Where The Lights Hang Low – English Lyrics

• By: Passenger
• Album: Sometimes It's Something, Sometimes It's Nothing At All

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

There's a place I go

Where the lights hang low

Walls are stale

From a thousand Marlborough lights

And the carpet tells a tale

Of a thousand Friday nights

There's a man outside

Big black holes for eyes

Biting down on burnt-out cigars

Plays forgotten songs on broken guitars

There's a place I go

Where the lights hang low

...

There's a place I've found

On the edge of town

Where all the girls dress in angelic white

But age is so unkind under florescent lights

And there's a man by the door

Neatly stitched to the floor

He's sat there for a thousand years

And he'll sit there for a thousand more

There's a place I go

...

Where the lights hang low

Oh, there's a place I go

Where the lights hang low

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
place /pleɪs/ A1	noun - a particular position or area
lights /laɪts/ A1	noun - sources of illumination
walls /wɔːlz/ A1	noun - vertical structures defining an area
tale /teɪl/ A2	noun - a story, often fictional
nights /naɪts/ A1	noun - the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
man /mæn/ A1	noun - an adult male human
holes /hoʊlz/ A2	noun - an opening through something
biting /ˈbaɪtɪŋ/ B1	verb - using the teeth to cut or tear
songs /sɔːŋz/ A1	noun - a musical composition
broken /ˈbroʊkən/ A2	adjective - damaged or not in working order
guitars /ɡɪˈtɑːrz/ A2	noun - stringed musical instruments
edge /ɛdʒ/ B1	noun - the boundary of an area
town /taʊn/ A1	noun - a populated area with fixed boundaries
girls /ɡɜːrlz/ A1	noun - young females
angelic /ˈændʒɛlɪk/ B2	adjective - relating to angels; very beautiful
unkind /ʌnˈkaɪnd/ B1	adjective - cruel or harsh
florescent /flɔːˈrɛsənt/ B2	adjective - emitting light when exposed to radiation
stitched /stɪtʃt/ B1	verb - fastened or joined with stitches
years /jɪrz/ A1	noun - a unit of time

Key Grammar Structures

• There's a place I go

  ➔ Contraction of 'there is' indicates existence or location.

  ➔ The phrase "There's a place" uses the contraction "There's" to denote "There is" showing that a place exists.

• Walls are stale

  ➔ Present simple tense expressing a state or characteristic.

  ➔ The verb "are" in "Walls are stale" shows a present condition or characteristic of the walls.

• From a thousand Marlborough lights

  ➔ Preposition 'from' indicating origin or source.

  ➔ The preposition "from" shows that the stale walls result from many Marlborough cigarette lights.

• There's a man outside

  ➔ Use of simple present with existential 'there is' to introduce a subject.

  ➔ The phrase "There's a man" introduces a subject by stating that a man exists outside.

• Biting down on burnt-out cigars

  ➔ Present participle phrase used to describe simultaneous action.

  ➔ The phrase "Biting down on burnt-out cigars" uses the present participle "biting" to show an action occurring at the same time as other events.

• Plays forgotten songs on broken guitars

  ➔ Simple present tense used to describe habitual or characteristic action.

  ➔ The verb "Plays" indicates a repeated or typical action of playing forgotten songs.

• He's sat there for a thousand years

  ➔ Present perfect continuous passive construction (contracted form), expressing ongoing action.

  ➔ "He's sat" is a contracted form of "He has sat," showing he has been continuously sitting there for a long time.

• And he'll sit there for a thousand more

  ➔ Future simple tense using 'will' to express prediction or certainty.

  ➔ The phrase "he'll sit" contracts "he will sit," indicating a confident prediction about future action.