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A2.1·rock·4:03

Burning Down the House

Talking Heads · 1983

Burning Down the House by Talking Heads (1983) — selected for the English-through-music catalog. Use the sing-along prompts and exercises to drill pronunciation, vocabulary, and listening comprehension.

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Lyrics + translation · letras.mus.br

🎤 Sing along

Sing with the chorus

  • Burning down the house
  • Hold tight
  • Wait 'til the party's over
  • Hold tight

Sing it again — final chorus

  • Burning down the house
  • Ah, it was once upon a place
  • Sometimes I listen to myself
  • Gonna come in first place
houseburningfire

Definitions: Cambridge Dictionary · Translation: MyMemory

Exercises

Exercise 1

Fill the blank in this line:

Youget what you're after

Exercise 2

Fill the blank in this line:

Wait 'til theover

Exercise 3

Fill the blank in this line:

Time foroverboard

Exercise 4

Fill the blank in this line:

Dreamsin broad daylight

Exercise 5

Fill the blank in this line:

Gonnainto flames, ah

Exercise 6

Fill the blank in this line:

Somesure can sweep me off my feet

Exercise 7

Translate this line to Portuguese:

You might get what you're after

Exercise 8

Translate this line to Portuguese:

We're in for nasty weather

Exercise 9

Translate this line to Portuguese:

Hey, you might need a raincoat

Exercise 10

Translate this line to Portuguese:

And, baby what do you expect?

Exercise 11

Translate this line to Portuguese:

And I don't know what you expect

Exercise 12

Choose the missing word:

You ? get what you're after

Exercise 13

Choose the missing word:

Here's your ? pack your bags

Exercise 14

Choose the missing word:

Fightin' ? with fire

Exercise 15

Choose the missing word:

Gonna come in ? place

Exercise 16

Choose the missing word:

Some ? sure can sweep me off my feet

Exercise 17

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 18

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 19

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 20

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 21

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 22

How many times do you hear the word "house" in the whole song?

"house"

Exercise 23

How many times do you hear the word "burning" in the whole song?

"burning"

Exercise 24

Put these three lines in the order they appear in the song:

  • Ah, watch out
  • People on their way to work
  • Transportation is here

Exercise 25

And these three — put them in the order they appear in the song:

  • Gonna burst into flames, ah
  • Hey, you might need a raincoat
  • You might get what you're after

Exercise 26

If you could change the ending of the story told in "Burning Down the House", what would happen instead?

houseburningfiremight

Exercise 27

Describe the mood of "Burning Down the House" in three adjectives. What part of the song makes you feel that way?

houseburningfiremight

Exercise 28

Who in your life would you dedicate "Burning Down the House" to, and what line captures what you want to say to them?

houseburningfiremight

Exercise 29

Write the full form of each contraction:

  • you're→
  • i'm→
  • we're→
  • gonna→
  • that's→
  • don't→

Exercise 30

"Burning Down the House" was released in 1983. Do you think the themes in the song are timeless, or do they feel dated? Give one example from the lyrics.

houseburningfiremight