Take No Prisoners – English Lyrics

• By: Megadeth
• Album: Rust In Peace

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the powerful and thought-provoking world of Megadeth's "Take No Prisoners." This thrash metal classic is an excellent entry point for learning English through music, offering a wealth of vivid and aggressive vocabulary related to war, politics, and social commentary. Its sharp lyrics, filled with poignant observations and a rebellious spirit, make it special for anyone looking to understand nuanced expressions of discontent and societal critique in English. Listening closely will not only immerse you in raw metal energy but also expose you to powerful idiomatic expressions and thematic depth.

[English]

Got one chance, infiltrate them

Get it right, terminate them

The Panzers will, permeate them

Break their pride, denigrate them

And their people, retrograde them

Typhus, deteriate them

Epidemic, devastate them

Take no prisoners, cremate them

...

Burn!

...

Going to war, give 'em hell

D-Day, next stop Normandy

Beginning of the end

We know how to and sure as shit we'll win

War is peace, sure man

A retreat for the damned

A playground for the demented

A haven for those who walk this world bereft of heart and soul

Love and war, they say all is fair

Take his life, but won't take his hair

Your body parts your country spares

By the way son, here's your wheelchair

He once had to be all he could be

Now he's nothing for no one, nowhere to see

Funny thing, he's like you and me

It's a funny thing, a funny thing

Tears streak his solemn stare

Abandoned for wreckage, nobody cares

No one knew what would happen there

No one spoke, no one even cared

Don't ask what you can do for your country

Ask what your country can do for you

...

Take no prisoners, take no shit

Take no prisoners, take no shit

Take no prisoners, take no shit

Take no prisoners, take no...

...

Shit!

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
infiltrate /ˈɪnfɪltreɪt/ C1	verb - to enter or gain access to (an organization, place, etc.) surreptitiously and gradually, especially in order to acquire secret information
terminate /ˈtɜːrmɪneɪt/ B2	verb - to bring to an end or halt.
panzers /ˈpænzərz/ N/A	noun - A German tank, especially of World War II.
permeate /ˈpɜːrmieɪt/ C1	verb - to spread throughout (something); pervade
pride /praɪd/ B1	noun - a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of one's close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired.
denigrate /ˈdenɪɡreɪt/ C2	verb - to criticize unfairly; disparage.
people /ˈpiːpl/ A1	noun - human beings in general or considered collectively.
retrograde /ˈretrəɡreɪd/ C1	verb - to return to a less developed state adjective - directed or moving backwards.
typhus /ˈtaɪfəs/ N/A	noun - an infectious disease caused by rickettsiae, characterized by a purple rash, headaches, fever, and usually delirium.
deteriorate /dɪˈtɪəriəreɪt/ B2	verb - to become progressively worse.
epidemic /ˌepɪˈdemɪk/ B2	noun - a widespread occurrence of an infectious disease in a community at a particular time. adjective - affecting or tending to affect a disproportionately large number of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time.
devastate /ˈdevəsteɪt/ C1	verb - to destroy or ruin (something).
prisoners /ˈprɪzənərz/ B1	noun - a person captured and kept in confinement as a hostage or as a result of war.
cremate /ˈkriːmeɪt/ B2	verb - to dispose of (a dead person's body) by burning it to ashes, typically after a funeral ceremony.
hell /hel/ B1	noun - a place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often traditionally depicted as a place of perpetual fire beneath the earth where the wicked are punished after death.
retreat /rɪˈtriːt/ B2	noun - the act of moving back or withdrawing verb - withdraw from enemy forces as a result of their advance.
damned /dæmd/ B2	adjective - condemned by God to suffer eternal punishment in hell. verb - condemn (someone) to hell.
demented /dɪˈmentɪd/ C1	adjective - suffering from dementia.

Key Grammar Structures

• Got one chance, infiltrate them

  ➔ Simple past tense with imperative structure

  ➔ "Got" shows past possession, followed by the imperative "infiltrate" commanding action.

• Get it right, terminate them

  ➔ Imperative mood with direct object pronoun

  ➔ "Get it right" orders correctness, using the direct object pronoun "it".

• The Panzers will, permeate them

  ➔ Future simple tense with modal 'will' and imperative

  ➔ "Will" expresses future action; "permeate them" acts as an imperative phrase.

• War is peace, sure man

  ➔ Present simple tense with linking verb and noun complement

  ➔ "Is" links subject "war" to complement "peace" expressing a paradox.

• A retreat for the damned

  ➔ Noun phrase with prepositional phrase modifier

  ➔ "Retreat" is the noun, modified by "for the damned" giving more information.

• It's a funny thing, a funny thing

  ➔ Contraction of 'it is' with noun predicate repetition for emphasis

  ➔ "It's" short for "it is", repeated "a funny thing" stresses strangeness or irony.

• Don't ask what you can do for your country

  ➔ Negative imperative with embedded indirect question

  ➔ "Don't ask" commands to avoid asking; "what you can do for your country" is an indirect question.

• Take no prisoners, cremate them

  ➔ Negative imperative with successive commands

  ➔ "Take no prisoners" forbids taking prisoners; followed by "cremate them" as another command.