Strangers In The Night – English Lyrics

• By: Frank Sinatra

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the captivating world of "Strangers In The Night" by Frank Sinatra, a timeless classic that beautifully narrates an unexpected love story. This song offers a rich vocabulary for expressing romantic encounters and emotions, allowing you to learn nuanced English expressions related to love, chance meetings, and destiny. Its smooth, narrative style and clear vocals make it an excellent choice for language learners to grasp conversational English in a romantic context.

[English]

[♪♪♪]

[AUDIENCE CHEERING]

♪ Strangers in the night exchanging glances ♪

♪ Wondering in the night, what were the chances ♪

♪ We'd be sharing love before the night was through ♪

♪ Something in your eyes was so exciting ♪

♪ Something in your smile was so inviting ♪

♪ Something in my heart told me I must... ♪

♪ I must have you ♪

♪ Strangers in the night ♪

♪ Two lonely people, we were strangers in the night ♪

♪ Up to the moment when we said our first hello ♪

♪ Little did we know ♪

♪ Love was just a glance away ♪

♪ A warm embracing dance away and... ♪

♪ Ever since that night, we've been together ♪

♪ Lovers at first sight, in love forever ♪

♪ It turned out all right for strangers in the night ♪

♪ Two strangers in the night ♪

♪ Ooby-dooby-dooby dooby-dooby-da ♪

[♪♪♪]

[AUDIENCE APPLAUDING]

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
exchanging /ɪksˈtʃeɪndʒɪŋ/ B1	verb - to give one thing and receive another in return
glances /ˈɡlɑːnsɪz/ A2	noun - a quick look
wondering /ˈwʌndərɪŋ/ B1	verb - to think about something with curiosity or doubt
sharing /ˈʃɛərɪŋ/ B1	verb - to divide and use together
love /lʌv/ A2	noun - a strong feeling of affection verb - to feel deep affection for someone
exciting /ɪkˈsaɪtɪŋ/ B2	adjective - causing excitement or enthusiasm
inviting /ɪnˈvaɪtɪŋ/ B2	adjective - appealing or attractive
heart /hɑːrt/ A2	noun - organ that pumps blood
told /toʊld/ A2	verb - to inform or tell someone something
lonely /ˈloʊnli/ B1	adjective - feeling sad because of lack of companionship
sight /saɪt/ A2	noun - the ability to see; a view or spectacle
together /təˈgɛðər/ A2	adverb - with or in company of others
happy /ˈhæpi/ A2	adjective - feeling or showing pleasure

Key Grammar Structures

• Strangers in the night exchanging glances

  ➔ Participle Clause (reduced relative clause). "Exchanging glances" acts as an adjective describing "Strangers in the night".

  ➔ Instead of saying "Strangers in the night *who were* exchanging glances", the relative pronoun and auxiliary verb are omitted, resulting in a more concise phrase.

• Wondering in the night, what were the chances

  ➔ Inversion. In the clause "what were the chances," the subject and verb are inverted for emphasis, usually found in questions or after adverbs of negative meaning.

  ➔ Normally, it would be "what the chances were." Inverting it adds a feeling of contemplation and uncertainty.

• We'd be sharing love before the night was through

  ➔ Conditional clause with "would". "We'd be sharing love" expresses a hypothetical or imagined situation in the future.

  ➔ "Would" expresses a degree of uncertainty or tentativeness about the likelihood of the event happening. It indicates a hypothetical situation rather than a definite future event.

• Something in your eyes was so exciting

  ➔ "So + adjective" construction. Used to emphasize the intensity of the adjective. "So exciting" intensifies the feeling of excitement.

  ➔ Instead of just saying it was exciting, adding "so" makes it a much stronger statement of feeling.

• Something in my heart told me I must...

  ➔ Modal verb "must" (truncated). "Must" expresses strong obligation or necessity, but the sentence is deliberately left unfinished to create suspense.

  ➔ The ellipsis (...) indicates that the speaker is overcome with feeling and can't quite articulate the full intention immediately, heightening the drama.

• Up to the moment when we said our first hello

  ➔ Prepositional phrase "Up to". Indicates a limit of time or degree, leading to a specific point.

  ➔ It emphasizes the significance of that first interaction as a turning point.

• Little did we know

  ➔ Negative Inversion. Starting a sentence with a negative adverbial (like "little") requires inverting the subject and auxiliary verb. Here, "did we know" is used instead of "we did know".

  ➔ This inversion emphasizes the lack of awareness they had at the time. It's a more literary and emphatic way of saying "We didn't know".

• It turned out all right for strangers in the night

  ➔ Phrasal verb: "Turn out" meaning "to result in a particular way". The structure highlights a positive resolution despite initial uncertainty.

  ➔ The phrase emphasizes that despite being "strangers in the night", the relationship ultimately worked out positively, contrasting the initial uncertainty with the eventual success.