Walk Of Life – English Lyrics

• By: Dire Straits
• Album: Brothers in Arms

Lyrics & Translation

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
singing /ˈsɪŋɪŋ/ B1	verb - to produce musical sounds with the voice
action /ˈækʃən/ A2	noun - an act or movement
devotion /dɪˈvoʊʃən/ B2	noun - deep love and commitment
dedication /ˌdɛdɪˈkeɪʃən/ B2	noun - the act of giving considerable time and effort to a purpose or activity
walk /wɔːk/ A1	noun - the act of moving on foot verb - to move at a regular pace by lifting and setting down each foot in turn
life /laɪf/ A2	noun - the existence of an individual human being or animal
shine /ʃaɪn/ B2	verb - to emit light verb - to be very talented or successful
glory /ˈɡlɔːri/ B2	noun - great beauty or praise
try /traɪ/ A2	verb - to make an effort to do something
pay /peɪ/ A2	verb - to give money in exchange for goods or services
trouble /ˈtrʌbəl/ B1	noun - a state of difficulty or distress
storm /stɔːrm/ B2	noun - a violent weather condition with strong winds and rain
glad /ɡlæd/ A2	adjective - feeling pleased or happy
smile /smaɪl/ A2	noun - a facial expression showing happiness verb - to make a smiling expression
dream /driːm/ B2	noun - a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep or aspiration verb - to experience dreams during sleep or to hope for something

Key Grammar Structures

• Here comes Johnny singing oldies, goldies

  ➔ Present Simple for habitual actions and 'Here comes...' structure.

  ➔ The line uses the present simple to describe a recurring action, Johnny "singing" old songs. "Here comes" introduces the character or action about to happen.

• Trying to make it pay

  ➔ Gerund as part of a larger phrase

  ➔ "Trying" is a gerund acting as part of a phrase explaining Johnny's actions. It describes what Johnny is doing “down in the tunnels.”

• He got the action, he got the motion

  ➔ Repetition for emphasis with simple past tense.

  ➔ The repetition of "he got" emphasizes Johnny's talent and skills. The simple past "got" describes what he possesses or has achieved.

• Turning all the night time into the day

  ➔ Present participle as adjective/descriptive phrase.

  ➔ "Turning" acts as a present participle, modifying the action he is doing. It provides more detail on the dedication and devotion.

• Hand me down my walkin' shoes

  ➔ Imperative with phrasal verb ('hand down')

  ➔ The phrase 'Hand me down' is an imperative, meaning it's a command or request. 'Hand down' is a phrasal verb, meaning 'to give or pass something to someone.'

• Backbeat, the talkin' blues

  ➔ Appositive Phrase

  ➔ The phrase "the talkin' blues" is an appositive phrase, further describing "backbeat." It renames or clarifies the preceding noun.

• After all the violence and double-talk

  ➔ Prepositional phrase acting as an adverbial phrase

  ➔ "After all the violence and double-talk" indicates when something (a song) exists. This describes the circumstances/time when the song appeared, thus acting as an adverbial modifier.