Bad Medicine – English Lyrics

• By: Bon Jovi

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the electrifying world of 80s rock with Bon Jovi's "Bad Medicine"! This iconic song, known for its driving beat, electrifying guitar riffs, and powerful vocals, offers a fun and energetic way to experience English in a rock context. Learn common idioms and expressions as the lyrics playfully compare intense love to a drug addiction. Its catchy chorus and memorable phrases make it an excellent choice for immersing yourself in English through music.

[English]

- [SECURITY GUARD] SETTLE DOWN! - [MAN] COME ON!

- [SECURITY GUARD] WE'RE ABOUT TO LET YOU IN FOR THE BON JOVI VIDEO.

NOW, ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS?

YEAH?

- YEAH, I GOT A QUESTION.

IS THIS GONNA BE THE SAME VIDEO SLOP

THAT WE ALWAYS GET FROM THIS GLAM ROCK PRETTY BOYS

THAT GET ON CAMERA AND DANCE AROUND

WITH THE SAME LIGHTING ANGLES, THE SAME CAMERA ANGLES?

IS THIS GONNA BE THE SAME KINDA VIDEO

WE ALWAYS GET FROM YOU GUYS?

- [SECURITY GUARD] YES, IT IS.

(CROWD GROANS) - IS THAT GOOD ENOUGH FOR YOU?

- [CROWD] NO!

- DO YOU THINK WE CAN MAKE A BETTER VIDEO

THAN THESE GUYS CAN?

- [CROWD] YEAH!

- THEN WHY DON'T WE TAKE THEIR CAMERAS

AND MAKE OUR OWN BON JOVI VIDEO?

(CROWD CHEERING)

LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION!

(CROWD CHEERS)

(LIVELY ROCK MUSIC)

♪ YOUR LOVE IS LIKE BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ BAD MEDICINE IS WHAT I NEED ♪

♪ OH, OH, OH, SHAKE IT UP, JUST LIKE BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ THERE AIN'T NO DOCTOR THAT CAN CURE MY DISEASE ♪

♪ BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ I AIN'T GOT A FEVER, I GOT A PERMANENT DISEASE ♪

♪ AND IT'LL TAKE MORE THAN A DOCTOR TO PRESCRIBE A REMEDY ♪

♪ I GOT LOTS OF MONEY, BUT IT ISN'T WHAT I NEED ♪

♪ GONNA TAKE MORE THAN A SHOT TO GET THIS POISON OUT OF ME ♪

♪ AND I GOT ALL THE SYMPTOMS, COUNT 'EM ONE, TWO, THREE ♪

♪ FIRST YOU NEED ♪

♪ THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR FALLING IN LOVE ♪

♪ THEN YOU BLEED ♪

♪ YOU GET A LITTLE AND IT'S NEVER ENOUGH ♪

♪ AND THEN YOU'RE ON YOUR KNEES ♪

♪ THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR FALLING IN LOVE ♪

♪ NOW THIS BOY'S ADDICTED 'CAUSE YOUR KISS IS THE DRUG ♪

♪ OH, OH, OH, YOUR LOVE IS LIKE BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ BAD MEDICINE IS WHAT I NEED ♪

♪ OH, OH, OH, SHAKE IT UP, JUST LIKE BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ THERE AIN'T NO DOCTOR THAT CAN CURE MY DISEASE ♪

♪ BAD, BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ I DON'T NEED NO NEEDLE TO BE GIVING ME A THRILL ♪

♪ AND I DON'T NEED NO ANESTHESIA OR A NURSE TO BRING A PILL ♪

♪ I GOT A DIRTY DOWN ADDICTION THAT DOESN'T LEAVE A TRACK ♪

♪ I GOT A JONES FOR YOUR AFFECTION LIKE A MONKEY ON MY BACK ♪

♪ THERE AIN'T NO PARAMEDIC GONNA SAVE THIS HEART ATTACK ♪

♪ WHEN YOU NEED ♪

♪ THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR FALLING IN LOVE ♪

♪ THEN YOU BLEED ♪

♪ YOU GET A LITTLE AND IT'S NEVER ENOUGH ♪

♪ AND THEN YOU'RE ON YOUR KNEES ♪

♪ THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR FALLING IN LOVE ♪

♪ NOW THIS BOY'S ADDICTED 'CAUSE YOUR KISS IS THE DRUG ♪

♪ OH, OH, OH, YOUR LOVE IS LIKE BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ BAD MEDICINE IS WHAT I NEED ♪

♪ OH, OH, OH, SHAKE IT UP, JUST LIKE BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ SO LET'S PLAY DOCTOR, BABY, CURE MY DISEASE ♪

♪ BAD, BAD MEDICINE ♪

(FAN SCREAMS)

♪ IS WHAT I WANT ♪

♪ BAD, BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ OH, IS WHAT I NEED ♪

(LIVELY ROCK MUSIC)

