Alone – English Lyrics

• By: The Cure
• Album: Songs Of A Lost World

Lyrics & Translation

Delve into the profound emotional landscape of The Cure's "Alone" and enrich your English language skills. This seven-minute epic, a masterpiece of gothic rock, offers a rich vocabulary for expressing melancholy, reflection, and existential themes. Its poetic lyrics, inspired by classic English verse, provide a unique opportunity to explore nuanced expressions of loss and longing. The song's slow, evocative build-up and Robert Smith's distinctive vocals make it a captivating listen, perfect for immersing yourself in atmospheric English lyricism and expanding your emotional lexicon.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
end /end/ A1	noun - the final part of something verb - to finish; to come to a conclusion
song /sɔŋ/ A1	noun - a musical composition with words
fire /ˈfaɪər/ A1	noun - the state of burning verb - to shoot a gun
stars /stɑːrz/ A1	noun - a fixed luminous point in the night sky
tears /tɪərz/ A2	noun - drops of liquid from the eyes
cold /koʊld/ A1	adjective - of or at a low or relatively low temperature
afraid /əˈfreɪd/ A2	adjective - filled with fear or apprehension
ghosts /ɡoʊsts/ B1	noun - the supposed soul of a dead person or animal that can appear, in visible form or other manifestation, to the living.
bitter /ˈbɪtər/ B2	adjective - having a sharp, pungent taste or smell; not sweet
emptiness /ˈemptinəs/ B2	noun - the state of containing nothing
birds /bɜːrdz/ A1	noun - a warm-blooded egg-laying vertebrate animal
words /wɜːrdz/ A1	noun - a single distinct meaningful element of speech or writing
minds /maɪndz/ A2	noun - the element of a person that enables them to be aware of the world and their experiences, to think, and to feel
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of affection. verb - feel deep affection for (someone).
lives /laɪvz/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter verb - to reside; to have one's home
hopes /hoʊps/ A2	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen
dreams /driːmz/ A2	noun - a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep verb - to indulge in daydreams or fantasies
sure /ʃʊr/ A2	adjective - confident in what one thinks or knows; having no doubt that one is right
change /tʃeɪndʒ/ A1	verb - to make or become different noun - the act or instance of making or becoming different
eyes /aɪz/ A1	noun - the organ of sight
sleep /sliːp/ A1	verb - to be in a state of rest with eyes closed noun - a condition of body and mind which typically recurs for several hours every night, in which the nervous system is inactive, the eyes closed, the postural muscles relaxed, and consciousness practically suspended.
boy /bɔɪ/ A1	noun - a male child or young man
girl /ɡɜːrl/ A1	noun - a female child or young woman
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries and peoples
broken /ˈbroʊkən/ A2	adjective - having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order.
voiced /vɔɪst/ B2	adjective - expressed aloud
lament /ləˈment/ C1	noun - an expression of sorrow; a song or literary composition that expresses grief verb - to express sorrow or regret; to mourn
alone /əˈloʊn/ A2	adjective - having no one else present; solitary. adverb - without the company or help of anyone else.

Key Grammar Structures

• This is the end of every song that we sing

  ➔ Relative Clause with 'that'

  ➔ The word "that" introduces a relative clause modifying "every song". It acts as the object of the verb "sing".

• The fire burned out to ash, and the stars grown dim with tears

  ➔ Past Participle as an Adjective ('grown dim')

  ➔ "Grown" is the past participle of "grow" and functions as an adjective modifying "stars". "Dim" also functions as an adjective. The stars have become dim.

• Cold and afraid, the ghosts of all that we've been

  ➔ Adjectives as Sentence Openers

  ➔ The adjectives "Cold" and "afraid" are placed at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis, describing the state of the ghosts. It's an inverted sentence structure.

• We toast with bitter dregs, to our emptiness

  ➔ Prepositional Phrase indicating Purpose ('to our emptiness')

  ➔ The prepositional phrase "to our emptiness" explains the purpose or reason for the toast. It indicates what they are toasting *to*.

• And the birds falling out of our skies

  ➔ Present Participle as an Adjective ('falling')

  ➔ "Falling" is the present participle of "fall" and acts as an adjective describing the birds. It indicates the action the birds are performing.

• We were always sure that we would never change

  ➔ Past Continuous Tense with 'always' for emphasis/criticism.

  ➔ The structure "were always sure" uses the past continuous tense with the adverb "always." This can indicate an action that happened repeatedly in the past, often carrying a connotation of irritation or disbelief that they thought they would never change. "That" introduces a noun clause functioning as the object of "sure".

• To dream a boy and girl Who dream the world is nothing but a dream

  ➔ Non-finite clause ('To dream a boy and girl') as subject complement and Relative Clause with 'Who'

  ➔ "To dream a boy and girl" acts as a subject complement, explaining the content of the dream. "Who dream..." is a relative clause modifying "boy and girl," with "Who" acting as the subject of the verb "dream".

• Where did it go?

  ➔ Interrogative sentence, Subject-verb inversion with auxiliary 'did'.

  ➔ This is a direct question using the past simple tense. The auxiliary verb "did" is used to form the question, inverting the subject ("it") and the verb ("go").