Chained To The Rhythm – English Lyrics

• By: Katy Perry, Skip Marley
• Album: Witness

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Katy Perry and Skip Marley's "Chained To The Rhythm" to explore English that subtly blends pop vibrancy with profound social commentary. This song offers a unique opportunity to learn vocabulary related to social awareness, critique, and introspection, all set to an infectious dancehall and disco-infused beat. Discover how language can carry both a catchy surface and a deeper, thought-provoking message, making it special for those looking to expand their English understanding beyond everyday conversation.

[English]

♪ ♪

♪ ARE WE CRAZY ♪

♪ LIVING OUR LIVES THROUGH A LENS ♪

♪ TRAPPED IN OUR WHITE PICKET FENCE ♪

♪ LIKE ORNAMENTS ♪

♪ SO COMFORTABLE, WE’RE LIVING IN A BUBBLE, BUBBLE ♪

♪ SO COMFORTABLE, WE CANNOT SEE THE TROUBLE, TROUBLE ♪

♪ AREN’T YOU LONELY ♪

♪ UP THERE IN UTOPIA ♪

♪ WHERE NOTHING WILL EVER BE ENOUGH ♪

♪ HAPPILY NUMB ♪

♪ SO COMFORTABLE, WE’RE LIVING IN A BUBBLE, BUBBLE ♪

♪ SO COMFORTABLE, WE CANNOT SEE THE TROUBLE, TROUBLE ♪

♪ SO PUT YOUR ROSE-COLORED GLASSES ON ♪

♪ AND PARTY ON ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, IT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG ♪

♪ DANCE, DANCE, DANCE TO THE DISTORTION ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, KEEP IT ON REPEAT ♪

♪ STUMBLING AROUND LIKE A WASTED ZOMBIE ♪

♪ YEAH, WE THINK WE’RE FREE ♪

♪ DRINK, THIS ONE’S ON ME ♪

♪ WE’RE ALL CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ TO THE RHYTHM TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, IT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG ♪

♪ DANCE, DANCE, DANCE TO THE DISTORTION ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, KEEP IT ON REPEAT ♪

♪ STUMBLING AROUND LIKE A WASTED ZOMBIE ♪

♪ YEAH, WE THINK WE’RE FREE ♪

♪ DRINK, THIS ONE’S ON ME ♪

♪ WE’RE ALL CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ TO THE RHYTHM TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ ARE WE TONE DEAF ♪

♪ KEEP SWEEPING IT UNDER THE MAT ♪

♪ THOUGHT WE COULD DO BETTER THAN THAT ♪

♪ I HOPE WE CAN ♪

♪ TOO COMFORTABLE, WE’RE LIVING IN A BUBBLE, BUBBLE ♪

♪ SO COMFORTABLE, WE CANNOT SEE THE TROUBLE, TROUBLE ♪

♪ SO PUT YOUR ROSE-COLORED GLASSES ON ♪

♪ AND PARTY ON ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, IT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG ♪

♪ DANCE, DANCE, DANCE TO THE DISTORTION ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, KEEP IT ON REPEAT ♪

♪ STUMBLING AROUND LIKE A WASTED ZOMBIE ♪

♪ YEAH, WE THINK WE’RE FREE ♪

♪ DRINK, THIS ONE’S ON ME ♪

♪ WE’RE ALL CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ TO THE RHYTHM TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, IT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG ♪

♪ DANCE, DANCE, DANCE TO THE DISTORTION ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, KEEP IT ON REPEAT ♪

♪ STUMBLING AROUND LIKE A WASTED ZOMBIE ♪

♪ YEAH, WE THINK WE’RE FREE ♪

♪ DRINK, THIS ONE’S ON ME ♪

♪ WE’RE ALL CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ TO THE RHYTHM TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ IT IS MY DESIRE ♪

♪ BREAK DOWN THE WALLS TO CONNECT, INSPIRE ♪

♪ UP IN YOUR HIGH PLACE, LIARS ♪

♪ TIME IS TICKING FOR THE EMPIRE ♪

♪ THE TRUTH THEY FEED IS FEEBLE ♪

♪ AS SO MANY TIMES BEFORE ♪

♪ THEY GREED OVER THE PEOPLE ♪

♪ THEY STUMBLING AND FUMBLING AND WE ABOUT TO RIOT ♪

♪ THEY WOKE UP, THEY WOKE UP THE LIONS ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, IT’S YOUR FAVORITE SONG ♪

♪ DANCE, DANCE, DANCE TO THE DISTORTION ♪

♪ TURN IT UP, KEEP IT ON REPEAT ♪

♪ STUMBLING AROUND LIKE A WASTED ZOMBIE ♪

♪ YEAH, WE THINK WE’RE FREE ♪

♪ DRINK, THIS ONE’S ON ME ♪

♪ WE’RE ALL CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ TO THE RHYTHM TO THE RHYTHM ♪