♪ I NEED A RESPIRATOR 'CAUSE I'M RUNNING OUT OF BREATH ♪

♪ FOR YOU'RE AN ALL NIGHT GENERATOR ♪

♪ WRAPPED IN STOCKINGS AND A DRESS ♪

♪ WHEN YOU FIND YOUR MEDICINE, YOU TAKE WHAT YOU CAN GET ♪

♪ 'CAUSE IF THERE'S SOMETHING BETTER, BABY ♪

♪ WELL, THEY HAVEN'T FOUND IT YET ♪

♪ OH, OH, OH, YOUR LOVE IS LIKE BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ BAD MEDICINE IS WHAT I NEED ♪

♪ OH, OH, OH, SHAKE IT UP, JUST LIKE BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ THERE AIN'T NO DOCTOR THAT CAN CURE MY DISEASE ♪

♪ YOUR LOVE, BAD MEDICINE ♪

♪ DAD MEDICINE IS WHAT I NEED ♪

♪ OH, OH, OH, SHAKE IT UP, JUST LIKE BAD ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of affection verb - to feel deep affection for someone
need /niːd/ A1	verb - require (something) because it is essential or very important noun - a thing that is essential or very important
bad /bæd/ A1	adjective - of poor quality or a low standard
shake /ʃeɪk/ A2	verb - move (something) up and down or from side to side with rapid, forceful movements
cure /kjʊər/ B1	verb - relieve (a person or animal) of the symptoms of a disease or condition noun - a substance or course of treatment that cures a disease or condition
disease /dɪˈziːz/ B1	noun - a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific signs or symptoms or that affects a specific location and is not simply a direct result of physical injury
fever /ˈfiːvər/ B1	noun - an abnormally high body temperature, usually accompanied by shivering, headache, and in severe instances, delirium
money /ˈmʌni/ A1	noun - a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes
shot /ʃɒt/ A2	noun - an act of firing a gun or other weapon noun - an injection of a drug or vaccine
poison /ˈpɔɪzən/ B2	noun - a substance that is capable of causing the illness or death of a living organism when introduced or absorbed verb - administer poison to (a person or animal), either deliberately or accidentally
symptoms /ˈsɪmptəmz/ B2	noun - a physical or mental feature which is regarded as indicating a condition of disease, particularly such a feature that is apparent to the patient
knees /niːz/ A2	noun - the joint between the thigh and the lower leg in humans
addicted /əˈdɪktɪd/ B2	adjective - physically and mentally dependent on a particular substance, and unable to stop taking it without incurring adverse effects
kiss /kɪs/ A2	noun - an act of touching someone with your lips, especially to show affection or sexual desire verb - touch or caress with the lips
drug /drʌɡ/ B1	noun - a medicine or other substance which has a physiological effect when ingested or otherwise introduced into the body
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation
attack /əˈtæk/ B1	noun - an aggressive and violent action against an enemy or opponent
breath /breθ/ A2	noun - the air inhaled or exhaled in respiration.

Key Grammar Structures

• IS THIS GONNA BE THE SAME VIDEO SLOP THAT WE ALWAYS GET FROM THIS GLAM ROCK PRETTY BOYS

  ➔ Future with "gonna"

  ➔ "Gonna" is a colloquial contraction of "going to", used to express a future intention or prediction. Here, it indicates a prediction about the video's quality.

• BAD MEDICINE IS WHAT I NEED

  ➔ Inverted sentence structure with "what"

  ➔ The typical structure would be "I need bad medicine". Inverting it to "Bad medicine is what I need" emphasizes "bad medicine".

• THERE AIN'T NO DOCTOR THAT CAN CURE MY DISEASE

  ➔ Double negative (colloquial)

  ➔ "There ain't no doctor" is a double negative, grammatically incorrect in formal English but common in informal speech. It means "There isn't any doctor".

• I GOT LOTS OF MONEY, BUT IT ISN'T WHAT I NEED

  ➔ Contrast with "but"

  ➔ "But" is a coordinating conjunction used to introduce a contrast or exception to the preceding statement. It highlights that even with wealth, something essential is missing.

• GONNA TAKE MORE THAN A SHOT TO GET THIS POISON OUT OF ME

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose

  ➔ "To get this poison out of me" is an infinitive phrase expressing the purpose of taking more than a shot. It explains *why* more than a shot is needed.

• THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR FALLING IN LOVE

  ➔ Cleft sentence with "what"

  ➔ This sentence emphasizes the consequence of falling in love. "That's what you get" highlights the result, and "for falling in love" explains the cause.

• NOW THIS BOY'S ADDICTED 'CAUSE YOUR KISS IS THE DRUG

  ➔ Causative conjunction "'cause"

  ➔ "'Cause" is a colloquial shortening of "because". It introduces the reason why the boy is addicted: your kiss is the drug.

• I NEED A RESPIRATOR 'CAUSE I'M RUNNING OUT OF BREATH

  ➔ Present continuous for a situation in progress.

  ➔ "I'm running out of breath" uses the present continuous tense to describe an action happening at the moment of speaking or writing. It shows the immediate state.