Whorehouse Blues – English Lyrics

• By: Motörhead
• Album: Inferno

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the unique world of Motörhead with 'Whorehouse Blues,' an unexpected acoustic blues track that offers a raw and introspective look at the band's journey. This song is a fantastic way to explore authentic English expressions related to life on the road, perseverance, and self-acceptance, all delivered with Motörhead's characteristic honesty and humor. Its distinctive style and storytelling make it a special piece for language learners to appreciate nuances in slang and colloquialisms.

[English]

One, two, three, four

...

Well, we come up from the gutter

The wrong side of the tracks

Yeah, we come up from the gutter

Wrong side of the tracks

You know the music brought us out, babe

And we ain't never been back

'Cause we went city to city

All around the world

Yes, we went city to city

All around the world

You know it never looked like enough, honey

Even after 30 years

'Cause we come blazing like a shooting star

We light you up real good

We come blazing like a shooting star

And we light you up real good

We're gonna hit you like a flash of lightning

Just like a bad boy would

Make your name

...

You know the only thing that's missing

Is a little mouth harp blues, mouth harp blues

You know the only thing that's missing

Is a little mouth harp blues, that's how we do it

And you know life's full of surprises

You know we do that too

Oh, yeah

Come on

...

You know we ain't too good-lookin'

But we are satisfied, satisfied

No, we ain't never been good-lookin'

But we are satisfied, satisfied

We should've opened up a little whorehouse, honey

Get a little booty on the side

...

Can we go now?

Yeah

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
gutter /ˈɡʌtər/ B1	noun - a channel at the side of a street for water and waste
tracks /træk/ B1	noun - lines on which trains run
blazing /ˈbleɪzɪŋ/ B2	verb / adjective (participle) - burning brightly
light /laɪt/ A2	noun / verb / adjective - the brightness that makes things visible / to make something start burning / not heavy
flash /flæʃ/ B2	noun / verb - a sudden bright light / to shine suddenly
whoreshouse /ˈhʊərˌhaʊs/ C1	noun - a brothel; house where sex work is performed
satisfied /ˈsætɪsfaɪd/ B2	adjective - contented; pleased with what one has or has done
booty /ˈbʊti/ C1	noun - valuable stolen goods or treasure
surprise /sərˈpraɪz/ B2	noun / verb - an unexpected event or thing / to cause surprise

Key Grammar Structures

• We come up from the gutter

  ➔ Present tense with "come up" colloquial phrase

  ➔ The phrase "come up" is used idiomatically to mean "to rise from a lower position" or "to originate from".

• All around the world

  ➔ Prepositional phrase indicating extent or scope

  ➔ The phrase "all around the world" emphasizes the global extent or reach of their activities.

• We light you up real good

  ➔ Present tense with phrasal verb "light up" and adverb "real" (colloquial for "really")

  ➔ The phrasal verb "light up" means "to illuminate" or "to excite/intensify" emotionally, and "real good" is colloquial for "very well" or "powerfully".

• Make your name

  ➔ Imperative phrase encouraging action to achieve recognition

  ➔ This phrase is an imperative expression urging someone to act in ways that will establish their reputation or fame.

• Can we go now?

  ➔ Modal verb "can" used for asking permission or making a request

  ➔ The modal "can" expresses ability or permission and is used here to make a polite request to leave.