“FAMILY PORTRAIT”
(BY PINK)
Uh, uh, some deep shit, uh, uh
Momma please stop crying, I can’t stand the sound
Your pain is painful and it’s tearin’ me down
I hear glasses breaking as I sit up in my bed
I told dad you didn’t mean those nasty things you said
You fight about money, bout me and my brother
And this I come home to, this is my shelter
It ain’t easy growing up in World War III
Never knowing what love could be, you’ll see
I don’t want love to destroy me like it has done my family
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I’ll be better, Mommy I’ll do anything
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I’ll be better, Daddy please don’t leave
Daddy please stop yelling, I can’t stand the sound
Make mama stop crying, cuz I need you around
My mama she loves you, no matter what she says, it’s true
I know that she hurts you, but remember I love you, too
I ran away today, ran from the noise, ran away
Don’t wanna go back to that place, but don’t have no choice, no way
It ain’t easy growing up in World War III
Never knowing what love could be, well I’ve seen
I don’t want love to destroy me like it did my family
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I’ll be better, Mommy I’ll do anything
Can we work it out? Can we be a family?
I promise I’ll be better, Daddy please don’t leave
In our family portrait, we look pretty happy
Let’s play pretend, let’s act like it comes naturally
I don’t wanna have to split the holidays
I don’t want two addresses
I don’t want a step-brother anyways
And I don’t want my mom to have to change her last name
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
We look pretty normal, let’s go back to that
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
Let’s play pretend, act like it goes naturally
In our family portrait we look pretty happy
(Can we work it out? Can we be a family?)
We look pretty normal, let’s go back to that
(I promise I’ll be better, Mommy I’ll do anything)
Daddy don’t leave (x3) Turn around please
Remember that the night you left you took my shining star?
Daddy don’t leave (x3) Don’t leave us here alone
Mom will be nicer
I’ll be so much better, I’ll tell my brother
Oh, I won’t spill the milk at dinner
I’ll be so much better, I’ll do everything right
I’ll be your little girl forever. I’ll go to sleep at night
1) Who does the singer blame for the problems between her mother and father?
2) What solutions does she offer?
3) What particularly upsets her?
4) What long-term effects does she anticipate?
5) What does the singer think will improve the marriage?
6) How does she try to intervene?
7) How does she feel?
8) What is the current situation within the marriage?
Answers to Ex. 3 (Lesson 30)
1) she thinks her own behaviour is responsible
she also blames her mother for saying nasty things
2) she promises to behave better, she promises not to spill milk at the table
she offers to do anything to save the marriage
3) Her mother’s crying Her mother’s distress
Her father’s threats to leave
The thought of her mother having a new surname
The thought of living between two addresses
The thought of dividing her school holiday time between the two parents
The possibility of a step-brother
4) She will sleep properly at night if the marriage is saved.
The current unpleasantness will have a detrimental influence on her future opinion of marriage, She will never trust love
5) She wants them to pretend they are happy, rather than split up
6) She tells her father that her mother does not mean the nasty things she says
She tells him that her mother really loves him, She tells him that she loves him too
She tells him how she needs him around, She asks him to stop her mother crying
She promises that her mother will be nicer, She promises to do everything right
She promises to be his little girl forever
7) She feels it is like growing up in the middle of a battlefield She feels that she has only seen love as a destructive force
She wants to run away from it all, but can’t, just wants a family at any cost
8) Father has already left once and the singer has a step-brother somewhere
Mother & Father arguing over money, Mother & Father arguing over the children
Father shouting, Father about to leave, Mother saying nasty things, Mother crying
It is moving beyond the verbal insult stage.
Glasses are being broken at night (possibly throwing them at each other, or at the wall, or down onto the floor)
FAMILY VALUES
1) What values will you pass on to your children?
2) Do you think society is losing its values?
3) How have values changed in society?
4) What is a value other people think is very important which you don’t think is important?
5) What values did you parents pass on to you?
6) Are there any values that your parents tried to make you follow but you weren’t good at doing?
7) How do society’s values hold it together?
8) Some people say that poorer societies have stronger values than richer countries. Do you agree?
9) What traditional values are not important or not necessary now?
10) How do you feel when you see someone not following the values you were brought up with?
11) How do members of a family support each other?
12) Who do you think has the most power in the family? Why?
13) Do you agree with the saying “Children should be seen and not heard”? Why do you agree or disagree?
14) Are good family members or good friends more important? Why?
15) What problems do parents have to solve as their children grow up?
16) How close are you to your extended family? (cousins, aunts, great uncles etc.)
17) What is the perfect number of children a family should have?
18) What do you think of people who marry and decide not to have children?
19) How do you think western families and eastern families differ?
20) What do you think is the most important thing to make a happy family?
21) Is it better for mothers to stay at home with kids or go to work to earn more money for the family?
22) Many families send their children to private institutes or daycares for most of the day. Is this good or bad?
23) How do you define the word “home”? Is it where you live? Where your family lives or where you grew up?
24) When married people talk about having children they talk about “starting a family”. Can two married people be a family if they don’t have kids?
25) How do you think family life is changing in your country? (Example: wife working, husband cleaning, kids at institutes) Is this change good or bad?
26) What do you think of gay marriage?
27) Is spanking or hitting a good way to discipline children? Why or why not?
28) What age is too young to get married?
29) Why do people get married?
30) If you were offered an excellent job abroad could you leave your family and country for 5 years?
