Jul 14, 2021 13:33
3 yrs ago
47 viewers *
English term
I’d sleep the sun away
English
Other
General / Conversation / Greetings / Letters
It’s a line from the song “Wolves” by Ryan Bingham.
The howlin' moon would cry
I'd sleep the sun away
I was just a child
I knew I was afraid
There was nothin' to gain, I found
By runnin' the other way
I had to stand my ground
And keep the wolves at bay.
The howlin' moon would cry
I'd sleep the sun away
I was just a child
I knew I was afraid
There was nothin' to gain, I found
By runnin' the other way
I had to stand my ground
And keep the wolves at bay.
Responses
+3
4 hrs
Selected
no special meaning
It's just poetic
Short of speaking with the songwriter, all you will get here is guesses
Short of speaking with the songwriter, all you will get here is guesses
Note from asker:
Thank you, but this doesn’t really help when you say it has no special meaning. The question is, what’s the meaning? I ‘ve got to put something in the translation, even if it’s nonsense. I cannot leave a line in English! |
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Boris Shapiro
1 hr
|
thanks
|
|
agree |
philgoddard
: There's no way of knowing, and it's probably nonsense.
10 hrs
|
thanks
|
|
agree |
Graeme Jones
: No need to translate - prob means 'sleep all day' but may be deliberately open to interpretation
14 hrs
|
thanks
|
4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer.
Comment: "Selected automatically based on peer agreement."
2 hrs
I would exclude the sun from my thinkings
:)
sleep away
to sleep in order to stop thinking or worrying about something, or to stop feeling something. She just wanted to sleep her troubles away.
SLEEP AWAY (phrasal verb) definition and synonyms ...https://www.macmillandictionary.com › dictionary › british
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Note added at 2 hrs (2021-07-14 16:13:31 GMT)
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OR: I would delete the sun friom my mind
sleep away
to sleep in order to stop thinking or worrying about something, or to stop feeling something. She just wanted to sleep her troubles away.
SLEEP AWAY (phrasal verb) definition and synonyms ...https://www.macmillandictionary.com › dictionary › british
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Note added at 2 hrs (2021-07-14 16:13:31 GMT)
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OR: I would delete the sun friom my mind
Note from asker:
Thank you. Perhaps "I would sleep so as not to think of the sun", whatever the sun represents to him. You can see the final rendition here: https://masterportuguesetranslator.com/glossaries/idioms-and-more/?name-directory-search-value=keep+the+wolves+at+bay |
+2
6 hrs
sleep through the day
That's the immediate image it gives me - but I agree that it's hard to know without speaking to the songwriter. Maybe there's some clues in interview with the singer.
Reference:
Peer comment(s):
agree |
Tina Vonhof (X)
: My impression is that he was scared at night and slept during the day.
20 hrs
|
neutral |
AllegroTrans
: Speculation...
21 hrs
|
agree |
Serhan Elmacıoğlu
: Might be
2 days 13 hrs
|
Discussion
In other words an opposition is being set up between the moon and sun. Moon being emotions/female/unseen or barely seen with sun being strong/male/bright and clear.
NB that this is not an idiom though obviously based on "I'd sleep the day away" which would usually be said by night owls, lazy or tired people. Also note that wolves are associated with howling at the moon. Who or what are the wolves here? The bullies? But why would they be out in bright sunshine?
So, I think (as AT said earlier) you would have to ask the author exactly what he wanted to say and he'd probably answer, as most writers do, "Oh I leave that up to the reader/listener".
That's what happens in literary work, connections are made by readers or listeners that were not necessarily intended by the writer. So there is no "one size fits all" when it is not an established idiom with an established meaning.
BTW I read the links helpfully provided by Lucy
The final rendition might be something like this:
I would sleep so as to forget the problems.
So, it may be that "I’d sleep the sun away" means that he's trying to forget what happened during the daytime (getting bullied etc.) by sleeping, as he knows that when he's asleep these things can't harm him.
https://theboot.com/ryan-bingham-american-love-song-intervie...