Monday, 20 December 2010

Ajective order, clothes, and stuff

Most people who study adjective order rules go metaglap mentally and make mistakes they never did before! Better to remember examples so that things "sound"right!


Here's two very famous songs , early ROCKandROLL "classics"with lots of adjectives before the noun!




First 
Lyrics:
part of the joke of the song is the ambiguity: is it an eater of purple  people or a people-eater that happens to be purple itself? or both? my fisking in red, alternative lyrics shown in blue with a forward slash mark  /
Well I saw the thing comin' out of the sky
It had the one long horn, one big eye
I commenced  a-shakin' and I said "ooh-eee"
It looks like a purple people eater to me

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
(One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater)
A one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One eye?)

Well he came down to earth and he 'lit ( one meaning of to alight is to land, get off , getout, get down (from a vehicle) , here  shortened to to light)in a tree
I said Mr. Purple People Eater, don't eat me
I heard him say in a voice so gruff(another joke: the voice is anything but gruff)
I wouldn't eat you 'cause  you're so tough

It was a one-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
One-eyed, one-horned flyin' purple people eater
One-eyed, one-horned, flyin' purple people eater
Sure looks strange to me (One horn?)

I said Mr. Purple People Eater, what's your line(slang=what's your line of business,what do you do)
He said it's eatin' purple people and it sure is fine
But that's not the reason that I came to land
I want to get a job in a rock and roll band

Well bless my soul (idiom), rock and roll, flyin' purple people eater
Pigeon-toed, undergrowed/underclothed , flyin' purple people eater
(We wear short shorts!)(usa catch-phrase from the late fifties to the seventies, why, I  don't know)
Friendly little people eater
What a sight to see

And then he swung from the tree and he 'lit (again =alit) on the ground
He started to rock, really rockin' around
It was a crazy ditty(=Ditty = short song, catchy tune) with a swingin' tune
Sing a boop boop aboopa lopa lum bam boom(Meaningless rockand roll rythm words)

Well bless my soul, rock and roll, flyin' purple people eater
Pigeon-toed, 
undergrowed/underclothed, flyin' purple people eater
(I like short shorts!)
Flyin' little people eater
Sure looks strange to me (Purple People?)

And then he went on his way, and then what do you know
I saw him last night on a TV/starout  show
He was blowing it out, a'really knockin' em dead( slang=exiting them, impressing them)
Playin' rock and roll music through the horn in(normally we'd say "on", "in " makes him even stranger)his head



Video with"subtitles)



· more videos of the same, for you to enjoy







Finally to finish learning it, unless you don't want to, here's the karaoke version:










Now another:The itsy-bitsy teeny-weeny yellow polka-dot bikini( click for dicionary)
Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka dot
Bikini Lyrics
:
(Bop, bop, bop, bop, badop, bop, bop-bop-bop)

She was afraid to come out of the locker(=the locker-room=changing-room) 
She was as nervous as she could be.
She was afraid to come out of the locker.
She was afraid that somebody would see.
(Two, three, four, tell the people,)
(What she wore.)

It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie,
Yellow, polka dot bikini,
That she wore for the first time today.
An itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie,
Yellow, polka dot bikini,
So, in the locker she wanted to stay.
(Two, three, four, stick around,(stick around, slang= stay around, stay around here, don't go away))
(We'll tell you more.)

(Bop, bop, bop, bop, badop, bop, bop-bop-bop)

She was afraid to come out in the open,
(Ba-da-dop)
And so a blanket around her she wore.
(Ba-da-dop)
She was afraid to come out in the open,
(Ba-da-dop)
And so she sat bundled up(to be bundled up =in a bundle) on the shore.
(Two, three, four, tell the people,)
(What she wore.)

It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie,
Yellow, polka dot bikini,
That she wore for the first time today.

An itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie,
Yellow, polka dot bikini,
So, in the blanket she wanted to stay.
(Two, three, four,)
(Stick around we'll tell you more.)

(Bop, bop, bop, bop, badop, bop, bop-bop-bop)

Now she's afraid to come out of the water.
(Ba-da-dop)
And I wonder what she's gonna do?
(Ba-da-dop)
Now she's afraid to come out of the water,
(Ba-da-dop)
And the poor little girl's turning blue.
(Two, three, four,)
(Tell the people what she wore.)

It was an itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie,
Yellow, polka dot bikini,
That she wore for the first time today.
An itsy, bitsy, teenie, weenie,
Yellow, polka dot bikini,
So in the water she wanted to stay.

From the locker to the blanket.
From the blanket to the shore.
From the shore to the water.
Guess there isn't any more. 


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