The Sky Is Crying

• By: Elmore James
• Album: Too Much Weekend

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

Vocabulary	Meanings
sky /skaɪ/ A1	noun - the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth
crying /ˈkraɪɪŋ/ A1	verb - shedding tears, expressing sorrow
tears /tɪərz/ A2	noun - drops of clear salty liquid secreted from glands in the eye
roll /roʊl/ A2	verb - move along a surface by turning over and over
street /striːt/ A1	noun - a public road in a city or town
looking /ˈlʊkɪŋ/ A1	verb - to search or seek
baby /ˈbeɪbi/ A1	noun - a very young child noun - a term of endearment
wonder /ˈwʌndər/ B1	verb - to feel curiosity or doubt about something
walking /ˈwɔːkɪŋ/ A1	verb - moving on foot at a regular pace
hurt /hɜːrt/ A2	verb - to cause physical pain or injury verb - to cause emotional pain or distress
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system
skip /skɪp/ B1	verb - to move along lightly, stepping from one foot to the other with a hop or bounce verb - to omit
bad /bæd/ A1	adjective - of poor quality or a low standard
feeling /ˈfiːlɪŋ/ A2	noun - an emotional state or reaction
love /lʌv/ A1	verb - have a deep affection for (someone) noun - an intense feeling of affection

Grammar:

• The sky is crying

  ➔ Present continuous tense.

  ➔ Describes an action happening now or around now. The verb is formed with "is" + the base form of the verb + "-ing".

• Can't you see the tears roll down the street

  ➔ Modal verb "can't" for ability/permission in the negative, followed by verb of perception "see" + object + bare infinitive.

  ➔ "Can't" expresses inability to see. "See the tears roll" uses the bare infinitive "roll" because "see" is a verb of perception.

• I've been looking for my baby

  ➔ Present perfect continuous tense.

  ➔ Indicates an action that started in the past and is still continuing now. Formed with "have/has been" + verb + "-ing". The speaker started looking for his baby in the past and is still looking.

• And wonder where can she be

  ➔ Embedded question with inverted word order (subject-verb inversion).

  ➔ In direct questions, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject (e.g., "Where *can* she be?"). But in an embedded question, the usual subject-verb order is maintained ("where she *can* be"). However, in older blues and informal speech, this inversion is sometimes kept: "where can she be".

• You know it hurt me, hurt me so bad

  ➔ Repetition for emphasis; Simple Past Tense.

  ➔ The repetition of "hurt me" emphasizes the speaker's pain. "Hurt" is in the simple past tense, indicating a completed action in the past.

• It made my poor heart skip a beat

  ➔ Simple Past Tense; Idiomatic Expression

  ➔ "It made my poor heart skip a beat" uses the simple past "made" to describe a completed action. "Skip a beat" is an idiom meaning to be shocked, surprised, or emotionally moved.

• I got a bad felling, my baby she don't love me no more

  ➔ Simple Past Tense; Double Negative; Incorrect Grammar (informal speech)

  ➔ "Got" is simple past of "get". "She don't love me no more" contains a double negative, which is common in blues lyrics and informal speech. The correct, standard form would be "she doesn't love me anymore".