The Dangling Conversation – English Lyrics

• By: Simon & Garfunkel

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

It's a still-life watercolor

Of a now-late afternoon

As the sun shines through the curtain lace

And shadows wash the room

And we sit and drink our coffee

Couched in our indifference

Like shells upon the shore

You can hear the ocean roar

In the dangling conversation

And the superficial sighs

The borders of our lives

...

And you read your Emily Dickinson

And I my Robert Frost

And we note our place with book markers

That measure what we've lost

Like a poem poorly written

We are verses out of rhythm

Couplets out of rhyme

In syncopated time

And the dangling conversation

And the superficial sighs

Are the borders of our lives

...

Yes, we speak of things that matter

With words that must be said

Can analysis be worthwhile?

Is the theater really dead?

And how the room has softly faded

And I only kiss your shadow

I cannot feel your hand

You're a stranger now unto me

Lost in the dangling conversation

And the superficial sighs

In the borders of our lives

...

Key Grammar Structures

• It's a still-life watercolor

  ➔ Contraction (It's = It is)

  ➔ Uses the contraction "**It's**" which is short for "It is," a common construction in English.

• As the sun shines through the curtain lace

  ➔ Subordinating conjunction (As)

  ➔ The word "**As**" introduces a subordinate clause explaining when the action in the main clause occurs.

• And we sit and drink our coffee

  ➔ Parallel structure (sit and drink)

  ➔ The verbs "**sit**" and "**drink**" are used in a parallel structure, connected by "and", to show the simultaneous nature of the actions.

• Couched in our indifference

  ➔ Past participle as adjective (Couched)

  ➔ The past participle "**Couched**" functions as an adjective, describing the state of being within their indifference.

• Like shells upon the shore

  ➔ Prepositional phrase (Like shells)

  ➔ The phrase "**Like shells upon the shore**" functions as a prepositional phrase, providing a comparison to illustrate the subject's detachment.

• And you read your Emily Dickinson

  ➔ Possessive pronoun (your)

  ➔ The possessive adjective "**your**" indicates that the Emily Dickinson book belongs to the person being addressed.

• Like a poem poorly written

  ➔ Adjective (poorly written)

  ➔ "**Poorly written**" acts as an adjective phrase describing the poem, emphasizing its quality.

• We are verses out of rhythm

  ➔ Prepositional phrase (out of rhythm)

  ➔ "**Out of rhythm**" functions as a prepositional phrase providing more information about the verses, suggesting a lack of harmony.

• In the dangling conversation

  ➔ Gerund (dangling)

  ➔ The gerund "**dangling**" functions as a noun, modifying the phrase "conversation," personifying it, and indicating the unstructured and seemingly endless nature of the discussions.