Forever Young – English Lyrics

• By: Alphaville

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the poetic world of 1980s synth-pop with Alphaville's 'Forever Young.' This song is a perfect tool for learners to explore evocative English vocabulary related to time, emotions, and existential reflection, all wrapped in a hauntingly beautiful melody that makes language learning feel truly timeless.

[English]

Let's dance in style, let's dance for awhile

Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies

Hoping for the best but expecting the worst

Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

Let us die young or let us live forever

We don't have the power, but we never say never

Sitting in a sandpit, life is a short trip

The music's for the sad men

Can you imagine when this race is won?

Turn our golden faces into the sun

Praising our leaders, we're getting in tune

The music's played by the

The madmen

Forever young, I want to be forever young

Do you really want to live forever

Forever

Or never

Forever young

I want to be forever young

Do you really want to live forever?

...

Forever young

...

Some are like water, some are like the heat

Some are a melody and some are the beat

Sooner or later they all will be gone

Why don't they stay young?

It's so hard to get old without a cause

I don't want to perish like a fleeing horse

Youth's like diamonds in the sun

And diamonds are forever

So many adventures couldn't happen today

So many songs we forgot to play

So many dreams swinging out of the blue

We let them come true

Forever young, I want to be forever young

Do you really want to live forever

Forever

Or never?

Forever young, I want to be forever young

Do you really want to live forever

Forever

Or never?

Forever young, I want to be forever young

Do you really want to live forever?

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
dance /dæns/ A1	verb - to move rhythmically to music
heaven /ˈhɛvən/ A2	noun - the place where God is believed to live
forever /fəˈrɛvər/ A2	adverb - for all future time
imagine /ɪˈmædʒɪn/ A2	verb - to form a mental image of something
golden /ˈɡoʊldən/ B1	adjective - made of gold or having the color of gold
praising /ˈpreɪzɪŋ/ B2	verb - to express warm approval or admiration
madmen /ˈmædmɛn/ B2	noun - mentally ill people or people who behave foolishly
melody /ˈmɛlədi/ B2	noun - a sequence of musical notes
perish /ˈpɛrɪʃ/ C1	verb - to die in a violent or sudden way
diamonds /ˈdaɪəməndz/ A2	noun - extremely hard precious stones
adventures /ədˈvɛntʃərz/ A2	noun - unusual and exciting experiences
dreams /driːmz/ A1	noun - series of thoughts experienced during sleep
swinging /ˈswɪŋɪŋ/ B1	verb - moving back and forth or from side to side
youth /juːθ/ B1	noun - the period between childhood and adult age
fleeing /ˈfliːɪŋ/ B2	verb - running away from a place or situation

Key Grammar Structures

• Heaven can wait, we're only watching the skies

  ➔ Modal verb 'can' for possibility/permission

  ➔ Here, "can" expresses the potentiality of heaven waiting for us, suggesting we have time before our fate.

• Are you going to drop the bomb or not?

  ➔ Future intention using 'be going to'

  ➔ The structure "are going to" is used here to ask about a planned action or a firm intention regarding the future.

• Let us die young or let us live forever

  ➔ Imperative structure with 'Let + object + base verb'

  ➔ The verb "let" is used here to express a plea or a desire for a specific state to happen.

• Can you imagine when this race is won?

  ➔ Passive voice in a temporal clause ('is won')

  ➔ The phrase "is won" uses the passive voice to highlight the completion of the race rather than the winner.

• Some are like water, some are like the heat

  ➔ Indefinite pronoun 'some' as a subject

  ➔ In this context, "some" acts as a pronoun referring to different types of people or aspects of life.

• Sooner or later they all will be gone

  ➔ Future passive ('will be gone')

  ➔ The structure "will be gone" indicates a future state that is inevitable.

• It's so hard to get old without a cause

  ➔ Cleft sentence structure with 'It'

  ➔ Using "It's" as a preparatory subject makes the sentence more balanced before presenting the actual action.

• So many adventures couldn't happen today

  ➔ Modal verb for past probability/inability ('couldn't')

  ➔ Here, "couldn't" implies that these past experiences are now impossible or unlikely to occur.