Play in the Sunshine – English Lyrics

• By: Prince
• Album: Sign "O" the Times

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the vibrant world of Prince with 'Play in the Sunshine.' This track is a perfect gateway for learners to explore English through positive, rhythmic idioms and celebratory vocabulary, all while experiencing the genius of the Minneapolis Sound.

[English]

We wanna play in the sunshine, we wanna be free

Without the help of a margarita or ecstacy

We wanna kick like we used to, sign up on the dotted line

We're gonna dance every dance like it's gonna be the last time

We got to play in the sunshine, turn on all the lights up to 10

I wanna meet you (meet you) and kiss u (kiss u)

And love you (love you) and miss you (miss you)

Do it all over again, do it all over again

We're gonna play in the sunshine, we're gonna get over

I'm feelin' kind of lucky tonight, I'm gonna find my four-leaf clover

Before my life is done

Some way (some way), some how (some how) I'm gonna have fun

...

Play in the sunshine

We gonna love all our enemies 'til the gorilla falls off the wall

We're gonna rock him (rock him)

We're gonna roll him (roll him)

We're gonna teach him that love will make him tall (so tall)

...

Aah, pop goes the music when the big white rabbit begin to talk

And the color green will make your best friend leave ya (walk)

It'll make them do "The Walk," but that's cool (that's cool)

'Cause one day (one day) every day (every day) will be a yellow day, let's play

(Play in the sunshine, we're gonna get over) Over

I'm feelin' kind of lucky tonight, I'm gonna find my four-leaf clover

(Before my life is done) Before my life is done

Some way (some way) some how (some how) I'm gonna have fun

...

(Play) No

Now get loose

Play

Play

Play

Play

Play

Play

...

Play

Play

...

Play in the sunshine, we're gonna get over

I'm feelin' kind of lucky tonight, I'm gonna find my four-leaf clover

Before my life is done

I'm gonna, some way, some how, have fun

(Play in the sunshine, we're gonna get over)

(I'm feelin' kind of lucky tonight, I'm gonna find my four-leaf clover)

Before my life is done

Some way, some how, I just got to have fun

(Play, play)

(Play) No

(Play) No

(Play) No

(Come on, play) No

(Play) No

(Play play play) Yeah

...

Drummer, do your thing

Drummer, drummer, do your thing

...

Drummer, drummer, drummer

Can I get some of that? (yeah, yeah)

Wait a minute

...

Ha-ha

...

Let's get out of here (yeah)

(La la la la la, la la la)

(Play in the sunshine)

We're not afraid to (play in the sunshine)

We are going to (play in the sunshine) (in the sunshine)

(Play in the sunshine)

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
sunshine /ˈsʌnʃaɪn/ A2	noun - direct sunlight unbroken by cloud
margarita /ˌmɑːrɡəˈriːtə/ B2	noun - a cocktail consisting of tequila, triple sec, and lime juice
ecstasy /ˈekstəsi/ C1	noun - an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or a psychoactive drug
dotted /ˈdɒtɪd/ B1	adjective - marked with dots
clover /ˈkləʊvə(r)/ C2	noun - a small herbaceous plant with trifoliate leaves
enemies /ˈenəmiz/ A2	noun - a person who is actively opposed or hostile to someone
gorilla /ɡəˈrɪlə/ B2	noun - a powerful, large anthropoid ape
loose /luːs/ A2	adjective - relaxed, not confined or restrained
drummer /ˈdrʌmə(r)/ B1	noun - a person who plays the drums
afraid /əˈfreɪd/ A1	adjective - feeling fear or anxiety

Key Grammar Structures

• We're gonna dance every dance like it's gonna be the last time

  ➔ Future intention ('gonna' / 'going to')

  ➔ The colloquial 'gonna' is a contraction of 'going to', used here to express a strong future resolution.

• Without the help of a margarita or ecstacy

  ➔ Prepositional phrase denoting exclusion

  ➔ The preposition 'without' indicates that the speaker wants to be free in the 'absence' of substances.

• I'm feelin' kind of lucky tonight

  ➔ Adverbial modifier ('kind of')

  ➔ 'Kind of' acts as a hedge to soften the adjective 'lucky', meaning 'somewhat' or 'a little bit'.

• We gonna love all our enemies 'til the gorilla falls off the wall

  ➔ Conjunction of time ('til/until')

  ➔ 'Til' is an informal contraction of 'until', connecting the main clause to the duration of the action.

• And the color green will make your best friend leave ya

  ➔ Causative verb structure (make + object + bare infinitive)

  ➔ The verb 'make' is followed by the object 'your best friend' and the bare infinitive 'leave'.

• Before my life is done

  ➔ Subordinate clause of time

  ➔ The clause beginning with 'before' establishes a time limit for the action in the main clause.

• Some way, some how, I'm gonna have fun

  ➔ Adverbial phrase of manner

  ➔ 'Some way' and 'some how' function as adverbial modifiers describing how the speaker intends to achieve their goal.

• We wanna kick like we used to

  ➔ Used to (past habit)

  ➔ The structure 'used to' describes a past action that happened regularly but is no longer occurring.