Rootless – English Lyrics

• By: Marina and the Diamonds
• Album: The Family Jewels

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the depths of 'Rootless' by Marina and the Diamonds, a song that masterfully encapsulates the feeling of being unanchored. Through its evocative lyrics, you'll explore themes of isolation and the universal quest for belonging, offering a poignant look into the search for identity and connection.

[English]

I'm a cloud driftin' by

Drippin' tears from the sky

I'm a snail without a shell

Leper with a golden bell

I've got nowhere to go

I'm a stray cat on the roam

Chokin' on a chicken bone

For a home-sweet, no sweet home

For a root, for a leaf

For a branch, for a tree

For something, somebody

That reminded them of me

Runnin' with my roots pulled up

Caught me cold, so they could cut

What there was left of love

I'm rootless, I'm rootless

Work you fingers to the bone

Buildin' castles out of snow

I'm a nomad walking on

Hummin' to the same old song

Lowercase society tied to no community

A kingdom without a king with no sense of belongin'

For a root, for a leaf

For a branch, for a tree

For something, somebody

That reminded them of me

Runnin' with my roots pulled up

Caught me cold, so they could cut

What there was left of love

I'm rootless, I'm rootless

Runnin' with my roots pulled up

So they could cut me free of love

...

Runnin' with my roots pulled up

Caught me cold, so they could cut

What there was left of love

I'm rootless, I'm rootless

Draggin' my roots through the snow

No home-sweet and no sweet home

I've got nowhere to go

I'm rootless, I'm rootless

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
cloud /klaʊd/ A1	noun - a visible mass of condensed water vapor floating in the atmosphere
tears /tɪrz/ A2	noun - drops of clear salty liquid produced by the eyes
snail /sneɪl/ A2	noun - a small creature with a soft body and a spiral shell
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives permanently
root /ruːt/ B1	noun - the part of a plant that attaches it to the ground
leaf /liːf/ B1	noun - a flat, green part of a plant
branch /bræntʃ/ B1	noun - a part of a tree that grows out from the trunk
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of deep affection
kingdom /ˈkɪŋdəm/ B2	noun - a country or territory ruled by a king or queen
society /səˈsaɪəti/ B2	noun - the aggregate of people living together in a more or less ordered community
community /kəˈmjunɪti/ B2	noun - a group of people living in the same place or having a particular characteristic in common
nomad /ˈnoʊmæd/ B2	noun - a member of a people having no permanent abode and who travel from place to place
drag /dræɡ/ B1	verb - to pull something along forcefully
build /bɪld/ A2	verb - to construct something by putting parts together
cut /kʌt/ A1	verb - to divide something into pieces with a sharp tool
cold /koʊld/ A1	adjective - having a low temperature
sweet /swiːt/ A1	adjective - having a pleasant taste of sugar

Key Grammar Structures

• I'm a cloud driftin' by

  ➔ Present Participle as Adjective (reduced relative clause)

  ➔ The word "drifting" is a present participle acting as an adjective to describe "cloud". It's a shortened form of "I'm a cloud that is drifting by". This is a common way to make language more concise.

• Chokin' on a chicken bone

  ➔ Gerund as Prepositional Object

  ➔ "Choking" (with the 'g' omitted for stylistic effect) is acting as a gerund, and it functions as the object of the preposition "on". The full sentence is "(I'm) choking on a chicken bone."

• What there was left of love

  ➔ Relative Clause with "What"

  ➔ The word "what" introduces a relative clause that functions as a noun phrase, meaning "the thing(s) that". It can be rephrased as "the amount of love that was left".

• Work you fingers to the bone

  ➔ Imperative Clause with implied "You"

  ➔ This is an imperative sentence, giving a command. The subject "You" is implied. It means "You, work your fingers to the bone".

• Buildin' castles out of snow

  ➔ Present Participle as Part of a Continuous Tense (Ellipsis)

  ➔ "Building" (with the 'g' omitted) is a present participle. There's an ellipsis of "are" (You are building). This shortened structure is common in informal speech and song lyrics.

• Lowercase society tied to no community

  ➔ Past Participle as adjective (reduced relative clause)

  ➔ The word "tied" is a past participle acting as an adjective to describe "society". It's a shortened form of "Lowercase society that is tied to no community". This is a common way to make language more concise.

• A kingdom without a king with no sense of belongin'

  ➔ Prepositional Phrases functioning as Post-Modifiers

  ➔ The phrases "without a king" and "with no sense of belonging" are prepositional phrases that modify the noun "kingdom." They add extra information and describe the kingdom in more detail. These phrases come after the noun they modify.