Surf's Up Tonight – English Lyrics

• By: Midnight Oil
• Album: Breathe

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the liberating sounds of Midnight Oil's "Surf's Up Tonight," a song that captures the essence of freedom and connection with nature. Through vivid imagery and a driving rhythm, this track offers a unique opportunity to explore themes of seizing the moment and finding solace in the world around us.

[English]

The surfing song

is all about it.

Wherever the wind blows

When it blows over the sea

The tide's sitting high

Waves will rise, water shades

Waves will take you, take you there

Surf's up tonight

Surf's up tonight

Summer's on hold

It will go runnin' away

You've gotta move now

Get inside, take that dive

Get inside today

Surf's up tonight

Now I was lonely

And you were too

I met you down at the waterline

Now there's something left to do

Now there's something we can do

Oh, yeah

Surf's up tonight

Surf's up tonight

Wherever you are

When you're coming over land

There's a place where you can

Throw it all away

There's a place you can forget

You get wet, it's free

You get high, you're alive

Surf's up tonight

Surf's up tonight

Come on up tonight

Surf's up tonight

Surf's up tonight

Surf's up tonight

Surf's up tonight

Surf's up tonight

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
surf /sɜːrf/ B2	noun - large waves caused by the wind on the sea verb - to ride on a surfboard on the waves
wave /weɪv/ B1	noun - a movement of water on the surface of a liquid body
water /ˈwɔːtər/ A1	noun - a clear liquid essential for life
rise /raɪz/ B2	verb - to go upward; to come or go up
move /muːv/ B1	verb - to change position or go to a different place
hold /hoʊld/ B2	verb - to keep or sustain something in a particular position
tonight /təˈnaɪt/ A1	adverb - during the night of this day
lonely /ˈloʊnli/ B2	adjective - feeling sad due to lack of companionship
place /pleɪs/ A2	noun - a particular position or location
forget /fərˈɡɛt/ B2	verb - to fail to remember
alive /əˈlaɪv/ B2	adjective - living; not dead

Key Grammar Structures

• The surfing song is all about it.

  ➔ Subject-verb-complement structure, use of "about" as a preposition.

  ➔ The sentence follows the basic Subject ('The surfing song') - Verb ('is') - Complement ('all about it') structure. "About" indicates what the song *is* focused on.

• Wherever the wind blows

  ➔ Adverbial clause of place introduced by "Wherever", Present Simple tense.

  ➔ "Wherever" introduces a clause that specifies the location of an action. "Blows" is in the present simple, describing a general truth or habitual action.

• When it blows over the sea

  ➔ Adverbial clause of time introduced by "When", Present Simple tense.

  ➔ "When" introduces a time clause, specifying the moment of an action. "Blows" is in the present simple.

• Waves will take you, take you there

  ➔ Future Simple tense ("will take"), repetition for emphasis.

  ➔ "Will take" expresses a future action. The repetition emphasizes the action.

• You've gotta move now

  ➔ "Have got to" shortened to "gotta", expressing obligation or strong recommendation, "now" as an adverb of time.

  ➔ "Gotta" is a colloquial contraction of "have got to", indicating necessity. "Now" indicates the urgency.

• Now I was lonely

  ➔ Past Simple tense, use of "now" as a temporal connector, linking to a past state.

  ➔ The sentence describes a past state using the past simple tense. "Now" signals a shift, perhaps in the present context.

• I met you down at the waterline

  ➔ Past Simple tense, prepositional phrase "down at the waterline".

  ➔ "Met" is the past simple of "meet", describing a past event. "Down at the waterline" specifies the location.

• There's a place where you can

  ➔ "There's" (contraction of "There is"), relative clause "where you can".

  ➔ "There's" introduces the existence of a place. "Where you can" introduces a relative clause describing the place.

• You get wet, it's free

  ➔ Present Simple tense (habitual action), Subject-Verb-Complement structure.

  ➔ Describes a general truth using the present simple. "It's free" is a simple statement.