Part Of The Band – English Lyrics

• By: The 1975
• Album: Being Funny In A Foreign Language

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

(wind whistling)

("Part Of The Band" intro music)

♪ She was part of the Air Force, I was part of the band ♪

♪ I always used to burst into her hand ♪

♪ In my, my, my imagination ♪

♪ I was living my best life, living with my parents ♪

♪ Way before the paying penance and verbal propellants ♪

♪ And my, my, my cancellation ♪

♪ Hm, yeah ♪

(instrumental music)

♪ And I fell in love with a boy, it was kinda lame ♪

♪ I was Rimbaud and he was Paul Verlaine ♪

♪ In my, my, my imagination ♪

♪ So many cringes and heroin binges ♪

♪ I was coming off the hinges, living on the fringes ♪

♪ Of my, my, my imagination ♪

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

♪ Enough about me now ♪

♪ You gotta talk about the people, baby ♪

♪ But that's kind of the idea ♪

♪ At home, somewhere I don't like ♪

♪ Eating stuff off of the motorbike ♪

♪ Cumming to her lookalike ♪

♪ I can't get the language right ♪

♪ Just tell me what's not ladylike ♪

♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪

♪ I know some Vaccinista tote bag chic baristas ♪

♪ Sitting east on their communista keisters ♪

♪ Writing about their ejaculations ♪

♪ I like my men like I like my coffee ♪

♪ Full of soy milk and so sweet, it won't offend anybody ♪

♪ While staining the pages of the nation ♪

♪ Oh, yeah ♪

♪ A Xanax and a Newport ♪

♪ Well, I take care of my kids, she said ♪

♪ The worst inside of us begets ♪

♪ That feeling on the internet ♪

♪ It's like someone intended it ♪

♪ Like advertising cigarettes ♪

♪ A diamond in the rough begets ♪

♪ The diamond with a scruff you get ♪

♪ Ooh ooh ooh ♪

(instrumental music)

(band talking indistinctly)

- [Singer] One, two, three, four

(instrumental music continues)

♪ Am I ironically woke ♪

♪ The butt of my joke ♪

♪ Or am I just some post-coke, average, skinny bloke ♪

♪ Calling his ego imagination ♪

♪ I've not picked up that in a thousand four hundred days ♪

♪ And nine hours and sixteen minutes, babe ♪

♪ It's kind of my daily iteration ♪

(instrumental music)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
burst /bɜːrst/ B1	verb - to break open suddenly
imagination /ɪˌmædʒɪˈneɪʃən/ B2	noun - the ability to imagine things
penance /ˈpɛnəns/ C1	noun - a punishment or act of self-mortification
cancellation /ˌkænsəˈleɪʃən/ B2	noun - the action of canceling something
fringes /frɪndʒɪz/ B2	noun - the edge or margin of something
cringes /krɪndʒɪz/ B2	verb - to shrink or flinch, especially in embarrassment
hinges /hɪndʒɪz/ B1	noun - a movable joint or mechanism on which a door, gate, or lid swings
baristas /bəˈrɪstəz/ B1	noun - a person who serves coffee in a coffee shop
ejaculations /ɪˌdʒækjuˈleɪʃənz/ C1	noun - a sudden exclamation or outburst
staining /steɪnɪŋ/ B1	verb - to mark or discolour a surface
begets /bɪˈɡɛts/ C1	verb - to cause or produce something
ironic /aɪˈrɒnɪk/ B2	adjective - using words to express the opposite of their literal meaning
woke /woʊk/ C1	adjective - aware of social and racial injustice
iteration /ˌɪtəˈreɪʃən/ C1	noun - the repetition of a process

Key Grammar Structures

• I always used to burst into her hand

  ➔ Used to for past habits

  ➔ "Used to" expresses a repeated action or habit in the past that no longer happens. In this line, "I always "used to" burst into her hand" indicates a regular past action that has now ceased.

• I was living my best life, living with my parents

  ➔ Past continuous for ongoing past actions

  ➔ The past continuous tense ("was living") describes an action that was in progress at a specific time in the past. In this line, it shows the singer was in the middle of experiencing this period of life.

• You gotta talk about the people, baby

  ➔ Gotta as informal have to

  ➔ "Gotta" is an informal contraction of "got to" and functions as "must" or "have to". In "You gotta talk about the people", it expresses obligation or necessity in a casual, conversational style.

• I like my men like I like my coffee

  ➔ Comparative structure using like

  ➔ This line uses a comparative structure with "like" to draw a parallel between two different things. "I like my men like I like my coffee" establishes a comparison between the singer's preference in men and in coffee.

• The worst inside of us begets

  ➔ Simple present for general truths

  ➔ The simple present tense ("begets") is used here to express a general truth or fact that exists regardless of time. This formal usage suggests a philosophical observation about human nature.

• Am I ironically woke

  ➔ Present continuous with adjective complement

  ➔ This line uses the present continuous ("am I") with an adjective complement ("ironically woke"). Normally, we use "am" with adjectives in simple present ("I am woke"), but here the continuous form suggests a temporary or questioning state of being.

• I've not picked up that in a thousand four hundred days

  ➔ Present perfect for actions continuing to present

  ➔ The present perfect tense ("I've not picked up") connects a past action to the present moment. It indicates that something started in the past and continues to be true now. The specific time frame ("in a thousand four hundred days") emphasizes the duration of this continuing state.

• While staining the pages of the nation

  ➔ Present participle as adverbial

  ➔ The present participle ("staining") functions as an adverbial here, modifying the main clause by describing a simultaneous action. This structure creates a more concise and poetic expression than using a full subordinate clause ("while they were staining...").