03:48

Talking about saving souls and all the time leechin' 03:52

Dealing in dirt, and stealing in the name of the Lord 03:55

Momma just hung her head and said 04:02

Papa was a rolling stone, (my son) 04:05

Where ever he laid his hat was his home 04:09

And when he died, all he left us was alone 04:15

Hey Papa was a rolling stone, (dad gumma it) 04:22

Where ever he laid his hat was his home 04:24

And when he died, all he left us was alone 04:27

Hey Momma, 04:46

I heard Papa called himself a jack of all trades 05:00

Tell me is that what sent Papa to an early grave 05:03

Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, steal 05:07

To pay his bills 05:11

Hey Momma, 05:14

Folks say Papa never was much on thinking 05:15

Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking 05:19

Momma I'm depending on you, to tell me the truth 05:23

Momma looked up with a tear in her eye and said, son 05:29

Papa was a rolling stone, (well, well, well, well) 05:32

Where ever he laid his hat was his home 05:35

And when he died, all he left us was alone (lone, lone, lone, alone) 05:39

Papa was a rolling stone, 05:47

Where ever he laid his hat was his home 05:50

And when he died, all he left us was alone 05:55

Where ever he laid his hat was his home 06:02

And when he died, all he left us was alone 06:08

(My daddy was, yes he was, yeah he was) 06:13

(Papa was a rolling stone, 06:18

Where ever he laid his hat was his home) 06:23

06:37

Papa Was A Rolling Stone

The Temptations

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Lyrics:

[English]

It was the third of September

That day I'll always remember, yes I will

'Cause that was the day, that my daddy died

I never got a chance to see him

Never heard nothin' but bad things about him

Momma I'm depending on you, to tell me the truth

Momma just hung her head and said, son

Papa was a rolling stone,

Where ever he laid his hat was his home

And when he died, all he left us was alone

Papa was a rolling stone, (my son, yeah)

Where ever he laid his hat was his home

And when he died, all he left us was alone

Hey Momma!

Is it true what they say that Papa never worked a day, in his life

And Momma, some bad talk goin' round town sayin' that

Papa had three outside children

And another wife, and that ain't right

Heard some talk Papa doing some store front preachin'

Talking about saving souls and all the time leechin'

Dealing in dirt, and stealing in the name of the Lord

Momma just hung her head and said

Papa was a rolling stone, (my son)

Where ever he laid his hat was his home

And when he died, all he left us was alone

Hey Papa was a rolling stone, (dad gumma it)

Where ever he laid his hat was his home

And when he died, all he left us was alone

Hey Momma,

I heard Papa called himself a jack of all trades

Tell me is that what sent Papa to an early grave

Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, steal

To pay his bills

Hey Momma,

Folks say Papa never was much on thinking

Spent most of his time chasing women and drinking

Momma I'm depending on you, to tell me the truth

Momma looked up with a tear in her eye and said, son

Papa was a rolling stone, (well, well, well, well)

Where ever he laid his hat was his home

And when he died, all he left us was alone (lone, lone, lone, alone)

Papa was a rolling stone,

Where ever he laid his hat was his home

And when he died, all he left us was alone

Where ever he laid his hat was his home

And when he died, all he left us was alone

(My daddy was, yes he was, yeah he was)

(Papa was a rolling stone,

Where ever he laid his hat was his home)

...

Vocabulary in this song:

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Vocabulary	Meanings
remember /rɪˈmem.bər/ A2	verb - to be able to bring back a piece of information into your mind, or to keep a piece of information in your memory
daddy /ˈdædi/ A1	noun - father
chance /tʃæns/ A2	noun - opportunity
truth /truːθ/ B1	noun - the actual facts about something
rolling /ˈroʊ.lɪŋ/ B1	adjective - moving by turning over and over
stone /stoʊn/ A1	noun - rock
hat /hæt/ A1	noun - a covering for the head
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives
alone /əˈloʊn/ A2	adjective - without other people
worked /wɜːrkt/ A1	verb - exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity
wife /waɪf/ A1	noun - a married woman
preachin' /ˈpriːtʃɪŋ/ B2	verb - delivering a religious address or sermon
souls /soʊlz/ B1	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal.
dirt /dɜːrt/ A2	noun - soil or earth
Lord /lɔːrd/ A2	noun - God
grave /ɡreɪv/ B2	noun - a hole in the ground where a dead person is buried
bills /bɪlz/ A2	noun - a request for payment
thinking /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/ A2	noun - the process of using your mind to consider something carefully
tear /tɪr/ A2	noun - a drop of clear salty liquid secreted from glands in the eye

Grammar:

That day I'll always remember, yes I will

➔ Future Simple with Emphasis

➔ Use of "will" for emphasis. The speaker is not just stating a future event, but emphatically asserting that they *will* remember the day.
I never got a chance to see him

➔ Past Simple with 'get a chance to'

➔ "got a chance to" means "had an opportunity to". This implies that an opportunity existed, but the speaker missed it.
Momma I'm depending on you, to tell me the truth

➔ Present Continuous with 'depend on' for future action

➔ While 'depending' is present continuous, the phrase implies a future request. The speaker is relying on the mother to provide truthful answers in the *near* future.
Wherever he laid his hat was his home

➔ Noun Clause Introduced by 'Wherever'

➔ 'Wherever he laid his hat' functions as the subject of the sentence. It's a place, albeit a temporary one, that acts as his home. 'Wherever' indicates any and all places he chose to stay.
Is it true what they say that Papa never worked a day, in his life

➔ Cleft Sentence (It + be + that)

➔ The sentence structure using "It is true what they say that..." emphasizes the *truth* of what people are saying about the father. It highlights the information that follows the 'that' clause.
Heard some talk Papa doing some store front preachin'

➔ Ellipsis (Omission of 'I')

➔ The sentence begins with 'Heard', implying 'I heard'. This is common in informal speech and song lyrics. It adds a casual and conversational tone.
Folks say Papa would beg, borrow, steal

➔ 'Would' for repeated past actions

➔ 'Would' is used here to describe a habitual action in the past. It indicates that the father regularly engaged in begging, borrowing, and stealing.
Folks say Papa never was much on thinking

➔ Informal Negative Construction 'never was much on'

➔ "never was much on" means the person was not very interested in something or did not do it often. It's an informal way to say the father didn't prioritize thinking.