The Memo – English Lyrics

• By: Father John Misty
• Album: Pure Comedy

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Father John Misty's 'The Memo,' a cleverly constructed track released amidst industry controversy. This song, delivered with bright, almost deceptive musicality, acts as a sharp memo on the state of modern culture and the art world. By listening closely to its dense, witty lyrics, you can gain insight into the cynical yet eloquent commentary that defines Father John Misty's unique artistic stance.

[English]

♫ Gonna steal some bed sheets

♫ From an amputee

♫ Gonna mount them on a canvas in the middle of the gallery

♫ Gonna tell everybody it was painted by a chimpanzee

♫ But just between you and me

♫ Here at the cultural low water mark

♫ If it's fraud or art

♫ They'll pay you to believe

♫ Gonna take five young dudes

♫ From white families

♫ Gonna mount them on a billboard

♫ In the middle of the country

♫ Gonna tell everybody

♫ They sing like angels with whiter teeth

♫ But just between you and me

♫ They're just like the ones before

♫ With their standards lower

♫ No, the concertgoer

♫ Will pay you to believe

♫ Oh, caffeine in the morning

♫ Alcohol at night

♫ Cameras to record you and mirrors to recognize

♫ And as the world is getting smaller

♫ Small things take up all your time

♫ Narcissus would have had a field day

♫ If he could have got online

♫ And friends it's not self-love that kills you

♫ It's when those who hate you are allowed

♫ To sell you that you're a glorious shit

♫ The entire world revolves around

♫ And that you're the eater, no, not the eaten

♫ But that your hunger will only cease

♫ If you come binge on radiant blandness

♫ At the disposable feast

- [Woman] You're enjoying the Chill Winter playlist.

♫ Just quickly, how would you rate yourself

- [Woman] I mean Indie Brunch.

♫ In terms of sex appeal and cultural significance

- [Man] Irony, irony.

♫ Do you usually listen to music like this

- [Woman] Just one more mile.

♫ Can recommend some similar artists

- [Woman] This is totally the song of my summer.

♫ Are you feeling depressed

- [Woman] This guy just gets me.

♫ But your feedback's important

♫ To us

- [Woman] Music is my life.

♫ Gonna buy myself a sports team

♫ And put them in a pit

♫ I'm gonna wage the old crusade against consciousness

♫ All I need's a couple winners

♫ To get every loser to fight in it

♫ Keep the golden calf, just need the bullshit

♫ And they won't just sell themselves into slavery

♫ They'll get on their knees and pay you to believe

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
steal /stiːl/ B2	verb - to take something without permission
amputee /æmˈpjuːti/ C2	noun - a person who has had a limb removed
canvas /ˈkænvəs/ B2	noun - a piece of cloth used for painting
gallery /ˈɡæləri/ B1	noun - a place where art is shown
chimpanzee /ˌtʃɪmpænˈziː/ C1	noun - a species of great ape native to Africa
fraud /frɔːd/ B2	noun - the act of deceiving or cheating
billboard /ˈbɪlbɔːrd/ B2	noun - a large outdoor board for advertisements
concertgoer /ˈkɒnsərtɡoʊər/ C1	noun - a person who attends concerts
caffeine /ˈkæfiːn/ B2	noun - a stimulant found in coffee and tea
alcohol /ˈælkəhɒl/ B1	noun - a drink that can make people drunk
mirror /ˈmɪrər/ B1	noun - a surface that shows a reflection
narcissus /nɑːrˈsɪsəs/ C2	noun - a Greek mythological character or a flower symbolizing self-love
glorious /ˈɡlɔːriəs/ C1	adjective - having great beauty or honor
radiant /ˈreɪdiənt/ C1	adjective - shining brightly
blandness /ˈblændnəs/ C2	noun - quality of being dull and uninteresting
crusade /kruːˈseɪd/ C1	noun - a vigorous campaign for social or political change

Key Grammar Structures

• Gonna steal some bed sheets

  ➔ Informal future intention using 'gonna' (going to).

  ➔ The phrase "Gonna steal" shows an informal way to express a future planned action using 'gonna' instead of 'going to'.

• If it's fraud or art

  ➔ Conditional sentence (Type 1) with contraction.

  ➔ The phrase "If it's fraud or art" uses the contraction 'it's' for 'it is' within a conditional clause expressing a real possibility.

• They'll pay you to believe

  ➔ Future simple tense with contraction and infinitive of purpose 'to believe'.

  ➔ "They'll pay you to believe" uses 'they will' contracted as 'they'll' to talk about future actions and 'to believe' shows purpose.

• Will pay you to believe

  ➔ Future simple interrogative without subject (ellipsis) for rhetorical effect.

  ➔ The phrase "Will pay you to believe" omits the subject for emphasis, typical in rhetorical or poetic language.

• And that you're the eater, no, not the eaten

  ➔ Relative clause with contraction and contrast using 'no, not'.

  ➔ "That you're the eater" is a relative clause with 'you're' contraction; 'no, not' provides a clear contrast in meaning.

• And friends it's not self-love that kills you

  ➔ Subject cleft sentence with emphasis using 'it's not ... that'.

  ➔ The sentence uses a cleft structure "it's not self-love that kills you" to highlight 'self-love' as the focus of negation.

• If he could have got online

  ➔ Third conditional expressing hypothetical past condition.

  ➔ "If he could have got online" imagines an unreal past possibility using the third conditional form.

• Keep the golden calf, just need the bullshit

  ➔ Imperative sentence with elided subject and informal juxtaposition.

  ➔ "Keep the golden calf" is an imperative order without explicitly stated subject, paired informally with "just need the bullshit".