Pleader – English Lyrics

• By: alt-J
• Album: RELAXER

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a lyrical journey with alt-J's "Pleader," a beautifully crafted song rich with historical and literary depth. This track offers a unique opportunity to explore English through its evocative, almost hymnal language, drawing inspiration from a classic Welsh novel. Its poetic phrasing and thematic complexity make it an excellent piece for delving into nuanced English expression and understanding how storytelling can be woven into music.

[English]

How green, how green was my valley?

To be told of such hills

To be held in such spots

To behold such warmth

Call to arms these harmonies!

And in happy agony we sing

How green, how green was my valley?

...

How green, how green was my valley?

...

Oh, your deeps and your shades

...

Where the wild roses pray

...

Such heat from pride

...

Glorious, the voice of man!

...

Like the nightingales, we sing

...

How green, how green was my valley?

...

...

Clear softness in our hymn

...

Soft, like coming rain

...

Soft, like Bronwen

...

Victoria! Victoria!

...

Voices our queen might envy

...

How green, how green was my valley?

...

Key Grammar Structures

• How green, how green was my valley?

  ➔ Interrogative inversion

  ➔ The auxiliary verb "was" is placed before the subject "my valley" to form a question. Repetition of "how green" adds poetic emphasis.

• To be told of such hills

  ➔ Passive infinitive

  ➔ "To be told" uses the passive infinitive structure (to be + past participle) indicating receiving, not performing, the action.

• Call to arms these harmonies!

  ➔ Imperative with object inversion

  ➔ The imperative verb "Call" is followed by the prepositional phrase "to arms" before the object "these harmonies", creating dramatic emphasis.

• Where the wild roses pray

  ➔ Relative clause (adverbial)

  ➔ "Where" introduces an adverbial relative clause modifying "shades", describing a location metaphorically.

• Like the nightingales, we sing

  ➔ Simile with fronted phrase

  ➔ The comparative phrase "Like the nightingales" is placed before the main clause "we sing" to emphasize similarity through inversion.

• Voices our queen might envy

  ➔ Reduced relative clause

  ➔ Omits the relative pronoun "that" (full form: "voices that our queen might envy"), creating poetic conciseness.

• Soft, like coming rain

  ➔ Comparative fragment

  ➔ Omits the verb "is" (full form: "It is soft, like coming rain"), using "like" for poetic comparison without a main verb.

• Glorious, the voice of man!

  ➔ Subject-complement inversion

  ➔ The complement "Glorious" precedes the subject "the voice of man" for dramatic emphasis (standard order: "The voice of man is glorious").