Save Your Tears – English Lyrics

• By: The Weeknd
• Album: After Hours

Lyrics & Translation

"Save Your Tears" by The Weeknd offers a captivating entry point for English language learners, blending a nostalgic 80s synth-pop sound with deeply emotional lyrics about heartbreak and regret. Its clear vocals and relatable themes make it excellent for vocabulary acquisition and understanding expressions of complex emotions, while its widespread popularity ensures ample opportunities for immersion and discussion.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
dancing /ˈdænsɪŋ/ A1	verb - moving rhythmically to music
crowded /ˈkraʊdɪd/ B1	adjective - full of people
happy /ˈhæpi/ A1	adjective - feeling or showing pleasure or contentment
surprise /sərˈpraɪz/ B1	noun - an unexpected event verb - to cause to feel surprise
teardrop /ˈtɪərdrɒp/ B2	noun - a single tear
run /rʌn/ A1	verb - to move quickly on foot
cry /kraɪ/ A1	verb - to shed tears noun - an instance of crying
broke /broʊk/ B1	verb - past tense of break; to damage or destroy
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - the organ that pumps blood
walked /wɔːkt/ A1	verb - past tense of walk; to move on foot
care /keər/ A2	verb - to feel concern or interest noun - serious attention or consideration applied to doing something correctly or avoiding damage or risk.
save /seɪv/ A2	verb - to keep safe or rescue
tears /tɪərz/ A2	noun - drops of liquid from the eyes
think /θɪŋk/ A1	verb - to have an opinion or belief
love /lʌv/ A1	verb - to feel affection for noun - an intense feeling of affection
better /ˈbɛtər/ A1	adjective - more excellent or effective than

Key Grammar Structures

• YOU LOOK SO HAPPY WHEN I'M NOT WITH YOU

  ➔ Adjective + 'so' + Adjective + 'when' clause

  ➔ Uses 'so' to intensify the adjective 'happy'. The 'when' clause specifies the time or condition of the happiness.

• CAUGHT YOU BY SURPRISE

  ➔ Passive Voice (implied) / Past Participle as Adjective

  ➔ Implies 'you were caught by surprise'. 'Caught' functions as an adjective describing the state of being surprised.

• YOU COULD'VE ASKED ME WHY I BROKE YOUR HEART

  ➔ Modal Verb 'could've' + Past Participle; Indirect Question

  ➔ 'Could've' expresses a past possibility that didn't happen. 'Why I broke your heart' is an indirect question.

• LIKE I WASN'T THERE

  ➔ 'Like' as a conjunction; Subjunctive Mood (implied)

  ➔ 'Like' functions as 'as if' and introduces a clause expressing a hypothetical situation. The implied subjunctive suggests the speaker *was* actually there.

• SAVE YOUR TEARS FOR ANOTHER DAY

  ➔ Imperative Mood

  ➔ Direct instruction or command. The verb 'save' is in its base form.

• I MADE YOU THINK THAT I WOULD ALWAYS STAY

  ➔ Past Simple + 'make someone think' + 'that' clause + Future in the Past

  ➔ 'Made you think' expresses the action of causing someone to believe something. 'Would always stay' is the future in the past, representing what the speaker led the other person to believe.

• I SAID SOME THINGS THAT I SHOULD NEVER SAY

  ➔ Past Simple + Relative Clause with 'that' + Modal Verb 'should' + Infinitive

  ➔ 'That I should never say' is a relative clause modifying 'some things'. 'Should never say' expresses regret or obligation about something that should not have been said.

• I REALIZE THAT I'M MUCH TOO LATE

  ➔ Present Simple + 'realize that' + 'much too' + Adjective

  ➔ 'Much too late' emphasizes that the speaker is very late, beyond the acceptable point.