Burn The House Down – English Lyrics

• By: AJR
• Album: OK ORCHESTRA

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language is about more than just words; it's about understanding culture and conversation. "Burn The House Down" by AJR offers a window into the passionate political discourse of a generation. Through its clever lyrics and powerful metaphors, you can learn vocabulary related to activism and social change, all while being energized by its unique and catchy indie-pop sound. It's a special song because it turns a personal dilemma into a universal anthem of empowerment.

[English]

Used to keep it cool

Used to be a fool

All about the bounce in my step

Watch it on the news

Watcha gonna do?

I could hit refresh and forget

Used to keep it cool

Should I keep it light?

...

Stay out of the fight?

No one's gonna listen to me

If I write a song

Preaching what is wrong

Will they let me sing on TV?

Should I keep it light?

Is that right?

Way up way up we go

Been up and down that road

Way up way up, oh no

We gon' burn the whole house down

Watch me stand in the line

You're only serving lies

You've got something to hide

We gon' burn the whole house down

We gon' burn the whole house down

Yeah, used to let it go

Walk into the show

Gawking at the tricks up your sleeve

Too good to be truth

Full, I'm in a room

Full of entertainers and thieves

Used to let it go

Woah, oh no

Way up way up we go

Been up and down that road

Way up way up, oh no

We gon' burn the whole house down

Watch me stand in the line

You're only serving lies

You've got something to hide

We gon' burn the whole house down

We gon' burn the whole house down

Should I hang my head low?

Should I bite my tongue?

Or should I march with every stranger

from Twitter to get shit done?

Used to hang my head low

Now I hear it loud

Every stranger from Twitter is gonna burn this down

Way up way up we go

Been up and down that road

Way up way up, oh no

We gon' burn the whole house down

Watch me stand in the line

(woah oh)

You're only serving lies

(yeah)

You've got something to hide

We gon' burn the whole house down

(Woah oh, yeah)

We gon' burn the whole house down

We burn it down, we burn it down

We gon' burn the whole house down

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
burn /bɜrn/ B2	verb - to ignite and consume with fire
house /haʊs/ A2	noun - a building for human habitation
line /laɪn/ A2	noun - a length marked by points, dots, or dashes
serve /sɜːrv/ B2	verb - to provide something for use
hide /haɪd/ A2	verb - to put out of sight
fight /faɪt/ A2	noun - a violent struggle verb - to use physical force to try to hurt or gain control
truth /truːθ/ B2	noun - the real facts about something
stranger /ˈstreɪndʒər/ B2	noun - a person you do not know
manage /ˈmænɪdʒ/ B1	verb - to succeed in doing something
trick /trɪk/ B1	noun - a clever or cunning action or scheme
truthful /ˈtruːθfəl/ C1	adjective - telling the truth consistently
refresh /rɪˈfrɛʃ/ B2	verb - to update or renew
notice /ˈnoʊtɪs/ A2	noun - a written or printed statement that gives information
serve /sɜːrv/ B2	verb - to provide service or assistance

Key Grammar Structures

• Used to keep it cool

  ➔ "Used to" + infinitive

  ➔ "Used to" describes a past habit or state that is no longer true.

• Watcha gonna do?

  ➔ Informal contraction of "What are you going to do?"

  ➔ "Watcha" is a very informal contraction often used in speech and songs. It is a faster, colloquial way of asking someone's intentions.

• No one's gonna listen to me

  ➔ Negative pronoun + "gonna" (future)

  ➔ "No one" is the negative pronoun. "Gonna" is a shortened form of "going to", indicating future action. The full sentence would be "No one is going to listen to me."

• Will they let me sing on TV?

  ➔ Modal verb "will" + subject + verb (interrogative form)

  ➔ This is a question using the modal verb "will" to ask about future possibility or permission.

• We gon' burn the whole house down

  ➔ "Gon'" (slang) for "going to" + infinitive

  ➔ "Gon'" is a slang contraction of "going to", expressing a future intention. It is even more informal than "gonna".

• You're only serving lies

  ➔ Present continuous tense (with "only" as an adverb)

  ➔ The present continuous tense, "are serving", indicates an action happening right now or around this time. "Only" emphasizes that this is the *sole* thing being done.

• You've got something to hide

  ➔ Present perfect tense (have/has + past participle) implied.

  ➔ "You've got" is a more informal way of saying "You have got", which itself is a variation of the present perfect. It implies that you have something to hide *now* as a result of something that occurred in the past.

• Should I march with every stranger from Twitter to get shit done?

  ➔ Modal verb "should" + subject + infinitive (interrogative) + "to get shit done" (purpose)

  ➔ "Should" expresses a suggestion or advice. "To get shit done" uses an infinitive of purpose (though very informal) to indicate the reason for marching.