I can still remember when I first began to post a request on Mudcat seven or eight ears ago - by the time I can barely speak any English! I didn't know how to use the word "please" then, so it's a real shame looking back on those old threads. I must have offended some people here because of my poor English, sorry about that!

Thanks to my interest in English songs, my English has improved a lot during the past few years. But still I'm from a non-English-speaking country, so problems always arise when I try to understand the lyrics.

Some problems are caused by American culture, like the coined word "Pentagonorrhea" used by Chad Mitchell Trio in the intro to "Draft Dodger Rag" - And I never tried to understand a Tom Lehrer song...

But there are also some non-cultural difficulties - caused, I guess, simply because my English is not good enough! There are some phrases or terms I can't understand or find in the dictionary. For instance:

Draft Dodger Rag - "I got the weakness woes, I can't touch my toes". I know "weakness" and "woe", but what does "weakness woes" mean?

What Did You Learn in School Today - "I learned that murderers die for their crimes, even if we make a mistake sometimes". I found that song also perfectly suitable in China if I replace "Washington" with "Zhongnanhai". But I just can't understand that line!

Violets of Dawn - "Come watch the no colors fade, blazing into petaled sprays of violets of dawn... Whirling twirling puppy-warm before the flashing cloaks of darkness gone". That entire song is obscure, but I found these two lines hardest to understand of all.

And there are some ambiguities as well. Like the line in Dave Van Ronk's classic, Luang Prabang: "Mourn your dead land of the free". It can also be punctuated as "Mourn your dead, land of the free". Is the word "dead" an adjective or a noun? Depending on the punctuation, the meaning of that line would completely switch.

Since I've had so much difficulty understanding lyrics, I always wonder if folks in English-speaking country would also have difficulty understanding lyrics sometimes. Would you?

Thanks,
Jason from China