I Hope That I Can Turn Back the Time

• #one

This is office of lyrics of a vocal called "Middle".

I hope that I tin can turn back the time
To make it all alright, all alright for us
I'll promise to build a new earth for usa 2
With you in the centre

In the first line, I wonder if the utilize of "hope" and "can" is natural with the rest of the line "plough back the fourth dimension".
In other words, I wonder why information technology'south non "I wish that I could plough back the time".

Is this simply a instance where lyrics are not grammatical, or is this acceptable fifty-fifty in everyday speech exterior the realm of song lyrics and poems?

• #2

Song lyrics are very malleable English, and so they are ofttimes non very good indicators of everyday linguistic communication. In this case, nevertheless, I can imagine someone saying "I promise nosotros can turn back fourth dimension" or "I hope we can turn back the clock" to mean "I hope that we can simply ignore recent events and return to the human relationship we had earlier they happened."

(To me, "turn back the time" sounds like a mixture of the two phrases I suggested.)

• #iii

In this case, however, I tin imagine someone saying "I promise we can plough dorsum time" or "I promise we can plow dorsum the clock" to hateful "I promise that we tin can just ignore recent events and render to the relationship we had before they happened."

Then are you saying that the meaning of "turn back fourth dimension" can be interpreted figuratively and then that it doesn't necessarily involve an unreal situation?

How nearly looking at information technology like people (even native speakers) sometimes use the language loosely enough to use the "hope-can" construction fifty-fifty for unreal situations?

(To me, "plow back the time" sounds similar a mixture of the ii phrases I suggested.)

Doesn't "the time" as opposed to "time" (without "the") indicate that what they turn back is a specific time rather than time in full general?

• #4

How would you plow back time for yourselves and not turn back time for everyone? The full general concept is that there is only one timeline, at least as far as this metaphor is concerned.

• #v

How would you plough dorsum time for yourselves and non turn back time for everyone? The general concept is that there is only one timeline, at to the lowest degree every bit far as this metaphor is concerned.

Well, if the line means "I hope that we can simply ignore recent events and return to the relationship we had earlier they happened," then, aye, turning back time would exist simply for those who were in the relationship and not for anybody.

• #6

I can empathise why y'all would think that was possible simply the common phrase in English is "turn back time", not "plough back the fourth dimension".

• #7

the common phrase in English is "plough back time", not "turn back the time".

That I hold with. But how does that make any deviation in the interpretation of "plough back the fourth dimension"?

• #8

You are adding an unfamiliar concept on top of a familiar one. Sometimes this works in lyrics. Sometimes it only seems bad-mannered or poorly formed. To me this seems to be a poorly formed version of "plough back fourth dimension" with "the" added for reasons of meter or tune.

• #9

You are calculation an unfamiliar concept on tiptop of a familiar one. Sometimes this works in lyrics. Sometimes it simply seems awkward or poorly formed. To me this seems to be a poorly formed version of "turn back time" with "the" added for reasons of meter or tune.

I don't empathize how come information technology's no less than "adding an unfamiliar concept" to simply translate "the" (the definite commodity) in front of "fourth dimension" equally referring to a specific time -- rather than time in general -- known past the the speaker (singer) and the listener ("y'all", i.east., the dearest interest in the lyrics). I mean, isn't that what the definite article is all well-nigh?

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Source: https://forum.wordreference.com/threads/i-hope-that-i-can-turn-back-the-time-lyrics.3170781/

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