400 Lux – English Lyrics

• By: Lorde
• Album: Pure Heroine

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the atmospheric world of '400 Lux' to enhance your English skills! This song is perfect for learning conversational nuances, descriptive vocabulary regarding light and mood, and how to express subtle emotions through modern lyrical phrasing.

[English]

We're never done with killing time

Can I kill it with you 'til the veins run red and blue?

We come around here all the time

Got a lot to not do, let me kill it with you

You pick me up and take me home again

Head out the window again

We're hollow like the bottles that we drain

You drape your wrists over the steering wheel

Pulses can drive from here

We might be hollow, but we're brave

(And I like you) I love these roads where the houses don't change

(And I like you) where we can talk like there's something to say

(And I like you) I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway

(And I like you) we move in the tree streets, I'd like it if you stayed

Now we're wearing long sleeves and the heating comes on

(You buy me orange juice) we're getting good at this

Dreams of clean teeth, I can tell that you're tired

But you keep the car on while you're waiting out front

You pick me up and take me home again

Head out the window again

We're hollow like the bottles that we drain

You drape your wrists over the steering wheel

Pulses can drive from here

We might be hollow, but we're brave

(And I like you) I love these roads where the houses don't change

(And I like you) where we can talk like there's something to say

(And I like you) I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway

(And I like you) we move in the tree streets, I'd like it if you stayed

We're never done with killing time

Can I kill it with you 'til the veins run red and blue?

We come around here all the time

Got a lot to not do

Let me kill it with you

...

(And I like you) I love these roads where the houses don't change

(And I like you) where we can talk like there's something to say

(And I like you) I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway

(And I like you) we move in the tree streets, I'd like it if you stayed

...

And I like you

And I like you

And I like you

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
killing /ˈkɪlɪŋ/ A1	verb - to end something or pass time
veins /veɪnz/ B2	noun - tubes in the body that carry blood
hollow /ˈhɒləʊ/ B2	adjective - empty inside
drain /dreɪn/ B1	verb - to empty out a liquid
drape /dreɪp/ C1	verb - to hang or spread loosely
wrists /rɪsts/ B2	noun - the joints connecting the hands to the arms
steering wheel /ˈstɪərɪŋ wiːl/ A2	noun - the wheel used to guide a vehicle
pulses /ˈpʌlsɪz/ B2	noun - rhythmic beats of the heart
brave /breɪv/ A2	adjective - showing courage
highway /ˈhaɪweɪ/ A2	noun - a main road
tar /tɑːr/ B2	noun - a dark, thick substance used for roads
sleeves /sliːvz/ B1	noun - part of a garment covering the arm
heating /ˈhiːtɪŋ/ A2	noun - system for warming a building
tired /ˈtaɪərd/ A1	adjective - needing sleep or rest

Key Grammar Structures

• We're never done with killing time

  ➔ Adjective + Preposition (be done with)

  ➔ The phrase "be done with" means to have finished or be finished with something.

• Can I kill it with you 'til the veins run red and blue?

  ➔ Conjunction (until/till) indicating duration

  ➔ Using "'til" to describe an action continuing up to a specific state or point in time.

• We're hollow like the bottles that we drain

  ➔ Relative Clause (that we drain)

  ➔ The relative clause "that we drain" provides more information about the noun "bottles".

• We might be hollow, but we're brave

  ➔ Modal verb of possibility (might)

  ➔ The modal "might" indicates a degree of uncertainty or probability regarding the state of being "hollow".

• I'm glad that we stopped kissing the tar on the highway

  ➔ Gerund after a verb (stopped kissing)

  ➔ Using the gerund "kissing" after the verb "stop" indicates the cessation of an ongoing action.

• I'd like it if you stayed

  ➔ Conditional sentence type 2 (if you stayed)

  ➔ The second conditional describes a hypothetical or unlikely situation using the past tense "stayed".

• We're getting good at this

  ➔ Present Continuous for changing states (getting)

  ➔ The verb "getting" in the present continuous implies a process of improvement or a gradual change.

• You keep the car on while you're waiting out front

  ➔ Conjunction (while) + Present Continuous

  ➔ Using "while" connects two simultaneous actions in the present.