Phantom Regret – English Lyrics

• By: The Weeknd

Lyrics & Translation

"Phantom Regret by Jim" offers a unique opportunity to engage with English through profound spoken-word poetry. Narrated by Jim Carrey, this reflective track from The Weeknd's *Dawn FM* album explores universal themes of life, death, and letting go of regrets, making it special for its deep philosophical insights and emotionally resonant language. Listening closely to Carrey's delivery can enhance pronunciation and comprehension of complex ideas, while the lyrics themselves provide rich vocabulary related to introspection and spirituality.

[English]

You are tuned to Dawn FM

The middle of nowhere on your dial

So sit back and unpack

You may be here a while

Now that all future plans have been postponed

And it's time to look back on the things you thought you owned

Do you remember them well?

Were you high or just stoned?

And how many grudges did you take to your grave?

When you weren't liked or followed, how did you behave?

Was it off in a dissonant chord you were strumming?

Were you ever in tune with the song life was humming?

If pain's living on when your body's long gone

And your phantom regret hasn't let it go yet

You may not have died in the way that you must

All specters are haunted by their own lack of trust

When you're all out of time, there's nothing but space

No hunting, no gathering, no nations, no race

And Heaven is closer than those tears on your face

And the purple rain falls where I'll bathe in its grace

Heaven's for those who let go of regret

And you have to wait here when you're not all there yet

But you could be there by the end of this song

Where The Weeknd's so good, and he plays all week long

Bang a gong, get it on

And if your broken heart's heavy when you step on the scale

It'll be lighter than air when they pull back the veil

Consider the flowers, they don't try to look right

They just open their petals and turn to the light

Are you listening real close? Heaven's not that, it's this

It's the depth of this moment, you don't reach for bliss

God knows life is chaos, but he made one thing true

You gotta unwind your mind, train your soul to align

And dance 'til you find that divine boogaloo

In other words, you gotta be Heaven

...

To see Heaven

May peace be with you

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
dawn /dɔn/ A2	noun - the first appearance of light in the morning
tuned /tjuːnd/ B1	verb - adjusted or set to a particular frequency
unpack /ʌnˈpæk/ B1	verb - to open a container and remove its contents
postponed /pəˈstəʊnd/ B2	verb - delayed to a later time
regret /rɪˈɡrɛt/ B1	noun - a feeling of sorrow for something done or not done verb - to feel sorrow for something
phantom /ˈfæntəm/ B2	noun - a ghostly figure; an illusion
specter /ˈspɛktə/ C1	noun - a ghost or spirit; a looming threat
haunted /ˈhɔːntɪd/ B2	adjective - visited by ghosts; troubled in mind
trust /trʌst/ A2	noun - belief in the reliability of someone or something verb - to rely on or have confidence in
gathering /ˈɡæðərɪŋ/ B1	noun - an assembly or collection of people or things
nations /ˈneɪʃənz/ B1	noun - countries; sovereign states
heaven /ˈhɛvn/ A2	noun - the sky; the after‑life realm of the divine
purple /ˈpɜːpəl/ B1	adjective - a colour between red and blue
grace /ɡreɪs/ B2	noun - smooth elegance; divine favor
broken /ˈbroʊkən/ B1	adjective - damaged; not whole
veil /veɪl/ B2	noun - a thin covering; a disguise
flowers /ˈflaʊərz/ A2	noun - the blooming part of a plant
chaos /ˈkeɪɒs/ B2	noun - complete disorder or confusion
unwind /ʌnˈwaɪnd/ C1	verb - to relax after tension; to untwist
divine /dɪˈvaɪn/ B2	adjective - of, from or like a god; heavenly verb - to discover something by intuition

Key Grammar Structures

• Now that all future plans have been postponed

  ➔ Present perfect passive

  ➔ The phrase uses the present perfect passive ('have been postponed') to indicate an action completed in the past with ongoing relevance.

• Were you high or just stoned?

  ➔ Past simple in indirect questions

  ➔ The line uses the past simple ('Were you high') in an indirect question to inquire about a past state.

• If pain's living on when your body's long gone

  ➔ Contraction and possessive apostrophe

  ➔ The line uses a contraction ('pain's') and a possessive apostrophe ('body's') for brevity and natural flow.

• And the purple rain falls where I'll bathe in its grace

  ➔ Future tense with 'will'

  ➔ The line uses the future tense with 'will' ('I'll bathe') to express a future action.

• Heaven's for those who let go of regret

  ➔ Contraction and possessive apostrophe

  ➔ The line uses a contraction ('Heaven's') for brevity and natural flow.

• You gotta unwind your mind, train your soul to align

  ➔ Modal verb 'gotta' for informal obligation

  ➔ The line uses the modal verb 'gotta' to express an informal obligation or necessity.

• In other words, you gotta be Heaven

  ➔ Restatement with 'In other words'

  ➔ The phrase uses 'In other words' to rephrase or clarify the previous statement.