Salt, Pepper, Birds, and the Thought Police – English Lyrics

• By: Mili
• Album: To Kill a Living Book -for Library Of Ruina-

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a unique linguistic journey with Mili's "Salt, Pepper, Birds, and the Thought Police." This song offers a powerful narrative that encourages an exploration of its rich English lyrics. Its clever wordplay and deep allusions to historical events and philosophical concepts provide an excellent opportunity to expand your vocabulary and cultural understanding. The contrast between its bright, jazzy melodies and its profound, sometimes somber, themes makes it a truly special piece for language learners to uncover layers of meaning and emotion.

[English]

Bamboo basket, reflector, working brakes

Never forget your helmet, trusty Mips See ya, I’m off to the morning market

Thirty-three lemons

A healthy looking chicken and a dozen of free range eggs

Thanks, keep the change

Whistling a tune, (attempting) pffhw

I’m home

What a perfect day

I hanged the sheets out in the yard

Oiled up my baking tray

Thinking about you, Mother

To recite her famous words

All you need are salt and pepper

To taste the happiness of life forever

Then the moon rose

And creamed lemon chicken roasted in the oven Men in black kicked down my front door

Hey! Who? What? Why?

“You violated act 617 - Illegal Thoughts” “You’re under arrest”

We all know the real answer was “You shouldn’t have been born the way you are”

And we’re packed in a cargo choo choo train

Squeezing against the bodies similar to me

With tears rolling down our faces We began to sing

"They can never take anything from our souls” Louder and louder

They shaved off my hair

Fed me a foreign language

Looking on the bright side, I’m alive

I still remember all the people I love So come at me, and do your worst

All this pain and suffer

Don’t stand a chance against our iron hearts

As the morning came and went

And the people stayed and left

And the earth went ‘round and around The stars never looked so kind The wind ever so fragrant

Through the tiny slit on the wall

Every night I was invited to watch

A theatre played by moonlit birds

They spread their wings Carrying our silenced voices Singing our historic songs

Letting everyone in the future know

That we existed

What a perfect night

I felt the urge to write a book

Pass down my life

Until recently, time didn’t feel so fast

With my bloody finger tip

All I needed were sticks and paper

I started to write, poems after poems

Then the moonlit birds came to meet me

They stole the key and opened the gates We’re finally free

I picked up my bicycle Riding home to Mother

Writing my delusion world I saw a version of heaven Where I sat in my yard

Reading a paperback print of my book

On a hillside, your little fist clutching sweat

Walking to the memorial park You put down freshly cut white chrysanthemums

A former Thought Police lowers her hat Children lying on the grass

Singing to poems written by me

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
bicycle /ˈbaɪsɪkəl/ A1	noun - a vehicle with two wheels, pedals, and a frame, used for transportation
roasted /ˈroʊstɪd/ A2	verb - to cook food in an oven or over a fire
chicken /ˈtʃɪkɪn/ A1	noun - a common domesticated fowl
arrest /əˈrɛst/ B1	verb - to seize and hold under authority of law
sing /sɪŋ/ A1	verb - to produce musical sounds with the voice
bright /braɪt/ B1	adjective - giving off a lot of light
silenced /ˈsaɪlənst/ B2	verb - to make someone stop talking or expressing themselves
memorial /məˈmɔːriəl/ B2	noun - a structure or event to remind people of a person or event
chrysanthemums /krɪˈsænθəməmz/ C1	noun - a flowering plant of the genus Chrysanthemum
poems /poʊəmz/ B1	noun - a piece of writing that partakes of the nature of both speech and song
delusion /dɪˈluʒən/ C1	noun - a false belief or opinion
fragrant /ˈfreɪɡrənt/ B2	adjective - having a pleasant smell
historic /hɪˈstɔːrɪk/ B2	adjective - famous or important in history
existed /ɪɡˈzɪstɪd/ A2	verb - to have actual being
whistling /ˈhwɪslɪŋ/ A2	verb - to make a high-pitched sound by forcing air through a small opening
theatre /ˈθiːətər/ B1	noun - a building where plays are performed

Key Grammar Structures

• Never forget your helmet, trusty Mips

  ➔ Imperative mood with a possessive adjective.

  ➔ The imperative mood, "forget", gives a direct order, and "your" shows possession of the helmet and Mips.

• I’m off to the morning market

  ➔ Contraction and prepositional phrase of direction.

  ➔ "I'm" is a contraction of "I am", and "to the morning market" indicates the direction or destination.

• Thinking about you, Mother

  ➔ Present continuous tense and direct address.

  ➔ "Thinking" is in the present continuous tense, indicating an ongoing action, and "Mother" is a direct address.

• To recite her famous words

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose.

  ➔ "To recite" is the infinitive form, showing the purpose of thinking about Mother, to say her words.

• Men in black kicked down my front door

  ➔ Past tense with phrasal verb.

  ➔ "Kicked down" is a phrasal verb in the past tense, describing a specific action in the past.

• “You violated act 617 - Illegal Thoughts”

  ➔ Direct speech and a compound noun.

  ➔ The quote is direct speech. "Illegal Thoughts" is a compound noun.

• We all know the real answer was

  ➔ Subject-verb agreement and a linking verb.

  ➔ The verb "was" agrees with the implied subject "answer". "Was" is a linking verb connecting the subject to the description.

• They can never take anything from our souls”,

  ➔ Modal verb, adverb of frequency, possessive pronoun.

  ➔ "Can" is a modal verb, "never" is an adverb of frequency, and "our" is a possessive pronoun showing what they cannot take.

• They spread their wings

  ➔ Past tense with possessive pronoun.

  ➔ "Spread" is the past tense of "spread," and "their" is a possessive pronoun.

• Writing my delusion world

  ➔ Gerund as a modifier; possessive pronoun.

  ➔ "Writing" acts as a gerund modifying the noun "world" and "my" is a possessive pronoun indicating ownership.