S.O.B. – English Lyrics

• By: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
• Album: Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into "S.O.B." by Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, a powerful soul-rock track that masterfully blends raw emotion with an infectious, gospel-tinged energy. Learning the lyrics offers insight into complex themes of addiction, struggle, and resilience, making it a compelling song for language learners to explore its rich, authentic expression and the unique juxtaposition of dark subject matter with an uplifting sound.

[English]

I'm gonna need someone to help me

I'm gonna need somebody's hand

I'm gonna need someone to hold me down

I'm gonna need someone to care

I'm gonna writhe and shake my body

I'll start pulling out my hair

I'm gonna cover myself with the ashes of you

And nobody's gonna give a damn

Son of a bitch, give me a drink

One more night, this can't be me

Son of a bitch, if I can't get clean

I'm gonna drink my life away

Now for 17 years I've been throwing them back

17 more will bury me

Can somebody please just tie me down?

Or somebody give me a goddamn drink

Son of a bitch, give me a drink

One more night, this can't be me

Son of a bitch, if I can't get clean

I'm gonna drink my life away

Hey, yeah

My heart was breaking, hands are shaking

Bugs are crawling all over me

My heart was breaking, hands are shaking

Bugs are crawling all over me

My heart was breaking, hands are shaking

Bugs are crawling all over me

My heart was aching, hands are shaking

Bugs are crawling all over me

Son of a bitch, give me a drink

One more night, this can't be me

Son of a bitch, if I can't get clean

I'm gonna drink my life away

Son of a bitch, give me a drink

Son of a bitch, this can't be me

Son of a bitch, if I can't get clean

I'm gonna drink my life away

Yeah, ah

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
help /hɛlp/ A2	verb - to assist or aid someone
need /niːd/ A2	verb - to require something
hold /hoʊld/ A2	verb - to grasp or support
care /kɛər/ B1	verb - to feel concern or interest
writhe /raɪð/ C1	verb - to twist or squirm in pain or discomfort
shake /ʃeɪk/ A2	verb - to move or cause to move with quick, short movements
body /ˈbɒd.i/ A1	noun - the physical structure of a person or animal
hair /hɛər/ A1	noun - the thread-like strands growing from the head or body of humans or animals
ash(es) /æʃ/ B2	noun - the residual matter of fire after combustion
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
drink /drɪŋk/ A1	noun - a liquid to be drunk
life /laɪf/ A2	noun - the existence of an individual human or animal
throw /θroʊ/ B2	verb - to propel something with force through the air by a movement of the arm and hand

Key Grammar Structures

• I'm gonna need someone to help me

  ➔ Future intention with 'gonna'

  ➔ The phrase "I'm gonna" indicates a plan or intention to do something in the future.

• I'm gonna drink my life away

  ➔ Gerund as a noun

  ➔ In this line, "drinking" is used as a noun to describe the action of drinking.

• Can somebody please just tie me down?

  ➔ Polite request with 'can'

  ➔ The use of "can" here makes the request sound more polite and less demanding.

• My heart was breaking, hands are shaking

  ➔ Past continuous and present continuous

  ➔ The first part uses past continuous to describe an ongoing action in the past, while the second part uses present continuous for current actions.

• 17 more will bury me

  ➔ Future simple tense

  ➔ The phrase indicates a prediction or certainty about the future using the simple future tense.

• I'm gonna cover myself with the ashes of you

  ➔ Reflexive pronoun usage

  ➔ The reflexive pronoun "myself" indicates that the subject is performing the action on itself.

• Son of a bitch, if I can't get clean

  ➔ Conditional clause

  ➔ The phrase introduces a condition that must be met for the following statement to be true.