Domino Dancing – English Lyrics

• By: Pet Shop Boys

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the English language through the evocative lyrics of Pet Shop Boys' "Domino Dancing." This song offers a great opportunity to learn vocabulary related to emotions like jealousy and betrayal, as well as descriptive language that paints a vivid picture of a relationship's breakdown. What makes this song special is its clever use of the "domino dancing" metaphor to convey a complex emotional narrative against a backdrop of infectious Latin-infused synth-pop.

[English]

All day, all day

...

I don't know why, I don't know how

I thought I loved you, but I'm not sure now

I've seen you look at strangers too many times

The love you want is of a, a different kind

Remember when we felt the sun?

A love like paradise, how hot it burned

A threat of distant thunder, the sky was red

And when you walked, you always turned every head

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

Domino dancing

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

(Domino dancing)

...

I thought that when we fought I was to blame

But now I know you play a different game

I've watched you dance with danger, still wanting more

Add another number to the score

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

Domino dancing

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

(Domino dancing)

When you look around you wonder

Do you play to win

Or are you just a bad loser?

...

(All day, all day)

(All day, all day)

I don't know why, I don't know how

I thought I loved you but I'm not sure now

I hear the thunder crashing, the sky is dark

And now a storm is breaking within my heart

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

Domino dancing

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

(Domino dancing)

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

(Domino dancing)

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

(Domino dancing)

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

(Domino dancing)

(All day, all day)

Watch them all fall down

(All day, all day)

...

Key Grammar Structures

• I thought I loved you, but I'm not sure now

  ➔ Past Perfect vs. Present Tense

  ➔ "Thought" (Past Perfect) indicates a past belief, while "I'm not sure now" (Present Tense) shows a current state of uncertainty.

• The love you want is of a, a different kind

  ➔ Relative Pronoun (that/which) Omitted

  ➔ The relative pronoun is omitted after "kind", which is common in informal or poetic language.

• Remember when we felt the sun?

  ➔ Direct Question with Past Tense

  ➔ The question uses the past tense verb "felt" to refer to a specific past event.

• Watch them all fall down

  ➔ Imperative Mood

  ➔ The verb "watch" is in the imperative mood, giving a direct command or instruction.

• I thought that when we fought I was to blame

  ➔ Past Perfect in Conditional Clause

  ➔ The past perfect "thought" is used in a conditional clause to express a past hypothesis.

• Do you play to win

  ➔ Present Simple in Question Form

  ➔ The present simple verb "play" is used in a question to ask about a habitual action.

• And now a storm is breaking within my heart

  ➔ Present Continuous for Current Emotion

  ➔ The present continuous "is breaking" is used to describe an emotion happening now.