Lyrics & Translation
Discover the beautifully melancholic and ultimately hopeful world of Beck's 'Everlasting Nothing.' This song offers a unique opportunity to explore profound themes of life, death, and perseverance through its poetic and thought-provoking lyrics. Its blend of simple, direct language and evocative imagery makes it an accessible yet deeply meaningful piece for language learners to engage with complex emotions and abstract ideas in English.
[English]
You threw the keys to the kingdomOver a skyscraper wall
Sowing seeds somewhere obsolete
In the everlasting nothing
It's been a long night in the slipstream
I thought I'd crash and burn if I came down
When I did I found a friend to take me home
In the everlasting nothing
Friends I've known come and go
Like a soldier with no song
Still I try to get back home
In the everlasting nothing
I woke up in a movie
Didn't know if it was my whole life
When it ended I laughed before I cried
In the everlasting nothing
And I washed up on the shoreline
Everyone was waiting there for me
Like a standing ovation for the funeral of the sun
In the everlasting nothing
Friends I've known come and go
Like a soldier with no song
Still I try to get back home
In the everlasting nothing
Nowhere child
Keep on running
Nowhere child
Keep on running
In your time you'll find something
In the everlasting nothing
Nowhere child
Keep on running
Nowhere child
Keep on running
In your time you'll find something
In the everlasting nothing
Nowhere child
Keep on running (Oh, nowhere)
Nowhere child
Keep on running (Oh)
In your time you'll find something (In your time)
In the everlasting nothing (Yeah, yeah)
Key Vocabulary
We're updating this section. Stay tuned!
Key Grammar Structures
-
You threw the keys to the kingdom
➔ Simple past tense (regular verb)
➔ The verb "threw" shows a completed action in the past.
-
Sowing seeds somewhere obsolete
➔ Present participle clause as adverbial
➔ "Sowing" functions like an adverb describing how the action occurs.
-
It's been a long night in the slipstream
➔ Present perfect (have/has + past participle)
➔ "has been" links a past situation to the present, indicating duration.
-
When I did I found a friend to take me home
➔ Past simple + infinitive of purpose
➔ "to take" explains the purpose of "a friend".
-
Friends I've known come and go
➔ Present perfect + present simple contrast
➔ "I've known" (present perfect) shows experience up to now; "come and go" (present simple) describes habitual action.
-
When it ended I laughed before I cried
➔ Temporal clause with "before" + simple past
➔ "before" introduces the sequence: first I laughed, then I cried.
-
Like a standing ovation for the funeral of the sun
➔ Simile using "like" + noun phrase
➔ "Like" creates a comparison between the scene and "a standing ovation".
-
Nowhere child, Keep on running
➔ Imperative mood + phrasal verb + gerund
➔ "Keep on" is a phrasal verb meaning "continue"; "running" is a gerund acting as the object of "keep on".
-
In your time you'll find something
➔ Future simple with "will" + conditional nuance
➔ "you'll find" predicts a future discovery, often understood as a promise or expectation.