♪ IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON AND ON ♪

♪ IT GOES (ON AND ON) TURN IT UP (ON AND ON) ♪

♪ IT GOES ON AND ON AND ON AND ON ♪

♪ IT GOES (ON AND ON) TURN IT UP (ON AND ON) ♪

♪ IT GOES, CAOUSE WE'RE ALL CHAINED TO THE RHYTHN ♪

♪ ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
lives /laɪvz/ A1	noun - plural of life
trapped /træpt/ B1	adjective - unable to escape verb - past tense of trap
fence /fens/ A2	noun - a barrier
ornaments /ˈɔːrnəmənts/ B2	noun - decorations
comfortable /ˈkʌmfərtəbl/ B1	adjective - feeling relaxed
bubble /ˈbʌbl/ B1	noun - a thin sphere of liquid enclosing air
trouble /ˈtrʌbl/ A2	noun - difficulty or problems verb - to cause worry or difficulty
lonely /ˈloʊnli/ A2	adjective - sad because one has no friends or company
utopia /juːˈtoʊpiə/ C1	noun - an imagined place or state of things in which everything is perfect
numb /nʌm/ B2	adjective - deprived of feeling or responsiveness verb - deprive of feeling or responsiveness
party /ˈpɑːrti/ A1	noun - a social gathering verb - to enjoy oneself at a party or other social gathering
song /sɔːŋ/ A1	noun - a musical composition
dance /dæns/ A1	verb - to move rhythmically to music noun - a rhythmic movement to music
distortion /dɪˈstɔːrʃn/ C1	noun - the act of distorting
repeat /rɪˈpiːt/ B1	verb - to say again noun - an instance of repeating something
zombie /ˈzɑːmbi/ B2	noun - a dead person brought back to life
chained /tʃeɪnd/ B2	adjective - fastened or secured with a chain verb - to fasten or secure with a chain
rhythm /ˈrɪðəm/ B1	noun - a strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound.

Key Grammar Structures

• LIVING OUR LIVES THROUGH A LENS

  ➔ Present participle as an adjective and prepositional phrase

  ➔ "Living" is the present participle acting as an adjective to describe "our lives". "Through a lens" is a prepositional phrase indicating the means by which they are living.

• TRAPPED IN OUR WHITE PICKET FENCE

  ➔ Past participle as adjective and prepositional phrase

  ➔ "Trapped" is a past participle acting as an adjective. "In our white picket fence" is a prepositional phrase indicating location.

• AREN’T YOU LONELY UP THERE IN UTOPIA

  ➔ Question tag, adjective, prepositional phrase

  ➔ "Aren't you" is a question tag. "Lonely" is an adjective describing the subject. "Up there in Utopia" is a prepositional phrase indicating location.

• WHERE NOTHING WILL EVER BE ENOUGH

  ➔ Relative clause, future tense

  ➔ "Where nothing will ever be enough" is a relative clause modifying the noun "Utopia" (from the previous line). "Will be" indicates the future tense.

• WE’RE ALL CHAINED TO THE RHYTHM

  ➔ Present passive voice

  ➔ "We're all chained" is in the passive voice, indicating that we are being acted upon by "the rhythm."

• KEEP SWEEPING IT UNDER THE MAT

  ➔ Gerund as a noun and prepositional phrase

  ➔ "Keep sweeping" implies the continuation of the action "sweeping" which is a gerund acting like a noun in this context. "Under the mat" is a prepositional phrase indicating location.

• THE TRUTH THEY FEED IS FEEBLE

  ➔ Relative clause with implied relative pronoun

  ➔ "The truth they feed is feeble" has an implied relative pronoun (that or which) between "truth" and "they". It could be rewritten as "The truth that they feed is feeble."

• THEY GREED OVER THE PEOPLE

  ➔ Verb 'greed' used as a verb instead of a noun. Preposition 'over' indicating dominance or superiority.

  ➔ The standard usage is 'greed' as a noun. Using it as a verb is less common and emphasizes the action of being greedy. 'Over' indicates that their greed is directed at and has an impact on 'the people'.