Rusty Cage – English Lyrics

• By: Soundgarden
• Album: Badmotorfinger

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

(distorted guitar music)

♪ Oh you wired me awake ♪

♪ And hit me with a hand of broken nails ♪

♪ Yeah you tied my lead and pulled my chain ♪

♪ To watch my blood begin to boil ♪

♪ But I'm gonna break ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run ♪

♪ Yeah I'm gonna break ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my rusty cage ♪

♪ And run ♪

♪ Too cold to start a fire ♪

♪ I'm burning diesel burning dinosaur bones ♪

♪ Yeah I'll take the river down to still water ♪

♪ And ride a pack of dogs ♪

♪ But I'm gonna break ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run ♪

♪ Yeah I'm gonna break ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my rusty cage ♪

♪ And run ♪

♪ Hit like a Phillips head into my brain ♪

♪ It's gonna be too dark to sleep again ♪

♪ Cutting my teeth on bars and rusty chains ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my rusty cage ♪

♪ And run ♪

♪ When the forest burns along the road ♪

♪ Like God's eyes in my headlights ♪

♪ And when the dogs are looking for their bones ♪

♪ And it's raining ice picks on your steel shore ♪

♪ I'm gonna break ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my ♪

♪ I'm gonna break my rusty cage ♪

♪ And run ♪

Key Grammar Structures

• Oh you wired me awake

  ➔ Simple Past Tense

  ➔ The verb "wired" is in the Simple Past, indicating a completed action in the past.

• Yeah you tied my lead and pulled my chain

  ➔ Simple Past Tense

  ➔ Both verbs "tied" and "pulled" are in the Simple Past, describing actions that happened earlier.

• To watch my blood begin to boil

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose

  ➔ The infinitive phrase "to watch" expresses purpose, meaning the action is done in order to watch.

• I'm gonna break my rusty cage and run

  ➔ "Be going to" future

  ➔ The contraction "gonna" (short for "going to") after "am" forms the future expression "am going to break", indicating intention.

• I'm burning diesel, burning dinosaur bones

  ➔ Present Continuous (Progressive)

  ➔ The verb phrase "I'm burning" uses the present continuous to describe an action happening right now.

• I'll take the river down to still water

  ➔ Simple Future with "will"

  ➔ The auxiliary "will" + base verb "take" forms the simple future, expressing a decision made at the moment of speaking.

• It's gonna be too dark to sleep again

  ➔ "Be going to" future (state)

  ➔ The phrase "gonna be" shows a future state: it will become too dark.

• Cutting my teeth on bars and rusty chains

  ➔ Gerund phrase as subject

  ➔ The gerund "Cutting" functions as a noun and acts as the subject of the clause.

• When the forest burns along the road

  ➔ Simple Present in subordinate clause (future reference)

  ➔ The present simple verb "burns" is used in a time clause to refer to a future situation.