It´s not easy – English Lyrics

• By: Lucky Dube

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language can be a beautiful journey, and music is a powerful guide. Lucky Dube's 'It's Not Easy' offers a chance to connect with the English language through a deeply emotional and relatable story of love and loss. The clear, narrative-driven lyrics make it an excellent song for learners to follow, while the universal themes of heartache and hope transcend cultural boundaries, making the language feel personal and alive.

[English]

Uuuhhh! yeaahh haahh ahh

...

Lord of mercy!

...

I remember the day I called mama on the telephone

I told her mama I'm getting married, I could hear her voice

On the other side of the telephone, she was smiling

And she asked me a question that I proudly answered

She said, "Son did you take time to know her?"

I said mama she's the best but today it hurts me so

To go back to mama and say mama I'm getting divorced

Oh I'm getting divorced

This choice I made didn't work out

The way I thought it would

This choice I made. It hurts me so mama,

...

This choice i made, didnt work out the way i thought it would, this choice of mine oh!

Mama said me.

It's not easy to understand it son

But I hope you'll make it, you'll be happy again. 2x

...

I remember in church, when the preacher man read the scriptures

You looked so beautiful, so beautiful and so innocent

...

I did not know that behind that beauty

Lies the true colors that will destroy me in the near future

This choice I made didn't work out to be what i thought it be

...

Oh!, mama

This choice i made didnt work out the way i thought it would now am hurting.

...

I remember when I held you

By the hand preacher man read the scriptures

Putting words in your mouth.

Maybe what the preacher man said

Was not something that was within you.

Now I know what they mean when they say

"Beautiful woman is another man's play thing"

Oh! Lord! I'm hurting now

This choice I made didn't work out

The way I thought it would, this choice of mine oh!

Mama said to me

It's not easy to understand it son

But I hope you'll make it, you'll be happy again.

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
remember /rɪˈmembər/ A2	verb - to bring to mind or think of again
hear /hɪr/ A1	verb - to perceive with the ear
voice /vɔɪs/ A2	noun - the sound produced in a person's larynx and uttered through the mouth
smiling /ˈsmaɪlɪŋ/ A2	verb - to have or show a pleased expression
proudly /ˈpraʊdlɪ/ B2	adverb - with pride
hurt /hɜːrt/ A2	verb - to cause physical pain or injury
divorced /dɪˈvɔːrst/ B2	adjective - no longer married because of legal divorce
choice /tʃɔɪs/ B1	noun - an act of selecting or making a decision
easy /ˈiːzi/ A1	adjective - achieved without great effort; presenting few difficulties
understand /ˌʌndərˈstænd/ B1	verb - perceive the intended meaning of (words, a language, or a speaker)
happy /ˈhæpi/ A1	adjective - feeling or showing pleasure or contentment
church /tʃɜːrtʃ/ A2	noun - a building used for public Christian worship
scriptures /ˈskrɪptʃərz/ B2	noun - the sacred writings of Christianity contained in the Bible
beautiful /ˈbjuːtɪfl/ A2	adjective - pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically
innocent /ˈɪnəsnt/ B1	adjective - not guilty of a crime or offence
beauty /ˈbjuːti/ B1	noun - the quality of being pleasing to the eye
destroy /dɪˈstrɔɪ/ B2	verb - end the existence of (something) by damaging or attacking it
true /truː/ A1	adjective - in accordance with fact or reality
future /ˈfjuːtʃər/ A2	noun - a time that is to come

Key Grammar Structures

• I remember the day I called mama on the telephone

  ➔ Relative clause with omitted relative pronoun.

  ➔ The complete sentence would be: "I remember the day *that* I called mama..." The relative pronoun "that" can be omitted when it is the object of the relative clause.

• I said mama she's the best but today it hurts me so To go back to mama and say mama I'm getting divorced

  ➔ Use of 'so' as an intensifier. Use of infinitive of purpose 'to go back'

  ➔ "it hurts me *so*" - 'so' intensifies the feeling of hurt. "*To go back* to mama" - infinitive shows the reason for the hurt, which is the action of going back.

• This choice I made didn't work out The way I thought it would

  ➔ Relative clause with omitted relative pronoun; conditional type 3 in the past (mixed with past simple)

  ➔ "This choice *that* I made..." - omitted relative pronoun. "The way I thought it *would*" - Implies 'would work out', which didn't happen.

• It's not easy to understand it son But I hope you'll make it, you'll be happy again.

  ➔ Use of 'it' as a dummy subject; use of 'make it' as an idiom.

  ➔ "*It*'s not easy *to understand it*" - 'it' is a dummy subject, and the true subject is 'to understand it'. "You'll *make it*" - means you'll succeed, overcome the difficulties.

• I did not know that behind that beauty Lies the true colors that will destroy me in the near future

  ➔ Inversion after a negative adverbial ('behind that beauty').

  ➔ Normally, the sentence would be: "The true colors lie behind that beauty." But when starting the sentence with the adverbial phrase "behind that beauty," we invert the subject and verb for emphasis.