Homesick by Kings of Convenience

Lyrics:

I’ll lose some sales and my boss won’t be happy,
But I can’t stop listening to the sound
Of two soft voices
Blended in perfection
From the reels of this record that I’ve found.

Every day there’s a boy in the mirror asking me…
What are you doing here?
Finding all my previous motives
Growing increasingly unclear.

I’ve traveled far and I’ve burned all the bridges
I believed as soon as I hit land
All the other options held before me,
Would wither in the light of my plan.

So I’ll lose some sales and my boss won’t be happy,
But there’s only one thing on my mind
Searching boxes underneath the counter,
On a chance that on a tape I’d find…
A song for someone who needs somewhere to long for.

Homesick.
Because I no longer know where home is.

Vocabulary Boost:

• reels: objects used to hold and release recorded tape
• motives: reasons
• I’ve burned all the bridges:  I have done something that made me unable to go back
• I hit land: I got to my destination
• wither: become weak
• on my mind: in my thoughts
• the counter: a flat surface that workers and customers stand on opposite sides of
• to long for: to feel a strong desire or wish for
• Homesick: sad because you are away from your family and home
• I no longer know: I don’t know anymore

Verb Pattern:

Example 1: ” I can’t stop listening to the sound of 2 soft voices…”

When STOP is followed by a gerund, the verb means to cease, interrupt or quit. In this case, he can’t stop the action of listening to the tape.

Example 2: I stopped to listen to the poet reciting a poem in the park.

When STOP is followed by an infinitive, the verb means to interrupt an action to do another action. In this case, you interrupted your walk so as to listen to the poet.

Interpretation:

I love this song because it’s so close to home (i.e.it affects me in a strong and personal way). I miss home but I don’t really know if my place if birth is still my home. It seems like the memory of that place is what I am most homesick about.

Do you live away from home?

What’s your favorite Kings of Convenience song?

LEM..xo!