plague dogs – English Lyrics

• By: Oklou
• Album: choke enough (expansion pack)

Lyrics & Translation

To learn the language of introspective, experimental electronic music, dive into Oklou's "plague dogs." Its fragmented, dystopian lyrics offer rich vocabulary for discussing modern themes of surveillance and reality, while the song's unique blend of video-game synths and ethereal vocals provides a masterclass in modern, ambient electronic sound design.

[English]

Today on the news they showed them

Oh I was there, yeah I was there

I can tell you what happened

Riding along the coast and amongst the sea foam

I saw them drawing poems in the sand with the tires

Dancing with helicopters above

Maybe like Rowff and Snitter

They wanted to swim up to the island of eternal life

Eternal life

And now, the crowd gathered and phones

Just to capture the oceanic distance up high

...

Surrounded by angels, setting with the sun

That was my favorite moment, magic hours

And I'm playing it, over, and over, and over

Today on the news they showed them

They showed them

Keep my dreams on the horizon

And I will never really know if I'm being chased

(show them, show them, show them, show them)

Keep my dreams on the horizon

And I will never really know if I'm being chased

(show them, show them, show them, show them)

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
news /njuːz/ A2	noun - information about recent events
coast /koʊst/ B1	noun - the land next to the sea
foam /foʊm/ B2	noun - bubbles forming on the surface of a liquid
drawing /ˈdrɔː.ɪŋ/ B1	noun - the act of making a picture with a pencil or pen
swim /swɪm/ A2	verb - to move through water by moving limbs
eternal /ɪˈtɜː.nəl/ C1	adjective - lasting forever, timeless
crowd /kraʊd/ B2	noun - a large group of people
magic /ˈmædʒ.ɪk/ B2	noun - supernatural power to make impossible things happen
philosophy /fɪˈlɒs.ə.fi/ C1	noun - study of fundamental questions about existence, knowledge
capture /ˈkæp.tʃər/ B2	verb - to catch or take control of something
distance /ˈdɪs.təns/ B1	noun - the space between two points
angel /ˈeɪn.dʒəl/ B2	noun - spiritual being believed to be a messenger of God

Key Grammar Structures

• Today on the news they showed them

  ➔ Past simple tense

  ➔ The "showed" is in past simple tense, used to describe completed actions in the past.

• Oh I was there, yeah I was there

  ➔ Past simple tense for emphasis

  ➔ The repeated "was" in past simple tense emphasizes the speaker's presence at an event.

• I can tell you what happened

  ➔ Modal verb can

  ➔ The "can" expresses ability, indicating the speaker has the capacity to narrate the events.

• Riding along the coast and amongst the sea foam

  ➔ Present participle (gerund form)

  ➔ "Riding" as present participle describes ongoing action, like a verb form used in continuous tenses.

• Dancing with helicopters above

  ➔ Present participle in descriptive clause

  ➔ "Dancing" uses present participle to describe simultaneous or progressive action.

• They wanted to swim up to the island of eternal life

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose

  ➔ "To swim" as infinitive expresses the purpose of wanting to reach the island.

• That was my favorite moment, magic hours

  ➔ Demonstrative pronoun that and relative clause

  ➔ "That" refers to a previous idea, and the structure hints at a relative clause for description.

• And I'm playing it, over, and over, and over

  ➔ Present continuous for repeated action

  ➔ "I'm playing" in present continuous shows ongoing, repeated viewing of the moment.

• Keep my dreams on the horizon

  ➔ Imperative mood

  ➔ "Keep" is imperative, giving a command or advice to maintain dreams far away.

• And I will never really know if I'm being chased

  ➔ Passive voice in continuous form

  ➔ "I'm being chased" uses passive continuous to express uncertainty about ongoing pursuit.