# liep ik verloren door de stad



## CarlitosMS

Hello everybody

I would like to know what this fragment means since I think it doesn't make sense:

Geen zon meer in mijn leven
Liep ik verloren door de stad

Kind regards

Carlos


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## Ktke

My try:

No more sun in my life,
I am lost in this city. ("verloren lopen" literally means: "to get lost")

I'm not really that poetic, I'm sure there's better options.
But it does make sense, in a way.


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## Kayla321

_Verloren _is _lost _in both ways: lost items (I lost my keys), but also feeling lost. The feeling is the one used in your post.

No more sun in my life
I walked in town, feeling lost


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## CarlitosMS

Do you think this sentence is bad constructed? Because I don't think the inversion makes sense or it has possibly been done for rhythm reasons.


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## Peterdg

CarlitosMS said:


> Do you think this sentence is bad constructed? Because I don't think the inversion makes sense or it has possibly been done for rhythm reasons.


The construction is perfect.

"Geen zon meer in mijn leven" works as an adjective or an adverb in this case. It describes the state of mind of the subject.

Now, when the adverb or adjective comes first, there is an inversion.

Compare it with a normal adjective/adverb at the beginning of a sentence:
e.g. "Doodop ging hij toch werken". "Moegetergd liet hij haar maar begaan".

PD. Es un lío, ¿no?, la inversión en neerlandés


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## George French

CarlitosMS

It is often very difficult to make sense of 2 lines taken from a larger work. We really need a few more lines...

What is this from and who wrote it?

GF..


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## Frank06

George French said:


> CarlitosMS
> It is often very difficult to make sense of 2 lines taken from a larger work. We really need a few more lines...
> What is this from and who wrote it?
> GF..


Those are questions Google can answer.

Geen zon meer in m'n leven
Liep ik verloren door de stad
Wou m'n liefde zo graag geven
'k Heb er nooit wat aan gehad
http://www.songteksten.nl/songteksten/55518/lisa-del-bo/vlinder.htm
No clue who Lisa Del Bo is, but she seems to be a singer. 

Prescriptive grammar and lyrics don't always get along very well . Especially when Mrs Ellipisis kicks in.

Frank


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## Peterdg

Frank06 said:


> Prescriptive grammar and lyrics don't always get along very well . Especially when Mrs Ellipisis kicks in.
> 
> Frank


Frank,

I don't understand your comment.

1) Where does it not follow prescriptive grammar?
2) Where do you see an ellipsis?


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## Frank06

Peterdg said:


> Frank,
> I don't understand your comment.
> 1) Where does it not follow prescriptive grammar?


Line 1+2, 3. 



> 2) Where do you see an ellipsis?


You're kidding, aren't you?

Geen zon meer in m'n leven
Liep ik verloren door de stad
Wou m'n liefde zo graag geven
'k Heb er nooit wat aan gehad



> "Geen zon meer in mijn leven" works as an adjective or an adverb in this case."


Come again?



Frank


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## Peterdg

Frank06 said:


> Line 1+2, 3.


OK. But line 3 was not part of the original question.


> Come again?


I didn't say it was an adverb or an adjective; it follows the same rule as if it were. Look at the other examples I gave to explain the inversion.


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## Frank06

Peterdg said:


> OK. But line 3 was not part of the original question.
> 
> I didn't say it was an adverb or an adjective; it follows the same rule as if it were. Look at the other examples I gave to explain the inversion.


I find it rather strange that, in order to justify that it's a sentence which, according to you, follows standard grammatical rules, you need to mix up word classes (>woordleer) with parts of a sentence (>zinsleer).


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## Minotaur

But this is a pastiche of an American style from the sixties and seventies in which loose thoughts are stitched together. It may or may not make sense; and its disregard for grammar is part of the style. It gets even worse if you try and turn it into prose: 

[Met] geen zon meer in m'n leven, liep ik verloren door de stad. [Helaas] wou [ik] m'n liefde zo graag [aan iemand] geven [maar] ik heb er nooit wat aan gehad.

The real puzzle is what 'er' refers to in line 4. Presumably 'het geven van m'n liefde'. And what is that 'wat' doing there?


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## Minotaur

Of probeer het zo:

Geen cent meer in m'n zakken
Liep ik zielig door de stad
Wou een broodje zo graag pakken
'k Heb er vaker een gehad


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## Ktke

Minotaur said:


> The real puzzle is what 'er' refers to in line 4. Presumably 'het geven van m'n liefde'. And what is that 'wat' doing there?


 
'Er wat aan hebben' / 'ergens iets aan hebben' means (roughly): 'to get something out of it' or maybe in this context, 'to get something in return'?.

It is Lisa Del Bo apparently, so don't try to find hidden meanings...


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## CarlitosMS

Ktke said:


> 'Er wat aan hebben' / 'ergens iets aan hebben' means (roughly): 'to get something out of it' or maybe in this context, 'to get something in return'?.
> 
> It is Lisa Del Bo apparently, so don't try to find hidden meanings...



What do you mean with hidden meanings?


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