Sweet Like Sugar – English Lyrics

• By: Richie Campbell

Lyrics & Translation

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Gyal /ɡjaːl/ C1	noun - Young woman, girl (Jamaican Patois slang)
sweet /swiːt/ A1	adjective - Having a taste like sugar or honey; pleasant and enjoyable; charming.
sugar /ˈʃʊɡər/ A1	noun - A sweet crystalline substance obtained from various plants, used as a sweetener.
love /lʌv/ A1	verb - To feel deep affection for someone/something; to like greatly. noun - A strong feeling of affection; a person or thing that is loved.
aroma /əˈroʊmə/ B1	noun - A distinctive, typically pleasant smell.
wine /waɪn/ B2	verb - To gyrate the hips and lower body in a sensual, rhythmic way, typically associated with Caribbean dance forms. noun - A dance move involving gyration of the hips, common in Caribbean dance.
bend /bɛnd/ A2	verb - To shape or force (something straight) into a curve or angle; to incline the body. noun - A curve or angle in a road, river, or other object.
twerk /twɜːrk/ C1	verb - To dance in a sexually suggestive manner involving thrusting hip movements and a low, squatting stance. noun - A dance involving sexually suggestive thrusting hip movements.
knees /niːz/ A1	noun - The joint between the thigh and the lower leg in humans.
toes /toʊz/ A1	noun - Any of the five digits at the end of the foot.
floor /flɔːr/ A1	noun - The lower surface of a room, on which one walks.
need /niːd/ A1	verb - To require (something) because it is essential or very important. noun - A thing that is wanted or required.
innocent /ˈɪnəsənt/ B1	adjective - Not guilty of a crime or offence; free from moral wrong; naive.
crazy /ˈkreɪzi/ B1	adjective - Mad, insane; extremely enthusiastic or obsessed; very surprising or unusual.
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - The earth, together with all its countries and peoples; a particular part or aspect of life or the universe.
carnival /ˈkɑːrnɪvl/ B1	noun - A public festival involving processions, music, dancing, and the use of disguises, typically held just before Lent.
wide /waɪd/ A2	adjective - Of great or more than average width; extending over a large area.
stop /stɒp/ A1	verb - To cease to move or operate; to prevent something from happening. noun - An act of stopping; a place where a bus or train stops.

Key Grammar Structures

• Gyal you're sweet like sugar

  ➔ Simile (using "like"), linking verb "be" (contracted form)

  ➔ A "simile" is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things using "like" or "as". "You're" is the contraction of "you are", where "are" is a "linking verb" connecting the subject "you" to the adjective "sweet".

• Love your sweet aroma

  ➔ Implied subject (omitted "I" or imperative), possessive adjective

  ➔ In songs, the subject "I" is often "implied" or omitted for rhythm and flow, meaning "I love your sweet aroma". "Your" is a "possessive adjective" showing that the "aroma" belongs to "you".

• Why your wine all over

  ➔ Imperative mood, colloquial spelling/language

  ➔ This phrase uses the "imperative mood", which gives a direct command or instruction. "Why" is a colloquial or phonetic spelling of "whine", a dance movement. So, it means "Dance your dance all over".

• Out of this world where we living in

  ➔ Prepositional phrase, colloquial relative clause (omitted auxiliary, misplaced preposition)

  ➔ "Out of this world" is a "prepositional phrase" used idiomatically to mean exceptional or amazing. "where we living in" is a "colloquial relative clause", omitting the auxiliary "are" (should be "where we are living") and ending with the preposition "in" which is often moved to the end in informal English.

• Baby gyal stop acting innocent

  ➔ Imperative mood, verb + gerund

  ➔ This is an "imperative" sentence giving a direct command. The verb "stop" is followed by a "gerund" ("acting"), which is the -ing form of a verb used as a noun, indicating that the action should cease.

• Gyal say she ready she want me but me no feel nobody like I'm crazy, man

  ➔ Colloquial subject pronoun ("me" for "I"), double negative ("no feel nobody")

  ➔ "Me" is used as a "subject pronoun" instead of the standard "I", common in informal English dialects like Patois. "No feel nobody" is a "double negative", where two negative words ("no", "nobody") are used in the same clause to emphasize the negation, which is non-standard in formal English but common in some dialects.

• Gyal come whine up on me like a carnival

  ➔ Imperative, phrasal verb, simile

  ➔ "Come whine up" is an "imperative" command. "Whine up" is a "phrasal verb" meaning to dance or move provocatively. The phrase "like a carnival" is a "simile", comparing the dancing to the energetic atmosphere of a carnival.

• Whine up on me like you never f**ked

  ➔ Imperative, colloquial present perfect (omitted auxiliary "have")

  ➔ This line is an "imperative" command. "like you never f**ked" is a colloquial usage of the "present perfect" tense. Standard English would be "like you have never f**ked" or "like you've never f**ked", where the auxiliary verb "have" is omitted for brevity and informal tone.

• You too wide and the place will f**k you right up

  ➔ Adverb "too" for excessive degree, simple future tense ("will"), phrasal verb

  ➔ "Too" is an "adverb" used before an adjective ("wide") to mean excessively or more than is desirable. "Will f**k you up" uses the "simple future tense" to predict a consequence. "F**k up" is a "phrasal verb" meaning to damage, spoil, or cause trouble.

• Bend your knees touch your toes / Make it twerk pon the floor

  ➔ Sequence of imperative verbs, colloquial preposition ("pon")

  ➔ This line features a "sequence of imperative verbs" ("Bend", "touch", "Make"), giving a series of direct commands. "Pon" is a "colloquial preposition", a common variant of "on" found in Caribbean English and other informal dialects.