My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark (Light Em Up) – English Lyrics

• By: Fall Out Boy
• Album: Save Rock and Roll

Lyrics & Translation

This powerful anthem is a great entry point into the English language through its repetitive and impactful chorus. The song's themes of overcoming adversity and starting anew are universal, and the clear, forceful vocals of Patrick Stump make the lyrics easy to follow and sing along to. Learning this song can help you grasp vivid metaphors and strong, emotional language, all while experiencing a pivotal moment in modern rock history.

[English]

(upbeat music)

♪ Ooh oh oh oh, ooh oh oh oh ♪

♪ Be careful making wishes in the dark ♪

♪ Can't be sure when they've hit their mark ♪

♪ And besides in the mean-meantime ♪

♪ I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart ♪

♪ I'm in the de-details with the devil ♪

♪ So now the world can never get me on my level ♪

♪ I just got to get you out of the cage ♪

♪ I'm a young lovers rage ♪

♪ Gonna need a spark to ignite ♪

♪ My songs know what you did in the dark ♪

♪ So light em up up up, light em up up up ♪

♪ Light em up up up, I'm on fire ♪

♪ So light em up up up, light em up up up ♪

♪ Light em up up up, I'm on fire ♪

♪ Ooh oh oh oh in the dark-dark ♪

♪ Ooh oh oh oh in the dark-dark ♪

♪ All the writers keep writing what they write ♪

♪ Somewhere another pretty vein just dies ♪

♪ I've got the scars from tomorrow and I wish you could see ♪

♪ That you're the antidote to everything, except for me ♪

♪ A constellation of tears on your lashes ♪

♪ Burn everything you love ♪

♪ Then burn the ashes ♪

♪ In the end everything collides ♪

♪ My childhood spat back out the monster that you see ♪

♪ My songs know what you did in the dark ♪

♪ So light em up up up, light em up up up ♪

♪ Light em up up up, I'm on fire ♪

♪ So light em up up up, light em up up up ♪

♪ Light em up up up, I'm on fire ♪

♪ Ooh oh oh oh In the dark-dark ♪

♪ Ooh oh oh oh In the dark-dark ♪

♪ My songs know what you did in the dark ♪

♪ My songs know what you did in the dark ♪

♪ So light em up up up, light em up up up ♪

♪ Light em up up up, I'm on fire ♪

♪ So light em up up up, light em up up up ♪

♪ Light em up up up, I'm on fire ♪

♪ Ooh oh oh oh In the dark-dark ♪

♪ Ooh oh oh oh In the dark-dark ♪

♪ Ooh oh oh ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
wish /wɪʃ/ B1	verb - to desire something to happen
dark /dɑrk/ A2	adjective - having little or no light
fire /faɪər/ A2	noun - the process of combustion that produces heat and light
light /laɪt/ A2	verb - to make something bright or to ignite
scars /skɑrz/ B2	noun - marks left on the skin after a wound has healed
monster /ˈmɒnstər/ B2	noun - a large, frightening creature
ignite /ɪɡˈnaɪt/ B2	verb - to set on fire or to cause to burn
tears /tɪrz/ A2	noun - drops of clear salty liquid produced by the eyes
constellation /ˌkɒnstəˈleɪʃən/ C1	noun - a group of stars forming a recognizable pattern
antidote /ˈæntɪdoʊt/ C1	noun - a medicine taken to counteract a particular poison
collides /kəˈlaɪdz/ B2	verb - to come into conflict or crash together
cage /keɪdʒ/ B1	noun - a structure of bars or wires in which animals or birds are confined
rage /reɪdʒ/ B2	noun - violent, uncontrollable anger
details /ˈdiːteɪlz/ B1	noun - individual features or elements of something

Key Grammar Structures

• Be careful making wishes in the dark

  ➔ imperative sentence with a gerund phrase

  ➔ The sentence issues a command or warning using the imperative mood, with 'making' as a gerund acting as the subject.

• I'm just dreaming of tearing you apart

  ➔ present continuous tense for ongoing action

  ➔ Uses the present continuous 'am dreaming' to indicate an ongoing mental state or action happening at the moment.

• Gonna need a spark to ignite

  ➔ colloquial contraction of 'going to' for future intention

  ➔ Gonna is a colloquial form of 'going to' used to express future plans or intentions informally.

• My childhood spat back out the monster that you see

  ➔ past tense with 'spat' indicating a past action and metaphorical language

  ➔ Uses the simple past tense 'spat' to describe a sudden or forceful action with a metaphorical meaning of revealing inner 'monsters'.

• In the end everything collides

  ➔ present tense 'collides' indicating habitual or inevitable action

  ➔ Uses the simple present 'collides' to express an inevitable or recurring event that occurs over time.

• All the writers keep writing what they write

  ➔ present simple tense for habitual action with noun clause

  ➔ Uses the present simple 'keep writing' to describe habitual or ongoing action performed by writers, with a noun clause specifying what they write.