Clocks – English Lyrics

• By: Coldplay
• Album: A Rush of Blood to the Head

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Coldplay's "Clocks" and discover the power of its evocative lyrics and signature piano melody. This song offers a unique opportunity to explore English through its poetic expressions of urgency, internal conflict, and the human relationship with time, making it a truly special and relatable piece of music.

[English]

Lights go out and I can’t be saved Tides that I tried to swim against 

Have brought me down upon my knees Oh I beg, I beg and plead, singing

Come out of things unsaid Shoot an apple off my head and a 

Trouble that can’t be named A tiger’s waiting to be tamed, singing

You are

You are, you are

Confusion never stops Closing walls and ticking clocks gonna

Come back and take you home I could not stop that you now know, singing

Come out upon my seas Cursed missed opportunities 

Am I a part of the cure? Or am I part of the disease? Singing

You are, you are, you are You are, you are

And nothing else compares Oh nothing else compares, And nothing else compares

Home, home, where I wanted to go

Home, home, where I wanted to go

Home, home where I wanted to go Home, home where I wanted to go 

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
light /laɪt/ A1	noun - the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible
tide /taɪd/ B1	noun - the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the gravitational forces of the Moon and Sun
trouble /ˈtrʌb.əl/ B1	noun - problems or difficulties
confusion /kənˈfjuː.ʒən/ B2	noun - a state of being bewildered or unclear in one’s mind about something
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household
apple /ˈæp.əl/ A1	noun - a round fruit with red or green skin and a whitish interior
clock /klɒk/ A2	noun - a device for measuring and indicating time
sing /sɪŋ/ A1	verb - to make musical sounds with the voice
beg /bɛɡ/ B1	verb - to ask someone earnestly or humbly for something
part /pɑːrt/ A1	noun - a piece or segment of something
cure /kjʊr/ B2	noun - a means of healing or restoring health
disease /dɪˈziːz/ B2	noun - a disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant
opportunity /ˌɒp.əˈtjuː.nɪ.ti/ B2	noun - a set of circumstances that makes it possible to do something
wait /weɪt/ A1	verb - to stay in a place until an expected event happens
close /kloʊz/ A2	verb - to move something so that it is no longer open

Key Grammar Structures

• Lights go out and I can’t be saved

  ➔ Modal verb 'can't' + be + past participle for inability in the present

  ➔ 'Can't' expresses inability or impossibility in the present.

• Tides that I tried to swim against

  ➔ Relative clause 'that I tried to swim against' using past tense 'tried' + infinitive 'to swim'

  ➔ The relative clause provides additional information about 'tides', with 'that' as the relative pronoun.

• Closing walls and ticking clocks gonna Come back and take you home

  ➔ Use of the future informal 'gonna' + base verb 'come back' and 'take' to express a future intention

  ➔ 'Gonna' is an informal contraction of 'going to', indicating a planned future action.

• Confusion never stops

  ➔ Adverb 'never' + verb 'stops' in present simple to express something that does not cease

  ➔ 'Never' is an adverb of frequency that emphasizes the action 'stops' does not happen.

• And nothing else compares

  ➔ Present tense 'compares' used with 'nothing else' as the subject to express comparison

  ➔ 'Compared' is in the present tense, used to show a comparison between 'nothing else' and other things.

• Home, where I wanted to go

  ➔ Past tense 'wanted' + infinitive 'to go' to express a desire in the past

  ➔ 'Wanted' is past tense indicating a desire that existed earlier.