City Walls – English Lyrics

• By: Twenty One Pilots
• Album: Breach

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a new language can feel like breaking through your own 'city walls,' and this song by Twenty One Pilots is the perfect anthem for that journey. “City Walls” is a masterclass in lyrical storytelling and emotional expression. By exploring its intricate lyrics, which are filled with metaphors and callbacks to a larger narrative, you can learn how language is used to build worlds and convey deep, personal struggles, making your own language-learning breakthrough all the more meaningful.

[English]

Square up with me, I can take your right, throw a left

Pair up with me, I'ma take you right to the chest

War path edged in the surface

Lines of the yellow tape that movin' quiet like a serpent

Seen in a formation, but it acts my team pretty impatient

And now they're waitin' on me

It might be the furthest we've reached

Now move it up, move it up, it's a breach

I wonder where you are

I wanted you to show me

The way around the city walls

The way on through

I wonder where you are

I wanted you to show me

When the night has fallen

Frightened by my soul

Square up with me, I can come to you, tell me when

Pair up with me, I can run on you

In the end, I write a promise in pencil, but my loyalty's in pen

Use a mistake as a crooked stencil, then we trace it back again

From the mainland to the island of violence

It was the same plan for a while, decided

To send me up and rip you out of your seat

You see in a city with no entrance, there is not a retreat

Wondering what you thought would happen, who you thought I would be

Was a side swipe, but did you picture this in a dream?

Buckle down, this is possibly the furthest we've reached

Now move it up, move it up, it's a breach

I wonder where you are

I wanted you to show me

The way around the city walls

The way on through

I wonder where you are

I wanted you to show me

But now the night has fallen

Frightened by my soul

My smile wraps around my head

Splitting it in two, two, two, two

I don't have a clue how I can keep the top half glued, glued, glued, glued

My smile wraps around my head

Splitting it in two, two, two, two

I don't have a clue how I can keep the top half glued, glued, glued, glued

I wonder where you are

I wanted you to show me

Entertain my, entertain my, entertain my

Entertain my soul

This is the last time, this is the last time

Entertain my soul

This is the last time that I try

Address my soul, address my soul

Address my soul

Entertain my soul

This is the last time that I try

-What now?

-I really like this, Clancy.

Yeah, me too.

But that's not Clancy up there anymore.

He's out there somewhere.

And we will try again.

-Again?

-Always.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
city /ˈsɪti/ A1	noun - a large town or municipality
walls /wɔːlz/ A1	noun - vertical structures that enclose or separate an area
soul /soʊl/ B1	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
frightened /ˈfraɪtənd/ B1	adjective - feeling fear or anxiety
breach /briːtʃ/ B2	noun - a violation or gap in a law, agreement, or barrier verb - to break through or make a gap in something
promise /ˈprɒmɪs/ B1	noun - a commitment to do or not do something verb - to assure someone that something will happen
loyalty /ˈlɔɪəlti/ B2	noun - faithful allegiance or devotion
mistake /mɪˈsteɪk/ A2	noun - an error or incorrect action verb - to be wrong about something
crooked /ˈkrʊkɪd/ B2	adjective - bent or twisted out of shape; dishonest
stencil /ˈstɛnsəl/ C1	noun - a thin sheet of material with a pattern cut out, used for applying designs
trace /treɪs/ B2	verb - to follow or find the course of something noun - a very small amount; a mark or sign of something
island /ˈaɪlənd/ A1	noun - a piece of land surrounded by water
violence /ˈvaɪələns/ B2	noun - use of physical force to harm or intimidate
buckle /ˈbʌkəl/ B2	verb - to bend or give way under pressure; to fasten with a clasp noun - a clasp or fastening device
glued /ɡluːd/ B2	verb - past participle of glue; to attach firmly with adhesive adjective - stuck firmly; unable to move
entertain /ˌɛntəˈteɪn/ B1	verb - to amuse or provide enjoyment; to consider something
address /əˈdrɛs/ B2	noun - the location or details where someone lives or an organization can be found verb - to speak to someone; to direct attention to something

Key Grammar Structures

• Square up with me, I can take your right, throw a left

  ➔ Present Simple with 'can' for ability

  ➔ The phrase 'I can take your right, throw a left' uses the present simple with 'can' to express the speaker's ability to perform the actions.

• I'ma take you right to the chest

  ➔ Contraction of 'I am going to'

  ➔ 'I'ma' is a colloquial contraction of 'I am going to', used here to express future intention in a casual tone.

• It might be the furthest we've reached

  ➔ Present Perfect for past action with present relevance

  ➔ The phrase 'we've reached' uses the present perfect to indicate a past action (reaching) that has relevance to the present situation.

• In the end, I write a promise in pencil, but my loyalty's in pen

  ➔ Contrast using 'but' and possessive apostrophe

  ➔ The sentence contrasts two ideas using 'but' and employs the possessive apostrophe in 'loyalty's' to show ownership.

• My smile wraps around my head, Splitting it in two

  ➔ Metaphorical language and present continuous

  ➔ The phrase uses metaphorical language ('smile wraps around my head') and the present continuous ('is splitting') to create a vivid, ongoing image.