The Sky Is Crying – English Lyrics

• By: Elmore James
• Album: Too Much Weekend

Lyrics & Translation

Delve into the soulful sounds of Elmore James's "The Sky Is Crying" and discover how this blues standard captures the essence of heartbreak and longing. By exploring the metaphorical lyrics and James's signature slide guitar, you'll gain a deeper appreciation for the emotional depth of blues music and the art of expressing personal experiences through song .

[English]

The sky is crying

Can't you see the tears roll down the street

The sky is crying

Can't you see the tears roll down the street

I've been looking for my baby

And wonder where can she be

I saw my baby early one morning

She was walking on down the street

I saw my baby early one morning

She was walking on down the street

You know it hurt me, hurt me so bad

it made my poor heart skip a beat

I got a bad felling,

my baby she don't love me no more

I got a real bad felling

my baby she don't love me no more

Yah the sky's crying ...

Key Vocabulary

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

Key Grammar Structures

• 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".