Witchcraft – English Lyrics

• By: King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
• Album: PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the electrifying world of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard's "Witchcraft" to expand your English vocabulary through its vivid, narrative-driven lyrics. This progressive thrash metal track, with its intricate storytelling about magic, monsters, and a desperate fight against apocalypse, offers a unique and engaging way to explore complex themes and evocative language. Its distinctive sound and compelling narrative make it a special piece for any language learner.

[English]

In the fields once green and gold

Where the summer's breeze was bold

A supercell rages and rolls

Swirling vortex

A bubble boils

Witchcraft

So upon one sable morn when the moon does

Wane and die

A ragged coven convenes performing

Incantation nigh

Witchcraft

Taxidermy with eyes of fire

Chanting songs above the lyre

Miasma of hair and bile hangs heavy with the mother's ire

Witchcraft

Antlers shed ribbons of blood

Draped like thorns upon the brow

A crucifixion can end this squall

A Bible burned with aerosol

Witchcraft (woo)

...

I call upon the blood-moon goddess for I have

But one request

I've laid the altar

Charged the crystals

The circle, I have blessed

Witchcraft

The four elements are set

Septuple trigger fingers bleed

Oh horrors, my midnight god, what have you got in store for me?

Witchcraft

Woo!

...

Fire flickered and danced with hues of orange

Red and deep burnt blues

Snakes slither by, just out of sight

Lizard and bat take wing in the night

Around the fire, they circle slow and with

Locked minds a chant did grow

Timbers of oak with wind knots so tight bear witness

To spells cast in the night

...

I am Beowulf

I am cat, black

Knock the candle from the scripture stack

I bring justice at moment, right

Gila Monster, set alight

Witchcraft

Unleash a reptile thinking in terms of only

Lizard brain

And be not lucky enough to make any

Mistakes again

Witchcraft

Like a grenade in a fist, the air ignites, a

Bloody mist

Moon cycle shifting

Demon lifting

Beowulf, grifting ritualist

Witchcraft

Alas, the cat disrupts the prayer and turns it on

Meekest there

The tiny creature, a harmless skink, transforms

Into a mythic king

Witchcraft

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Witchcraft /ˈwɪtʃ.krɑːft/ A2	noun - the practice of magical skills and rituals, often associated with witches
Supercell /ˈsuː.pər.sel/ B2	noun - a severe thunderstorm characterized by a rotating updraft
Vortex /ˈvɔːr.tɛks/ B1	noun - a mass of fluid or air moving rapidly around a center
Incantation /ˌɪn.kænˈteɪ.ʃən/ B2	noun - a magical formula or spell chanted or spoken
Taxidermy /ˈtæks.ɪ.dɜːr.mi/ B2	noun - the art of preparing and preserving the skins of animals with lifelike effect
Miasma /maɪˈæz.mə/ C1	noun - an unpleasant or harmful atmosphere or influence
Antlers /ˈæn.tlərz/ A2	noun - the branched horns of a deer
Crucifixion /ˌkruː.sɪˈfɪk.ʃən/ B1	noun - the act of killing someone by nailing or tying them to a cross
Aerosol /ˈɛr.əʊ.sɒl/ B2	noun - a suspension of fine solid or liquid particles in gas
Altar /ˈɔːl.tər/ A2	noun - a table or flat-topped structure used in religious ceremonies
Crystals /ˈkrɪs.təlz/ A2	noun - a piece of a homogeneous solid substance having a natural geometrically regular form
Elements /ˈɛl.ɪ.mənts/ A2	noun - the environmental forces of nature (e.g., wind, water, fire, earth)
Beowulf /ˈbeɪ.əwʊlf/ B1	noun - a hero of Germanic legend, known for his strength and bravery
Grenade /ɡrɪˈnɑːd/ A2	noun - a small bomb thrown by hand or launched
Skink /skɪŋk/ B2	noun - a small lizard with a long tail and no limbs or very small limbs

Key Grammar Structures

• In the fields once green and gold

  ➔ Past perfect participle

  ➔ The phrase 'once green and gold' uses the past perfect participle ('green', 'gold') to describe a past state.

• A supercell rages and rolls

  ➔ Present simple with stative verbs

  ➔ The verbs 'rages' and 'rolls' are in the present simple to describe ongoing actions.

• So upon one sable morn when the moon does wane and die

  ➔ Subordinating conjunction with present simple

  ➔ The subordinating conjunction 'when' introduces a clause with 'does wane and die' in the present simple.

• I call upon the blood-moon goddess for I have but one request

  ➔ Present perfect with 'have'

  ➔ 'I have but one request' uses the present perfect with 'have' to indicate a completed action.

• The four elements are set

  ➔ Present simple passive voice

  ➔ 'Are set' is in the present simple passive voice, indicating an action done to the subject.

• Oh horrors, my midnight god, what have you got in store for me?

  ➔ Interjection and indirect question

  ➔ 'Oh horrors' is an interjection, and 'what have you got in store for me?' is an indirect question.

• I am Beowulf, I am cat, black

  ➔ Coordination of sentences

  ➔ The sentences are coordinated using commas to list multiple identities.

• Unleash a reptile thinking in terms of only lizard brain

  ➔ Gerund phrase

  ➔ 'Thinking in terms of only lizard brain' is a gerund phrase functioning as a noun.