I'd lay me down to never wake

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nininaz

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Hello all,

What that means?

And for your friendly face
And for just your smiles
Simply understanding
What I'm going through right now

And just before I'd lay me down to never wake
I look up and I see you
So with everything I am...

[h=2]lie down[/h]phrasal verb



1 to put yourself in a position in which your body is flat on the floor or on a bed:
is correct?

Taken from http://lyricstranslate.com/en/céline-dion-thank-you-lyrics.html#ixzz30vZBkLyC
 

Tdol

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It means something like and just before I lie down to die, meaning to put yourself in a horizontal position.
 
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Roman55

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There is a problem with this. Which verb is the subject of this thread?

From the text it is clearly 'to lay (oneself down)' not 'to lie (down)'

So, it means something like, and just before I lay myself down to die.

Or, and just before I lie down to die.

But not, and just before I lay down to die.
 

nininaz

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I am so confused with the phrase that both of you used :
Or, and just before
But not, and just before
It means something like and just before
what that means? :(
 

Roman55

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The line you put in bold in post #1 was, "And just before I'd lay me down to never wake".

The replies are about this line, and they start with the words "and just before..."

I didn't use inverted commas to set off my suggestions, which is what confused you.

It should have been,

Or, "and just before I lie down to die"

But not, "and just before I lay down to die"
 

nininaz

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Thanks.
You mean this sentence 'And just before I'd lay me down to never wake' is incorrect?
 

nininaz

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Or, "and just before I lie down to die"

But not, "and just before I lay down to die"

You mean this sentence 'And just before I'd lay me down to never wake' is incorrect?
 

lotus888

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I believe that passage in the poem/song is a literary reference to a children's bedtime prayer.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I shall die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take. Amen.

The person is thinking about her while he's getting ready to go to sleep. It's a more hopeful poem than it is morbid.

--lotus

 

Roman55

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You mean this sentence 'And just before I'd lay me down to never wake' is incorrect?

I am not a teacher.

No, I'm not saying it's incorrect.

I'm saying that the verb isn't "to lie down" as you seem to think. It's "to lay (oneself) down".
 

MikeNewYork

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Nininaz,

The issue here is the transitivity of the verbs "lie" and "lay". These verbs confuse many people.

The verb "to lie" here is intransitive. It does not take a direct object. So we say "I lie down" not "I lie me down".
The verb "to lay" here is transitive. It takes a direct object, So we say "I lay me down" (me is the direct object) not "I lay down" (for present tense).

Part of the confusion is that "lay" is also the past tense of "lie". So in the past tense we can say "I lay down".
 
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