Reckoning Song – English Lyrics

• By: Asaf Avidan
• Album: The Reckoning

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music is a powerful tool, and Asaf Avidan's 'Reckoning Song' offers a unique opportunity. The song's clear, emotive lyrics provide a great foundation for understanding themes of love, loss, and time. Its simple, repetitive chorus in the original version makes it easy for beginners to sing along and grasp the core message, while Avidan's distinctive and expressive vocal delivery makes the emotional weight of the words palpable, creating a memorable and engaging learning experience.

[English]

No more tears, my heart is dry

I don't laugh and I don't cry

I don't think about you all the time

But when I do - I wonder why

You have to go out of my door

And leave just like you did before

I know I said that I was sure

But rich men can't imagine poor.

One day baby, we'll be old

Oh baby, we'll be old

And think of all the stories that we couldn't told

One day baby, we'll be old

Oh baby, we'll be old

And think of all the stories that we couldn't told

Little me and little you

Kept doing all the things they do

They never really think it through

Like I can never think you're true

Here I go again - the blame

The guilt, the pain, the hurt, the shame

The founding fathers of our plane

That's stuck in heavy clouds of rain.

One day baby, we'll be old

Oh baby, we'll be old

And think of all the stories that we could've told.

One day baby, we'll be old

Oh baby, we'll be old

Think of all the stories that we couldn't told

One day baby, we'll be old

Oh baby we'll be old

Think of all the stories that we couldn't told

One day baby we'll be old

Oh baby we'll be old

Think of all the stories that we couldn't told

One day baby we'll be old

Oh baby we'll be old

Oh baby we'll be old

Oh baby we'll be one day baby we'll be old

Baby we'll be old

Think of all the stories that we couldn't told

One day baby we'll be old

Oh baby we'll be old

And think of all the stories that we couldn't told

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
tears /tɪərz/ A2	noun - drops of liquid from the eyes
heart /hɑːrt/ A2	noun - organ inside the body that pumps blood
dry /draɪ/ A2	adjective - lacking moisture
laugh /læf/ A2	verb - to make sounds with voice expressing happiness
cry /kraɪ/ A2	verb - to shed tears, usually due to sadness
think /θɪŋk/ A2	verb - to have a particular opinion or idea
leave /liːv/ A2	verb - to go away from someone or something
sure /ʃʊər/ A2	adjective - certain or confident
imagine /ɪˈmædʒɪn/ B1	verb - to form a picture or idea in your mind
story /ˈstɔːr.i/ A2	noun - a description of real or imaginary events
tell /tɛl/ A2	verb - to communicate information
old /oʊld/ A2	adjective - having lived for a long time
story /ˈstɔːr.i/ A2	noun - a narration of real or imaginary events
child /tʃaɪld/ A2	noun - a young human being
doing /ˈduː.ɪŋ/ B1	verb (gerund) - performing an action
blame /bleɪm/ B2	noun - responsibility for a fault or wrong verb - to assign responsibility for a fault

Key Grammar Structures

• No more tears, my heart is dry

  ➔ Use of 'no more' + noun

  ➔ "No more" indicates a cessation or absence of something. Here, it emphasizes the lack of tears.

• But when I do - I wonder why

  ➔ Use of 'do' for emphasis

  ➔ The auxiliary verb "do" is used for emphasis. It stresses the action of thinking about the person.

• But rich men can't imagine poor.

  ➔ Adjective used as a noun

  ➔ "Poor" is used as a collective noun, referring to poor people in general.

• And think of all the stories that we couldn't told

  ➔ Use of 'couldn't have' + past participle

  ➔ Grammatically, it should be 'couldn't have told'. "Couldn't have" + past participle expresses a missed opportunity or something that was impossible to do in the past.

• Kept doing all the things they do

  ➔ Use of 'kept' + gerund

  ➔ "Kept doing" shows a continuous action in the past. 'Keep' followed by a gerund describes an activity that happened repeatedly or consistently.

• Like I can never think you're true

  ➔ Subject + can + never + verb

  ➔ This expresses the speaker's inability or strong disbelief. "Can never" indicates impossibility.

• The founding fathers of our plane

  ➔ Metaphorical language / Abstract noun used in a concrete way.

  ➔ "Founding fathers" usually refers to the people who established a country. Here, it's used metaphorically to describe whatever initiated or built the "plane" (relationship/situation), implying responsibility for its current state.

• That's stuck in heavy clouds of rain.

  ➔ Relative clause with 'that'

  ➔ "That's stuck" is a relative clause, providing more information about the preceding noun phrase, "the founding fathers of our plane".