The Harder They Come

• By: Jimmy Cliff
• Album: The Harder They Come

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
tell /tel/ A1	verb - to communicate information to someone
sky /skaɪ/ A1	noun - the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth.
die /daɪ/ A1	verb - to stop living
born /bɔːrn/ A1	verb - brought into life
hear /hɪər/ A1	verb - to perceive with the ear
cry /kraɪ/ A2	verb - to shed tears noun - a loud utterance
sun /sʌn/ A1	noun - the star that provides light and heat to the earth
shine /ʃaɪn/ A2	verb - to emit light
come /kʌm/ A1	verb - to move toward someone or something
fall /fɔːl/ A1	verb - to drop to the ground
oppressors /əˈpresər/ B2	noun - a person or group that uses power unjustly
drive /draɪv/ A2	verb - to force into a specified state or situation
underground /ˈʌndərɡraʊnd/ B1	noun - a secret or subversive organization or movement adjective - secret; subversive
battle /ˈbætl/ B1	noun - a sustained fight between opposing forces
forgive /fərˈɡɪv/ B2	verb - to stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense
fighting /ˈfaɪtɪŋ/ B1	verb - taking part in a violent struggle
dead /ded/ A2	adjective - no longer alive
free /friː/ A1	adjective - not under the control or power of someone else; able to do or say what you want
grave /ɡreɪv/ B1	noun - a hole dug in the ground to receive a coffin or body
living /ˈlɪvɪŋ/ A2	adjective - alive
puppet /ˈpʌpɪt/ B1	noun - a doll with movable limbs
slave /sleɪv/ A2	noun - a person who is owned by someone else

Grammar:

• Well, they tell me of a pie up in the sky

  ➔ Indirect Speech / Reported Speech

  ➔ The original statement could have been something like 'There's a pie up in the sky'. The structure 'they tell me of...' reports what someone else said.

• Waiting for me when I die

  ➔ Present Participle as Adjective / Reduced Relative Clause

  ➔ "Waiting" modifies "pie". It's a shortened form of "that is waiting".

• Between the day you're born and when you die

  ➔ Time Clause (using "when")

  ➔ "When you die" introduces a time clause modifying the main clause's timeframe, showing that something happens during a specified period.

• They never seem to hear even your cry

  ➔ "Seem" + Infinitive

  ➔ "Seem" is followed by the infinitive "to hear". This structure expresses an appearance or impression. The use of "even" emphasizes the lack of attention.

• So as sure as the sun will shine

  ➔ Conditional Sentence Type 1 (Implied)

  ➔ The phrase implies a condition: 'If the sun shines (which it will, as it is a certainty), then...'. This is a way to express certainty about the consequent.

• I'm gonna get my share now, what's mine

  ➔ "Gonna" (Going to) - Informal Future / Possessive Pronoun

  ➔ "Gonna" is an informal contraction of "going to", used for future intentions. "What's mine" is a possessive pronoun, referring to 'what belongs to me'.

• And then the harder they come, The harder they fall, one and all

  ➔ The...the Construction (Parallel Increase/Decrease)

  ➔ This structure expresses that as one thing increases (how hard someone comes), another thing also increases (how hard they fall). It shows a proportional relationship.

• I'd rather be a free man in my grave

  ➔ "Would rather" + Infinitive without "to"

  ➔ "Would rather" expresses preference. It's followed by the base form of the verb without 'to' (be).