Jon Foreman- Caroline(Learn English with Songs)

Lyrics

Caroline
The middle finger queen of the never mind
It’s been a little while since the second time
I knew that you’d never come home
Caroline
You were just a child in the fire line
You were just a kid when your momma died
And daddy couldn’t make it alone

And I wonder out loud
Where your heart is now
Where your heart is now
Where your heart is now
Caroline

Now and then, you’re in the magazines
The tabloid rags and the trash machines
They’re spitting on the image of the memories
Of the girl with her pigtails flying
I had a dream that you were calling home
Stranded in a storm on a payphone
And all that you were getting was a dial tone
With no one on the end of the line

And I wonder out loud
Where your heart is now
Where your heart is now
Where your heart is now
Caroline

They say your heart is where your treasure is
But maybe there’s another way to measure this
Cause it feels like what you find your pleasure in
Are the things that are bringing you down
Yeah, and every now and then
I wonder if you’ll ever make it home again
Back to the childhood innocence
Of the girl on her old playground

And I wonder out loud
Where your heart is now
Where your heart is now
Where your heart is now
Caroline

Difficult Phrases and Words

1. fire line

   1. Context: You were just a child in the fire line

   2. Definition: a line of fire. (The singer is figuratively saying that Caroline’s life situation was a turbulent and dangerous time.) (Picture below.)

   3. Additional sentence: The firefighters fought on the fire line.

2. tabloid rags and the trash machines

   1. Context: Now and then, you’re in the magazines / The tabloid rags and the trash machines

   2. Definition: magazines that spread gossip. (Tabloids is the common term for magazines that spread gossip. The singer refers to tabloids as trash machines since they do not have anything good to say.)

   3. Additional sentence: Tabloids are more popular in England than in the USA.

3. pigtails

   1. Context: They’re spitting on the image of the memories / Of the girl with her pigtails flying

   2. Definition: A hairstyle. (Picture below). The singer saying that the tabloid trash the girl is consuming is insulting the memory of the girl’s childhood innocence, which is represented by her pigtails flying in the wind.

   3. Additional sentence: Pigtails is a popular hairstyle among the 3rd grade girls.

4. Stranded

   1. Context: I had a dream that you were calling home / Stranded in a storm on a payphone / And all that you were getting was a dial tone

   2. Definition: left helpless, as without transport

   3. Additional sentence: Getting stranded in the desert is a horrible situation to be in.

5. dial tone

   1. Context: I had a dream that you were calling home / Stranded in a storm on a payphone / And all that you were getting was a dial tone / With no one on the end of the line

   2. Definition: The sound a phone makes when no one is on the other end of the telephone.

   3. Additional sentence: Do you hear anyone on the line, or do you just hear a dial tone?

Fire line

“You were just a child in the fire line”

pigtails

“They’re spitting on the image of the memories / Of the girl with her pigtails flying”

Discussion Questions

1. What do you think this song is about?

2. Can you relate to anything in this song? The singer remembers a girl with many troubles and where she might be at now. Do you remember a troubled girl from your past?

3. The singer sings “You were just a child in the fire line.” The singer is figuratively saying that Caroline’s life situation was a turbulent and dangerous time. Do you encounter children or adults who have turbulent or dangerous lives? What kind of people do you usually interact with?

4. Caroline consumes tabloid trash as she gets older. Do you read tabloids or other forms of gossip? What do you like to read?

5. The singer associates Caroline’s childhood pigtails with innocence. What do you associate with childhood innocence? (Your own childhood, someone else’s childhood, or in general.)

6. Was there a time when you were stranded or someone you knew was stranded? If not, was there a time when you got lost, or you could not find someone?