Perfect Symmetry – English Lyrics

• By: Keane
• Album: Perfect Symmetry

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the profound themes of balance and consequence in Keane's "Perfect Symmetry," a song that blends introspective lyrics with a unique mix of alternative rock and 80s synth-pop. Delve into the language of karma and existentialism, while enjoying a sound that breaks from Keane's earlier work, offering a fresh perspective on life's complexities.

[English]

I shake through the wreckage for signs of life

Scrolling through the paragraphs

Clicking through the photographs

I wish I could make sense of what we do

Burning down the capitols

The wisest of the animals

Who are you, what are you living for

Tooth for tooth, maybe we'll go one more

This life, is lived in perfect symmetry

What I do, that will be done to me

Read page after page of analysis

Looking for the final score

We're no closer than we were before

Who are you, what are you fighting for

Holy truth? Brother I choose this mortal life

Lived in perfect symmetry

What I do, that will be done to me

As the needle, slips into the run out groove

Love, maybe you feel it too

And maybe you find, life is unkind

And over so soon

There is no golden gate

There's no heaven waiting for you

Oh boy you ought to leave this town

Get out while you can, the meter's running out

The voices in the streets you love

Everything is better when you hear that sound

Spineless dreamers, hide in churches

Pieces of pieces of rush hour, buses

I dream in emails, worn out phrases

Mile after mile of just empty pages

Wrap yourself around me

Wrap yourself around me

As the needle, slips into the run out groove

Maybe I'll feel it too

Maybe you'll feel it too

Maybe you'll feel it too (Spineless dreamers)

Maybe you'll feel it too (hide in churches)

(Pieces of pieces of rush hour, buses)

I dream in emails, worn out phrases

Mile after mile of just empty pages

Spineless dreamers, hide in churches

Pieces of pieces of rush hour, buses

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
wreckage /ˈrɛkɪdʒ/ B2	noun - the remains of something that has been destroyed
photograph /ˈfoʊtəˌgræf/ A2	noun - a picture made using a camera
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter
symmetry /ˈsɪmətri/ B2	noun - the quality of being made up of exactly similar parts facing each other or around an axis
dream /dri:m/ B1	noun - a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep verb - to imagine or think about something pleasantly
choose /tʃuːz/ B1	verb - to select from a number of alternatives
final /ˈfaɪnəl/ B2	adjective - last; coming at the end
sound /saʊnd/ A2	noun - something that you can hear
town /taʊn/ A1	noun - a built-up area that is smaller than a city
buses /ˈbʌsɪz/ A2	noun - large vehicles used to carry passengers
meter /ˈmiːtər/ B2	noun - an instrument for measuring (for example, a parking meter)

Key Grammar Structures

• Who are you, what are you living for

  ➔ Interrogative sentences with present simple

  ➔ The auxiliary verb "are" is used to form a question in the present simple: "Who **are** you?"

• I wish I could make sense of what we do

  ➔ Verb wish + modal could + infinitive

  ➔ "wish" is followed by the past‑modal "**could**" and the base form "**make**" to express an unreal desire.

• Scrolling through the paragraphs

  ➔ Gerund (present participle) as a noun phrase

  ➔ "**Scrolling**" functions as a noun (gerund) describing the ongoing action.

• This life, is lived in perfect symmetry

  ➔ Passive voice (present simple)

  ➔ "is **lived**" shows the passive form, focusing on the subject "life" rather than the doer.

• Maybe we'll go one more

  ➔ Future with modal "will" + adverb "maybe"

  ➔ "**maybe**" modifies the whole clause, and "**we'll**" (= we will) expresses a future intention.

• Read page after page of analysis

  ➔ Imperative mood

  ➔ "**Read**" is the base form of the verb used to give a command or instruction.

• There is no golden gate

  ➔ Existential there + singular noun

  ➔ "**There**" introduces the existence of something; "is" agrees with the singular noun "gate".

• The voices in the streets you love

  ➔ Relative clause (defining) with pronoun "you"

  ➔ "**you love**" is a relative clause that modifies "streets", specifying which streets.