Moonlight – English Lyrics

• By: Chris Brown

Lyrics & Translation

Learn English through the poetic and metaphorical lyrics of Chris Brown's "Moonlight". The song's romantic and celestial themes, with phrases like "levitate in the night" and "vanilla skies," offer a great opportunity to explore descriptive and figurative language in a contemporary R&B context.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
moonlight /ˈmuːn.laɪt/ B1	noun - the light of the moon
gravity /ˈɡræv.ə.ti/ B2	noun - the force that attracts objects towards one another, especially the force that makes things fall to the ground
vanilla /vəˈnɪl.ə/ B1	adjective - having a plain flavor
skies /skaɪz/ A1	noun - the region of the atmosphere and outer space seen from the earth
therapy /ˈθer.ə.pi/ B2	noun - a treatment to improve health
stars /stɑːrz/ A1	noun - celestial body
sent /sent/ A2	verb - past tense of send
belong /bɪˈlɒŋ/ A2	verb - to be in the right place
arms /ɑːrmz/ A1	noun - upper limbs of the body
space /speɪs/ A2	noun - the physical universe beyond the earth's atmosphere
true /truː/ A1	adjective - in accordance with fact or reality
view /vjuː/ A2	noun - what you can see from a particular place
mood /muːd/ B1	noun - a temporary state of mind or feeling
perfect /ˈpɜːr.fekt/ A2	adjective - completely good; not having any faults
cloud /klaʊd/ A1	noun - a white or gray mass in the sky
rain /reɪn/ A1	noun - water falling from the sky verb - to fall as rain
wind /wɪnd/ A1	noun - air moving verb - to move or cause to move by turning
control /kənˈtroʊl/ A2	noun - the power to influence or direct people's behavior or the course of events verb - determine the behavior or supervise the running of
soul /soʊl/ B1	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being or animal, regarded as immortal
lights /laɪts/ A1	noun - illumination
glow /ɡloʊ/ B1	verb - to produce a soft, warm light noun - a soft, warm light

Key Grammar Structures

• Levitate in the night, defy gravity

  ➔ Imperative Mood

  ➔ The verbs "levitate" and "defy" are used in the imperative mood, giving commands or instructions. While not a direct command to someone else, it's more of a self-instruction or a statement expressing a desire to do these things.

• Shooting stars sent from Venus

  ➔ Past Participle as Adjective

  ➔ Here, "sent" is the past participle of the verb "send" and functions as an adjective describing "shooting stars". It means the shooting stars *were sent* from Venus.

• Is it true that you never flew to nirvana?

  ➔ Question with embedded clause + Past Simple

  ➔ This is a yes/no question where "that you never flew to nirvana" is an embedded clause acting as the complement of "true". The past simple tense "flew" is used to inquire about a past experience.

• Tonight you gotta

  ➔ Informal Contraction ('gotta' for 'got to')

  ➔ "Gotta" is a colloquial contraction of "got to," indicating necessity or obligation. In this context, it implies that tonight the person *has to* or *must* do something.

• Let's make love on a cloud

  ➔ Suggestion using 'Let's'

  ➔ "Let's" is a contraction of "let us" and is used to make a suggestion or invitation, implying a shared action. Here, it suggests that both people engage in the act of making love on a metaphorical cloud.

• Baby, feel your raindrops fallin' down, oh

  ➔ Imperative + Present Participle as Adjective (reduced relative clause)

  ➔ "Feel" is in the imperative mood. "fallin'" is the present participle of "fall" and acts like an adjective describing "raindrops". It's a reduced relative clause meaning "raindrops *that are falling* down".

• It's simple, we'll go where the wind blows

  ➔ Future Simple (we'll) + Relative Clause (where the wind blows)

  ➔ "We'll go" uses the future simple tense to express a future intention or prediction. "where the wind blows" is a relative clause that modifies the implied place they will go, indicating direction or freedom.

• Wanna elevate your high, make your soul

  ➔ Informal Contraction ('Wanna' for 'Want to') + Bare Infinitive

  ➔ "Wanna" is a colloquial contraction of "want to". After "wanna", the bare infinitive (infinitive without "to") is used. Here, "elevate" and "make" are both bare infinitives.