Rubberband Girl – English Lyrics

• By: Kate Bush
• Album: The Red Shoes

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

See those trees

Bend in the wind

I feel they've got a lot

More sense than me

You see I try to resist

A rubberband bouncing back to life

A rubberband bend the beat

If I could learn to give like a rubberband

I'd be back on my feet

A rubberband, hold me trousers up

A rubberband ponytails

If I could learn to twang like a rubberband

I'd be a rubberband girl

A rubberband girl me

A rubberband girl me

I wanna be a rubberband girl

When I slip out

Of my catapult

I gotta land with my feet firm on the ground

And let my body catch up

A rubberband bouncing back to life

A rubberband bend the beat

If I could learn to give like a rubberband

I'd be back on my feet

A rubberband, hold me trousers up

A rubberband ponytails

If I could learn to twang like a rubberband

I'd be a rubberband girl

A rubberband girl me

A rubberband girl me

I wanna be a rubberband girl

I wanna twang like a rubberband

I wanna twang like a rubberband

I wanna twang like a rubberband

A rubberband girl me

A rubberband girl me

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
rubberband /ˈrʌbərbænd/ C1	noun - an elastic loop of rubber used to hold things together
girl /ɡɜːrl/ A1	noun - a female child or young woman
bend /bɛnd/ B1	verb - to curve or flex something
bounce /baʊns/ B1	verb - to spring back after hitting a surface noun - the act of bouncing; a rebound
twang /twæŋ/ C1	verb - to make a sharp, vibrating sound (as of a plucked string) noun - a sharp, resonant sound
feel /fiːl/ A1	verb - to experience an emotion or physical sensation
resist /rɪˈzɪst/ B2	verb - to oppose or withstand something
learn /lɜːrn/ A1	verb - to acquire knowledge or skill
give /ɡɪv/ A1	verb - to hand over something to someone
feet /fiːt/ A1	noun - the lower extremities of the legs on which a person stands
hold /hoʊld/ A1	verb - to keep something in one's grasp
trousers /ˈtraʊzərz/ A2	noun - a garment covering the lower body from the waist to the ankles, with a separate part for each leg
ponytails /ˈpɒniˌteɪlz/ B1	noun - a hairstyle where the hair is gathered at the back of the head and tied
catapult /ˈkætəpʌlt/ C1	noun - a device for hurling objects a great distance
ground /ɡraʊnd/ A1	noun - the solid surface of the earth
body /ˈbɒdi/ A1	noun - the physical structure of a person or animal
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the existence of an individual human being or animal
beat /biːt/ B1	noun - a rhythmic unit in music
wind /wɪnd/ A1	noun - air in natural motion
trees /triːz/ A1	noun - large plants with a trunk and branches

Key Grammar Structures

• See those trees bend in the wind

  ➔ Imperative form

  ➔ The sentence begins with "See" which is an imperative verb used to give a command or instruction.

• I feel they've got a lot more sense than me

  ➔ Comparative structure

  ➔ The phrase "more...than" is used to compare two things, indicating that the trees have "greater sense" than the speaker.

• You see I try to resist a rubberband bouncing back to life

  ➔ Gerund phrase

  ➔ "bouncing" is a gerund (verb + -ing) that functions as a noun, describing the action of the rubberband.

• If I could learn to give like a rubberband

  ➔ Second conditional

  ➔ The structure "If + past simple (could)..." is used to talk about hypothetical or unlikely situations.

• I'd be back on my feet

  ➔ Conditional result

  ➔ "I'd" (I would) is used to express the result of the conditional statement, showing what would happen in this hypothetical situation.

• When I slip out of my catapult

  ➔ Time clause

  ➔ "When" introduces a time clause, indicating when the action in the main clause happens.

• I gotta land with my feet firm on the ground

  ➔ Informal "have to"

  ➔ "Gotta" is an informal contraction of "got to," which means "must" or "have to."

• I wanna be a rubberband girl

  ➔ Informal "want to"

  ➔ "Wanna" is an informal contraction of "want to," expressing desire.

• I wanna twang like a rubberband

  ➔ Simile structure

  ➔ The word "like" is used to make a comparison between two different things, creating a simile.