Detroit city

[Nefertiti]

Hi there.

"HOME FOLKS THINK I'M BIG IN DETROIT CITY..."

1. Is 'I'm big in a city' a common usage? Is it OK to say I'm big in N.Y. to mean I'm famous in the city?

"BY DAY I MAKE THE CARS BY NIGHT I MAKE THE BARS IF THEY COULD ONLY READ BETWEEN THE LINES"

2. Does 'by day' mean during the day time, 'by night' mean during the night time? Is 'by day/night' a common usage? Do you say it often?

2'. What does 'make the bars' mean? Is it a common usage?

3. What does 'can read between the lines' mean? Does it simply mean even his parents are old but still able to read. (good eyesight) Is it a common usage?

Note: Sounds that it should be IF ONLY THEY COULD READ ....


"CAUSE YOU KNOW I ROAD A FREIGHT TRAIN NORTH TO DETROIT CITY"

4. I think there's a misspelling on 'cause you know I rode a freight ....'

"I'LL TAKE MY FOOLISH PRIDE AND PUT IT ON A SOUTH BOUND FREIGHT..."

5.
'to take sb's pride and put it on somewhere/something' Is it a common usage? Do you say or write it often?

"RIDE AND GO BACK TO THE LOVED ONES
THE ONES I LEFT so far BEHIND"

6. Does 'ones' refer to the writer's parents, siblings, girl friend and friends maybe. Since 'ones' appear in plural, it must more than one person. Am I right?


Thanks in advance.


___________
The Song Bobby Bare, Detroit City Tabs, Chords, Lyrics

[Amigos4]

Hi there.

"HOME FOLKS THINK I'M BIG IN DETROIT CITY..."

1. Is 'I'm big in a city' a common usage? Is it OK to say I'm big in N.Y. to mean I'm famous in the city? Yes! To be 'big' means to be powerful or well-connected in society. Is it common usage? That would depend upon the type of crowd with whom you do things.

"BY DAY I MAKE THE CARS BY NIGHT I MAKE THE BARS IF THEY COULD ONLY READ BETWEEN THE LINES"

2. Does 'by day' mean during the day time, 'by night' mean during the night time? Is 'by day/night' a common usage? Do you say it often? Yes, 'by day' usually means during regular work hours... 'by night' would be after sundown. Once, again, common usage would depend on the age and experience of your friends.

2'. What does 'make the bars' mean? Is it a common usage? 'To make the bar scene' means to go from one bar to another to see what action is happening at each bar.

3. What does 'can read between the lines' mean? Does it simply mean even his parents are old but still able to read. (good eyesight) Is it a common usage? 'Reading between the lines' has absolutely nothing to do with the physical ability to read (eyesight is not involved). The idiom means that there is a hidden agenda or activity that can't be detected at first.

Note: Sounds that it should be IF ONLY THEY COULD READ ....


"CAUSE YOU KNOW I ROAD A FREIGHT TRAIN NORTH TO DETROIT CITY"

4. I think there's a misspelling on 'cause you know I rode a freight ....' Yes, the correct spelling should be 'rode'.

"I'LL TAKE MY FOOLISH PRIDE AND PUT IT ON A SOUTH BOUND FREIGHT..."

5.
'to take sb's pride and put it on somewhere/something' Is it a common usage? Do you say or write it often?

"RIDE AND GO BACK TO THE LOVED ONES
THE ONES I LEFT so far BEHIND"

6. Does 'ones' refer to the writer's parents, siblings, girl friend and friends maybe. Since 'ones' appear in plural, it must more than one person. Am I right? Yes, it means the people left behind.


Thanks in advance.


___________
The Song Bobby Bare, Detroit City Tabs, Chords, Lyrics

Nefertiti,

You must have your MP3 player on all the time! Good for you!

Cheers,
Amigos4

[Nefertiti]

Hi, amigos4.

re 3. Interesting enough, 'read between the lines' is an idiom. Thanks for pointing this out.

read between the lines (source: Cambridge)
to try to understand someone's real feelings or intentions from what they say or write:
Reading between the lines, I'd say he isn't happy with the situation.

Please answer my question #5.

"I'LL TAKE MY FOOLISH PRIDE AND PUT IT ON A SOUTH BOUND FREIGHT..."

5.
'to take sb's pride and put it on somewhere/something' Is it a common usage? Do you say or write it often?



Thanks in advance.

[Ouisch]

Hi, amigos4.

re 3. Interesting enough, 'read between the lines' is an idiom. Thanks for pointing this out.

read between the lines (source: Cambridge)
to try to understand someone's real feelings or intentions from what they say or write:
Reading between the lines, I'd say he isn't happy with the situation.

Please answer my question #5.

"I'LL TAKE MY FOOLISH PRIDE AND PUT IT ON A SOUTH BOUND FREIGHT..."

5.
'to take sb's pride and put it on somewhere/something' Is it a common usage? Do you say or write it often?



Thanks in advance.

"Take sb's pride and ....(put it somewhere, do something to it)" is common usage in songs, poetry and TV/movie dialog, but usually people don't say in much in common, everyday, unscripted conversation.

[Nefertiti]

Hi, Ouisch.

Thanks for the follow-up. I thought nobody cared about it. Is there a way that you can let your thread come back on the top if some questions are not resolved?

Anyhow, thank you.

[Amigos4]

Hi, Ouisch.

Thanks for the follow-up. I thought nobody cared about it. Is there a way that you can let your thread come back on the top if some questions are not resolved?

Anyhow, thank you.

Nefertiti,

I don't think there is a way to place your unresolved questions at the top of the thread. You will have to post another reply to move to the top.

Do you still have unanswered questions? Let us know and we will try to answer them for you.

Cheers,
Amigos4