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You can't fight a war with nobody to fight back 01:08

But if we get to digging to the bottom of the stack 01:11

We'll sell it to the youth, and you never know, maybe 01:15

You'll get back home, and you'll see your baby, oh 01:18

We'll just act like we care 01:23

All we're needing is a reason 01:28

It don't need to be clear 01:30

Singing songs to the news 01:32

It can play to their fears 01:33

Someone's gotta die, and you don't have to love him 01:35

But the military's still got more in its budget, oh 01:39

We always need more next year 01:44

No one cares about the waves 01:48

At the bottom of the ocean 01:52

And at the bottom of the ocean 01:55

It's always blue 01:58

No one will remember 02:02

'Cause nothing lasts forever 02:06

And everybody's looking 02:09

For somebody to use 02:12

When you don't bring them home and the war hasn't ended 02:17

There's still money there and that money needs spending 02:20

The powers that be, we gotta do what we do 02:23

If they never know it then they'll never feel used, oh 02:27

Like I often do 02:32

To all the pretty girls out there looking for heartache 02:37

Crying, "All I wanted is to be your baby" 02:40

And all the pretty girls out there living with heartache 02:44

Crying 'cause they're never gonna see their baby, oh 02:47

We just act like we care 02:53

No one cares about the waves 02:56

At the bottom of the ocean 03:00

And at the bottom of the ocean 03:04

It's always blue 03:07

No one will remember 03:11

'Cause nothing lasts forever 03:14

And everybody's looking 03:18

For somebody to use 03:21

No one will remember 03:24

'Cause nothing lasts forever 03:28

The world is always changing 03:31

And it's always blue 03:34

And it's always blue 03:38

03:40

Waves – English Lyrics

Portugal. The Man

Album

Evil Friends

Viewed

1,391,840

Language

English

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Lyrics & Translation

[English]

You can't fight a war with nobody to fight back

But if we get to digging to the bottom of the stack

We'll sell it to the youth, and you never know, maybe

You'll get back home, and you'll see your baby, oh

We'll just act like we care

All we're needing is a reason

It don't need to be clear

Singing songs to the news

It can play to their fears

Someone's gotta die, and you don't have to love him

But the military's still got more in its budget, oh

We always need more next year

No one cares about the waves

At the bottom of the ocean

And at the bottom of the ocean

It's always blue

No one will remember

'Cause nothing lasts forever

And everybody's looking

For somebody to use

When you don't bring them home and the war hasn't ended

There's still money there and that money needs spending

The powers that be, we gotta do what we do

If they never know it then they'll never feel used, oh

Like I often do

To all the pretty girls out there looking for heartache

Crying, "All I wanted is to be your baby"

And all the pretty girls out there living with heartache

Crying 'cause they're never gonna see their baby, oh

We just act like we care

No one cares about the waves

At the bottom of the ocean

And at the bottom of the ocean

It's always blue

No one will remember

'Cause nothing lasts forever

And everybody's looking

For somebody to use

No one will remember

'Cause nothing lasts forever

The world is always changing

And it's always blue

...

Key Vocabulary

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Vocabulary	Meanings
fight /faɪt/ B1	verb - to use physical force to harm someone or to defend oneself
war /wɔːr/ B1	noun - a state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country
ocean /ˈoʊʃən/ A2	noun - a large body of salt water that covers most of the earth's surface
care /kɛr/ A2	verb - to feel concern or interest; to attach importance to something
remember /rɪˈmɛmbər/ B1	verb - to have in or be able to bring to one's mind an awareness of someone or something from the past
money /ˈmʌni/ A2	noun - a medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes; currency
pretty /ˈprɪti/ B1	adjective - attractive in a delicate way without being truly beautiful
last /læst/ B1	verb - to continue for a specified period of time adjective - remaining after others are taken away
use /juːz/ A2	verb - to employ for some purpose; to put into service
youth /juːθ/ B2	noun - the period between childhood and adult age
digging /ˈdɪɡɪŋ/ B2	verb - to break up and move earth or rock
stack /stæk/ B2	noun - a pile of objects, typically arranged in a neat manner

Key Grammar Structures

You can't fight a war with nobody to fight back

➔ Negative form of modal verbs (can't)

➔ The phrase "can't" indicates inability or impossibility.
We'll sell it to the youth, and you never know, maybe

➔ Future simple tense (We'll sell)

➔ The phrase "We'll sell" indicates a planned action in the future.
It can play to their fears

➔ Modal verb (can)

➔ The modal verb "can" expresses possibility or ability.
No one cares about the waves

➔ Present simple tense (cares)

➔ The present simple tense is used to express general truths or habits.
The world is always changing

➔ Present continuous tense (is changing)

➔ The present continuous tense indicates an action that is currently ongoing.
And everybody's looking for somebody to use

➔ Present continuous tense (is looking)

➔ The present continuous tense shows an action that is happening right now.
But the military's still got more in its budget

➔ Present perfect tense (has got)

➔ The present perfect tense indicates an action that has relevance to the present.