I'm deaf, I'm blind, in a way, aren't we all? Bullying hurts. This song encourages kindness and understanding towards those who are different. Choose compassion over cruelty. #英検2級 #TOEIC #CEFRB1
Thank you for your questions. I hadn't realized that the video I posted did not have the same lyrics I knew, so I didn't cover them in the article. My apologies for not being aware of that.
Q1: The "yellow line" is the line on the road or highway that divides the two sides where the traffic flows. The lyrics imply that the singer's wife and child were in a car accident when another driver crossed the line and hit their car. "We laid them in the ground" means they had a funeral and buried his wife and child. It was a terrible loss for him.
Q2: "I'm down to"* in this case means it's the last thing the singer has left. From this line, we get the feeling that the singer lost everything after they died, and he has now become homeless and is living on the streets, (Q3:) holding a little sign that might say, "Need food. Please help." or "Can you spare some change?" If this is true, he is now begging, and the song comes full circle. It also points out that we never really know why someone is in the situation they are in.
*Other examples of "I'm down to" might be: I'm down to my last cigarette, or, I'm down to my last $5.00.
This song brought tears to my eyes after a hellishly difficult day at school dealing with exactly this... Bullying! It breaks my heart to see children so sad and lonely they can no longer even concentrate on their work because someone, somewhere, is making them feel like they don't count because they are just that little bit different. In this case it wasn't even about the little one concerned it was about her family... how? 😔
Susie, it’s difficult seeing it happen and not being able to fix the problem. As a kid, I took teasing to an extreme, and experienced the same. Looking back, even though I had everything I wanted or needed, I think I was lonely. If I could stay with the “in” kids, I was one of them. But the bully doesn’t really feel good either. Now I regret things I did and forgive those who hurt me. I don’t want to think it’s “just part of growing up”. There are things we can do about it, but it takes time and patience. xxx
Dear Louise,
Another nice song. Thank you.
"Don't get your pleasure from my pain" stays in my mind.
I have a few questions about English.
At 1:48 in the video clip (Don't Laugh At Me) I see the following lyrics:
==========================
I lost my wife and little boy
when
Someone cross that yellow line
That day we laid them in the ground
Is the day I lost my mind
And right now I'm down to
holdin'
This little cardboard sign ... so
===========================
Q1: What is "that yellow line"? What does "crossing a/the yellow line" mean?
Q2: What does the "down" in "I'm down to holding ..." mean?
Q3: What is "this little cardboard sign" in here? (What does it say? A cardboard saying "Don't laugh at me" "Don't call me names"?)
Mitsuru Hiki
Hi Mitsuru,
Thank you for your questions. I hadn't realized that the video I posted did not have the same lyrics I knew, so I didn't cover them in the article. My apologies for not being aware of that.
Q1: The "yellow line" is the line on the road or highway that divides the two sides where the traffic flows. The lyrics imply that the singer's wife and child were in a car accident when another driver crossed the line and hit their car. "We laid them in the ground" means they had a funeral and buried his wife and child. It was a terrible loss for him.
Q2: "I'm down to"* in this case means it's the last thing the singer has left. From this line, we get the feeling that the singer lost everything after they died, and he has now become homeless and is living on the streets, (Q3:) holding a little sign that might say, "Need food. Please help." or "Can you spare some change?" If this is true, he is now begging, and the song comes full circle. It also points out that we never really know why someone is in the situation they are in.
*Other examples of "I'm down to" might be: I'm down to my last cigarette, or, I'm down to my last $5.00.
Louise,
Thank you for your explantion. I now have a much better understanding of the song. Mitsuru
This song brought tears to my eyes after a hellishly difficult day at school dealing with exactly this... Bullying! It breaks my heart to see children so sad and lonely they can no longer even concentrate on their work because someone, somewhere, is making them feel like they don't count because they are just that little bit different. In this case it wasn't even about the little one concerned it was about her family... how? 😔
Susie, it’s difficult seeing it happen and not being able to fix the problem. As a kid, I took teasing to an extreme, and experienced the same. Looking back, even though I had everything I wanted or needed, I think I was lonely. If I could stay with the “in” kids, I was one of them. But the bully doesn’t really feel good either. Now I regret things I did and forgive those who hurt me. I don’t want to think it’s “just part of growing up”. There are things we can do about it, but it takes time and patience. xxx
I really love the message in this one.
It’s just the Golden Rule, isn’t it?