Ribs – English Lyrics

• By: Poppy
• Album: Empty Hands

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Poppy's track "Ribs," a piece from her genre-bending album *Empty Hands*. While specific lyrical translations aren't immediately confirmed, exploring the intense sonic landscape of her evolving music—which fuses metalcore with industrial and pop elements—can offer a unique emotional and thematic experience, encouraging listeners to engage with the layers of her distinctive artistic vision.

[English]

Can I hold your love between my ribs

While you weigh me down to something thin?

When I get back up, feeble and frail

Then I won't see you as the same again

You were oh, so quiet when I needed you

Was clamoring for something true

Now, I, if I close my eyes, I can feel you

Vanish into blinding light to what I can't recognize

Now I splinter and divide, but go on breathing

Leave me to my own device, time was all I'd need to see it

Before I quit, I go to vent, but sorrow draws lines across my chest

Oh, pale in my lips, my chin's so high it broke my neck

And I can nevеr see you as the same again

I ignore thе shadow of my mind, I sink into the scene to hide

All the color is a mess, is there a means, is there an end to this?

Oh, I, if I close my eyes, I can feel you

Vanish into blinding light, to what I can't recognize

Now I splinter and divide, but go on breathing

Leave me to my own device, time was all I'd need to see it

You drift further by the day

You took a twist of a memory that we made

Ribbed with loneliness and shame

All to my own dismay

If I close my eyes, I can feel you

Vanish into blinding light, to what I can't recognize

Now I splinter and divide, but go on breathing

Leave me to my own device, time was all I'd need to see it

...

Hey

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
hold /hoʊld/ A1	verb - to grasp or grip something with one's hand or arms
weigh /weɪ/ A2	verb - to determine the weight of something
feeble /ˈfiːbəl/ B1	adjective - lacking physical strength or energy
frail /freɪl/ B1	adjective - physically weak and delicate
clamoring /ˈklæmərɪŋ/ B2	verb - to demand or ask for something loudly or persistently
vanish /ˈvænɪʃ/ B1	verb - to disappear suddenly or completely
splinter /ˈsplɪntər/ B2	verb - to break or cause to break into small, sharp pieces
divide /dɪˈvaɪd/ A2	verb - to separate or split into parts
vent /vɛnt/ B1	verb - to express or release one's feelings or emotions
sorrow /ˈsɒroʊ/ A2	noun - a feeling of deep distress caused by loss, disappointment, or other misfortune
pale /peɪl/ A2	adjective - having a pale color; not bright or vivid
dismay /dɪsˈmeɪ/ B2	noun - a feeling of anxiety or disappointment caused by something unexpected
ignore /ɪɡˈnɔːr/ A2	verb - to refuse to acknowledge or pay attention to
loneliness /ˈloʊnliːnəs/ A2	noun - sadness because one has no friends or company
shame /ʃeɪm/ A1	noun - a painful feeling of humiliation or distress caused by the consciousness of wrong or foolish behavior

Key Grammar Structures

• Can I hold your love between my ribs

  ➔ modal verb + present simple question

  ➔ The sentence is formed as a yes/no question using the modal verb "Can" followed by the base form "hold".

• When I get back up, feeble and frail

  ➔ adverbial clause of time (when + present simple)

  ➔ The clause "When I **get** back up" uses "when" plus the present simple verb "get" to talk about a future/repeated situation.

• Then I won't see you as the same again

  ➔ future simple with modal "will not" (won't)

  ➔ The negative contraction "won't" is the short form of "will not", forming the future simple: "I **won't see** you…".

• You were oh, so quiet when I needed you

  ➔ past simple "were" + adverbial clause with "when"

  ➔ "You **were**…" places the sentence in the past. The clause "when I **needed** you" also uses the past simple to show a specific past moment.

• Now, I, if I close my eyes, I can feel you

  ➔ first conditional: if‑clause + modal "can"

  ➔ The structure "if I **close** my eyes, I **can feel** you" expresses a real possibility in the present.

• Vanish into blinding light to what I can't recognize

  ➔ infinitive of purpose "to" + modal "can't" (negative ability)

  ➔ The phrase "to **what** I **can't** recognize" uses the infinitive "to" to show purpose, and "can't" indicates inability.

• Leave me to my own device, time was all I'd need to see it

  ➔ past simple "was" + conditional perfect contracted "I'd" (would + have)

  ➔ "time **was** all **I'd** need" combines the past verb "was" with the contracted conditional "**I'd**" ("I would have"), expressing a hypothetical past requirement.

• Before I quit, I go to vent, but sorrow draws lines across my chest

  ➔ adverbial clause with "before" + present simple for habitual action

  ➔ The clause "**Before** I **quit**" sets a temporal condition, and "I **go** to vent" uses the present simple to describe a routine action.