Control – English Lyrics

• By: Halsey
• Album: If I Can’t Have Love, I Want Power

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the powerful and poignant world of Halsey's "Control," a song that masterfully uses English lyrics to articulate the complex experience of mental health struggles. Through its vivid metaphors and raw honesty, you can learn how English can be used to convey deep personal battles and universal feelings of vulnerability and resilience. The song's evocative language and emotional intensity make it a compelling piece for understanding expressive English in music.

[English]

They send me away to find them a fortune

A chest filled with diamonds and gold

The house was awake

With shadows and monsters

The hallways, they echoed and groaned

I sat alone, in bed 'til the morning

And crying, "They're coming for me"

And I tried to hold these secrets inside me

My mind's like a deadly disease

I'm bigger than my body

I'm colder than this home

I'm meaner than my demons

I'm bigger than these bones

And all the kids cried out

"Please, stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

Goddamn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

I paced around for hours on empty

I jumped at the slightest of sounds

And I couldn't stand the person inside me

I turned all the mirrors around

I'm bigger than my body

I'm colder than this home

I'm meaner than my demons

I'm bigger than these bones

And all the kids cried out

"Please, stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

Goddamn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

I'm well acquainted

With villains that live in my bed

They beg me to write them

So they'll never die when I'm dead

And I've grown familiar

With villains that live in my head

They beg me to write them

So I'll never die when I'm dead

I'm bigger than my body

I'm colder than this home

I'm meaner than my demons

I'm bigger than these bones

And all the kids cried out

"Please, stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

Goddamn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

And all the kids cried out

"Please, stop, you're scaring me"

I can't help this awful energy

Goddamn right, you should be scared of me

Who is in control?

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
fortune /ˈfɔːrtʃən/ B2	noun - a large amount of money or assets
diamonds /ˈdaɪəməndz/ A2	noun - a precious stone consisting of a clear and colorless crystalline form of pure carbon, the hardest naturally occurring substance
gold /ɡoʊld/ A1	noun - a yellow precious metal
awake /əˈweɪk/ B1	adjective - not asleep verb - to stop sleeping; wake up
shadows /ˈʃædoʊz/ B1	noun - dark areas where light is blocked
monsters /ˈmɒnstərz/ B1	noun - imaginary creatures that are large, ugly, and frightening
echoed /ˈekod/ B2	verb - (of a sound) be repeated or reverberate after the original sound has stopped.
groaned /ɡroʊnd/ B2	verb - make a deep, inarticulate sound conveying pain, despair, pleasure, etc.
secrets /ˈsiːkrəts/ B1	noun - something kept hidden or unexplained
deadly /ˈdedli/ B2	adjective - causing or able to cause death
disease /dɪˈziːz/ B2	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
colder /ˈkoʊldər/ A1	adjective - at a low temperature
meaner /ˈmiːnər/ B1	adjective - unpleasant, unkind, or nasty
demons /ˈdiːmənz/ B2	noun - an evil spirit or devil
bones /boʊnz/ A2	noun - any of the pieces of hard, whitish tissue making up the skeleton in humans and other vertebrates.
scaring /ˈskɛərɪŋ/ A2	verb - causing fear in (someone); frightening.
awful /ˈɔːfl/ B1	adjective - very bad or unpleasant
energy /ˈenərdʒi/ A2	noun - the strength and vitality required for sustained physical or mental activity
control /kənˈtroʊl/ B1	noun - the power to influence or direct people's behavior or the course of events verb - determine the behavior or supervise the running of
villains /ˈvɪlənz/ B2	noun - a character whose evil actions or motives are important to the plot.
familiar /fəˈmɪliər/ B1	adjective - well known or easily recognized

Key Grammar Structures

• I'm bigger than my body

  ➔ Comparative adjectives

  ➔ The phrase uses the comparative form of the adjective 'big' to compare the speaker's identity to their physical body.

• I can't help this awful energy

  ➔ Modal verbs

  ➔ The use of 'can't' indicates inability or lack of control over the situation.

• Who is in control?

  ➔ Interrogative sentences

  ➔ This is a direct question asking about the subject's control, using the structure 'Who is...'.

• They beg me to write them

  ➔ Infinitive phrases

  ➔ The phrase uses the infinitive 'to write' to express purpose or intention.

• I'm colder than this home

  ➔ Comparative adjectives

  ➔ This line uses the comparative form of 'cold' to compare the speaker's emotional state to their home.

• I turned all the mirrors around

  ➔ Past simple tense

  ➔ The use of 'turned' indicates an action completed in the past.

• And all the kids cried out

  ➔ Past simple tense

  ➔ The phrase 'cried out' is in the past simple tense, indicating a completed action.