Strange Room – English Lyrics

• By: Keane
• Album: Cause & Effect

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the poignant story behind Keane's 'Strange Room' and enhance your English skills by exploring its emotionally rich and narrative-driven lyrics. This song offers a great opportunity to learn vocabulary related to introspection, regret, and storytelling, all set to a beautiful and memorable melody that makes the language more accessible.

[English]

A pint set on the piano

By the open window

Your arm around my shoulder

One song after another

A church to praise the good times

And shelter from the bad times

And when our run came to an end

Felt like I lost my best friend

For a moment I was dreaming

We were just beginning

Thought finally I've come home

Finally I've come home

...

Officer, let me explain

I lost something I love today

Yeah, I know what it looks like

A rich kid with a good life

I know you're too young to

Have done things you can't undo

To rake over your dreams and

Know this is what they've come to

I woke up in a strange room

Time to start again now

I want to help you find a way through

You're just meant to guess it somehow

For a moment I was dreaming

We were just beginning

Thought finally I've come home

Finally I've come home

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
piano /piˈænəʊ/ B1	noun - a large keyboard musical instrument
window /ˈwɪndəʊ/ A1	noun - an opening in a wall or roof
arm /ɑːrm/ A1	noun - either of the two long parts of the upper body
shoulder /ˈʃəʊldər/ A1	noun - the part of the body where the arm joins the body
song /sɔːŋ/ A1	noun - a short piece of music with words
church /tʃɜːrtʃ/ A1	noun - a building used for Christian religious activities
times /taɪmz/ A1	noun - a point in time or a period
run /rʌn/ A1	noun - the act of running verb - to move quickly on foot
friend /frend/ A1	noun - a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection
moment /ˈməʊmənt/ A2	noun - a very brief period of time
dreaming /ˈdriːmɪŋ/ A2	verb - to experience dreams during sleep
officer /ˈɒfɪsər/ B1	noun - a person holding a position of authority
love /lʌv/ A1	verb - to have a strong affection for someone or something noun - an intense feeling of deep affection
kid /kɪd/ A1	noun - a child
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the state that distinguishes living organisms from dead ones
dreams /driːmz/ A2	noun - a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep
room /ruːm/ A1	noun - a space that is or can be enclosed by walls, a floor, and a ceiling
way /weɪ/ A1	noun - a method or manner of doing something
again /əˈɡen/ A1	adverb - once more

Key Grammar Structures

• A pint set on the piano

  ➔ Past participle as adjective

  ➔ "set" is a past participle modifying "pint", describing its state/position

• Felt like I lost my best friend

  ➔ Simile + Past simple

  ➔ "like" introduces simile comparing emotion to loss. "lost" shows completed past action

• For a moment I was dreaming

  ➔ Past continuous

  ➔ "was dreaming" describes ongoing action at specific past time

• Thought finally I've come home

  ➔ Present perfect + adverb position

  ➔ "I've come" (present perfect) emphasizes current relevance. "finally" modifies entire clause

• Officer, let me explain

  ➔ Imperative (let + object + verb)

  ➔ "let me explain" is polite imperative structure requesting permission

• I know you're too young to have done things

  ➔ Too + adjective + perfect infinitive

  ➔ "too young to have done" expresses impossibility of past actions using perfect infinitive

• To rake over your dreams and know

  ➔ Parallel infinitives

  ➔ Infinitives "to rake" and "(to) know" connected by "and" show equal purpose

• I woke up in a strange room

  ➔ Phrasal verb + prepositional phrase

  ➔ "woke up" (phrasal verb) combines with "in a strange room" (prepositional phrase) for spatial context

• You're just meant to guess it somehow

  ➔ Passive voice with modal meaning

  ➔ "meant to" expresses obligation/destiny in passive form