Nicotine – English Lyrics

• By: Panic! At The Disco
• Album: Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die!

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music is a fantastic journey, and "Nicotine" by Panic! At The Disco offers a great opportunity to explore vivid and emotional English. The song's central metaphor of a toxic love being like an addiction is built with powerful, direct language and evocative imagery. By delving into the lyrics, you can learn vocabulary related to addiction, conflict, and intense emotions, all within the framework of a catchy and dynamic pop-rock song. What makes "Nicotine" special for learners is its clear and repetitive chorus, which reinforces the main theme and makes the core message easy to grasp and remember.

[English]

Cross my heart and hope to die

Burn my lungs and curse my eyes

I've lost control and I don't want it back

I'm going numb, I've been hijacked

It's a fucking drag

I taste you on my lips and I can't get rid of you

So I say damn your kiss and the awful things you do

Yeah, you're worse than nicotine, nicotine

Yeah, you're worse than nicotine, nicotine, yeah

It's better to burn than to fade away

It's better to leave than to be replaced

I'm losing to you, baby, I'm no match

I'm going numb, I've been hijacked

It's a fucking drag

I taste you on my lips and I can't get rid of you

So I say damn your kiss and the awful things you do

Yeah, you're worse than nicotine, nicotine

Yeah, you're worse than nicotine, nicotine, yeah

Just one more hit and then we're through

'Cause you could never love me back

Cut every tie I have to you

'Cause your love's a fucking drag

But I need it so bad

Your love's a fucking drag-ag-ag-ag-ag

But I need it so bad

Yeah, you're worse than nicotine, nicotine

Yeah, you're worse than nicotine, nicotine, yeah

...

Key Grammar Structures

• I've lost control

  ➔ Present Perfect (Active)

  ➔ Explains an action that started in the past and has a connection or result in the present. The contraction "I've" stands for "I have".

• I've been hijacked

  ➔ Present Perfect Passive

  ➔ Describes an action that happened to the subject in the past, with the result still relevant now. The agent performing the action is unknown or not important. "I've" is "I have".

• I can't get rid of you

  ➔ Modal Verb "can't" + Phrasal Verb "get rid of"

  ➔ "Can't" expresses inability or impossibility. "Get rid of" is a phrasal verb meaning to remove or dispose of something/someone.

• the awful things you do

  ➔ Reduced Relative Clause (implied "that/which")

  ➔ This is a relative clause where the relative pronoun (like "that" or "which") is omitted because it's the object of the clause. It describes the "things".

• Yeah, you're worse than nicotine

  ➔ Comparative Adjective

  ➔ Uses the comparative form of an adjective ("worse") followed by "than" to compare two nouns ("you" and "nicotine").

• It's better to burn than to fade away

  ➔ Infinitive Phrases + Comparative Structure

  ➔ "To burn" and "to fade away" are infinitive phrases acting as nouns, functioning as the subjects/complements of the comparison. The structure "better than" is used for comparison.

• I'm losing to you, baby

  ➔ Present Continuous

  ➔ Describes an ongoing action happening at the moment of speaking or a temporary situation. "I'm" is "I am".

• 'Cause you could never love me back

  ➔ Causal Conjunction "'Cause" + Modal Verb "could"

  ➔ "Cause" (short for because) introduces the reason for something. "Could" here expresses past inability or a hypothetical impossibility.

• Cut every tie I have to you

  ➔ Imperative + Reduced Relative Clause

  ➔ "Cut" is an imperative verb, giving a direct command. "I have to you" is a reduced relative clause (with "that/which" omitted) modifying "tie".