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Listenever Posted 11 years ago
Grammar

For all the times that....



The song starts at 0:10 with these lyrics:
For all the times that you rain on my parade
And all the clubs you get in using my name
You think you broke my heart, oh girl, for goodness' sake
You think I'm crying on my own, well, I ain't

In the first line, what exactly does "For" mean?
  

Top answer

It means because , I think.

  • It means because , I think.
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6 Answers
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It means because, I think.
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When "for" mean "because", it's classified as a coordinate conjunction, which needs a preceding independent clause, as in We listened eagerly, for he brought news of our families.

Can you put the preceding clause after the for-clause like this?
For he brought news of our families, we listened eagerly. (?)
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listeneverwhat exactly does "For" mean?
To me, it isn't very clear. My first guess would be that it means "This song is / these words are for all the times ...". It could be just that it seemed a convenient syllable to lead off with, and little thought was given to its semantic purpose.
listeneverCan you put the preceding clause
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Thanks, GPY.
I've found this dictionary entry "for all" in OAD.
Since "for" in the lyrics is followed by "all", is either of the two definitions under that entry applicable here?
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listeneverI've found this dictionary entry "for all " in OAD.Since "for" in the lyrics is followed by "all", is either of the two definitions under that entry applicable here?
I can't see that either of those meanings quite fits. It would entail a structure "For all (the) X, Y", and I don't see an X and Y with the correct relationship to make that work. Howeve
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Actually, looking at this again, I wonder whether the intended meaning may after all be:

You think I'm crying on my own, and that you broke my heart, as a result of your raining on my parade and using my name to get into clubs.

I guess this is similar to what Persian Learner suggested. In standard English it would not be possible to put "for" first, but language rul

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