ESLSongs

Practice the interrogative in your ESL class with this song, Bury a friend by Billie Eilish.

This song’s lyrics contain the following 11 examples of the interrogative in the present simple, present continuous & past perfect tenses:

• What do you want from me?
• Why don’t you run from me?
• What are you wondering?
• What do you know?
• Why aren’t you scared of me?
• Why do you care for me?
• When we all fall asleep, where do we go?
• what is it exactly you’re paying?
• Is the amount cleaning you out?
• Am I satisfactory?
• what had you expected?

The song uses the question word why 3 times, what 5 times and where once, as well as 2 yes/no questions. Most of the questions are repeated several times as part of the chorus.

There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here.

Lyrics

Billie…

What do you want from me?
Why don’t you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren’t you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?

Come here…

Say it, spit it out, what is it exactly you’re paying?
Is the amount cleaning you out?
Am I satisfactory?
Today, I’m thinking about the things that are deadly
The way I’m drinking you down
Like I wanna drown, like I wanna end me

Step on the glass, staple your tongue
Bury a friend, try to wake up
Cannibal class, killing the son
Bury a friend, I wanna end me

I wanna end me
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna end me
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna–

What do you want from me?
Why don’t you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren’t you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?

Listen…

Keep you in the dark, what had you expected?
Me to make you my art
And make you a star and get you connected
I’ll meet you in the park
I’ll be calm and collected
But we knew right from the start
That you’d fall apart ’cause I’m too expensive
Your talk’ll be something that shouldn’t be said out loud
Honestly, I thought that I would be dead by now
Calling security, keeping my head held down
Bury the hatchet or bury your friend right now

For the debt I owe, gotta sell my soul
‘Cause I can’t say no, no, I can’t say no
Then my limbs all froze and my eyes won’t close
And I can’t say no, I can’t say no

Careful…

Step on the glass, staple your tongue
Bury a friend, try to wake up
Cannibal class, killing the son
Bury a friend, I wanna end me

I wanna end me
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna end me
I wanna, I wanna, I wanna–

What do you want from me?
Why don’t you run from me?
What are you wondering?
What do you know?
Why aren’t you scared of me?
Why do you care for me?
When we all fall asleep, where do we go?

Suggested activity: correct the mistakes

Download this exercise (PDF)

Listen to the song and try to identify the errors in the questions. Listen again; can you hear the word that Billie Eilish actually sings?

Chorus
What do you need from me?
Why do you run from me?
What are you thinking of?
How do you know?
Why aren’t you frightened of me?
Why do you look after me?
When we all fall asleep, when do we go?

Come here…
Say it, spit it out, how much is it exactly you’re paying?
Are the amounts cleaning you out?
Is it satisfactory?
Today, I’m thinking about the things that are deadly
The way I’m drinking you down
Like I wanna drown, like I wanna end me

Step on the glass, staple your tongue, bury a friend, try to wake up
Cannibal class, killing the son, bury a friend, I wanna end me…

Chorus

Listen…
Keep you in the dark, what did you expect?
Me to make you my art, and make you a star and get you connected
I’ll meet you in the park, I’ll be calm and collected
But we knew right from the start
That you’d fall apart ’cause I’m too expensive
Your talk’ll be something that shouldn’t be said out loud
Honestly, I thought that I would be dead by now
Calling security, keeping my head held down
Bury the hatchet or bury your friend right now

For the debt I owe, gotta sell my soul ’cause I can’t say no, no, I can’t say no
Then my limbs all froze and my eyes won’t close and I can’t say no, I can’t say no

Careful…
Step on the glass, staple your tongue, bury a friend, try to wake up
Cannibal class, killing the son, bury a friend, I wanna end me

I wanna end me…

Chorus

.

Billie Eilish

Billie Eilish Pirate Baird O’Connell is an American singer and songwriter. She first gained public attention in 2015 with her debut single “Ocean Eyes”, written and produced by her brother Finneas O’Connell, with whom she collaborates on music and live shows. In 2017, she released her debut extended play (EP), Don’t Smile at Me. Commercially successful, it reached the top 15 of record charts in numerous countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Australia.