Youngblood (song by 5 Seconds of Summer)

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-RJSbO8UZVY
Level: Medium
Language: Relationships, Feelings, Music, Fashion

Youngblood (noun) - definition: a young person with a lot of energy but perhaps not much
experience - usage: not frequent - example: “We have too much work at the office this month
so the boss is going to hire some youngblood to help us with the easier tasks.”

Task 1: Listen to the song once and decide the correct answer to the question below.

This song is about a relationship between Luke and Jasmine. What is their relationship status?
(choose ONE correct option)
a. They are completely in love and very happy. c. He loves her but she doesn’t love him.
b. It’s complicated! d. She loves him but he doesn’t love her.

Task 2: Read the text about the video for the song. Complete each gap with a word from below.

Australia’s biggest boyband suddenly get cool

We all know the rules for boyband videos. White shirts, walking barefoot on the beach, perfect hair blowing in the
gentle ______(1). Well, in their video for the song Youngblood, Australian boyband 5 Seconds of Summer have
chosen a different route. In fact, the video doesn’t even ______(2) any of the band’s 4 members. Instead, it focuses
on a sad love story in Japan’s rockabilly community.

What is rockabilly?
This refers to the style of rock n’ roll music which was popular in the USA in the 1950’s, with Elvis Presley as its
biggest star. Fans of this type of music have a certain ______(3) of clothes: guys wear black leather jackets and put
lots of gel in their ______(4), while girls wear big dresses with white socks and often have tattoos.

Why this video?

The video tells the story of an old man and woman who take a magic ______(5). This special medicine allows them
to be young again, just for 24 hours, before they die. The director of the video says that this story, as well as Tokyo’s
rockabilly scene, were a great ______(6) of the ideas expressed in the song.

And it looks like the ______(7) agrees: the song has reached enormous popularity around the world, with over 20
million YouTube hits to date.

(missing words: hair / representation / show / public / pill / style / wind )

Find more on www.picnicenglish.com or follow us on Facebook/Twitter

1
Task 3: Re-listen to the song. Complete the lyrics (one word per gap). Use the clues to help
you.

Song lyrics Clues

Remember the words you told me?

(You would) love me ____ ____ ___ __ ____ . (you would love me forever)
Surrender my everything
'cause you made me believe you're mine.
Yeah, you used to call me “baby”,
now you’re calling me ___ ______ . (now you call me “Luke”)
Takes one to know one, yeah,
You _____ ____ at my own damn game. (you did better than me)
Pre-chorus:
You push and you push
and I'm pulling away, pulling away from you.
I give and I give and I give and you take, give and you
take.

Chorus:
Youngblood, say you want me (say you want me)
____ ____ ____ _____
And I'm just a _____ ____ ________ tonight. (with no connection to you)
But you need it, yeah you need it (like a zombie)
____ ____ ____ ______ , yeah.
Youngblood, say you want me (say you want me) (at every moment)
____ ____ ____ _____
So I'm just a _____ ____ ________ tonight.
(together again with you)
‘Cause I need it, yeah I need it
(like a zombie on his hands and knees)
____ ____ ____ ______ , yeah.
(at every moment)
Lately our conversations end
like it's _____ _____ _______ .
One of us gets too drunk
and calls about ____ ________ ______ . (our final moment together)
So who (have) you been calling “baby”?
Nobody could _____ ____ _______ . (he/she makes a lot of phonecalls)
When you're looking at those strangers,
(I) hope ____ _____ you see my face. (nobody could substitute me)

(repeat chorus, then pre-chorus) (I really hope)

You're running around and I'm running away

Running away from you, from you.

(repeat chorus and pre-chorus)

Task 4: Select the best word to describe how the singer feels (and find parts of the song to
explain your answer).
angry / sad / confused

Find more on www.picnicenglish.com or follow us on Facebook/Twitter

2
Answers

Task 1:
b. It’s complicated! (The song tells a story of how Luke and Jasmine have a complex relationship. They both seem to realise that
they should break up but at the same time, they both continue to meet each other.)

Task 2:
1.wind 2.show 3.style 4.hair 5.pill 6.representation 7.public

Task 3:
Full lyrics -
Remember the words you told me?
(You would) love me 'til the day I die.
Surrender my everything
'cause you made me believe you're mine.
Yeah, you used to call me “baby”,
now you’re calling me by name.
Takes one to know one, yeah,
You beat me at my own damn game.

Pre-chorus:
You push and you push
and I'm pulling away, pulling away from you.
I give and I give and I give and you take, give and you take.

Chorus:
Youngblood, say you want me (say you want me),
Out of your life
And I'm just a dead man walking tonight.
But you need it, yeah you need it
All of the time, yeah.
Youngblood, say you want me (say you want me),
Back in your life
So I'm just a dead man crawling tonight.
‘Cause I need it, yeah I need it
All of the time, yeah.

Lately our conversations end

like it's the last goodbye.
One of us gets too drunk
and calls about a hundred times.
So who (have) you been calling “baby”?
Nobody could take my place.
When you're looking at those strangers,
(I) hope to god you see my face.

(repeat chorus), (repeat pre-chorus)

You're running around and I'm running away

Running away from you, from you.

Task 4:
While the singer seems to be both sad and angry, the best word to describe his feelings is confused. The girl told him that she
would love him forever but now she seems to have a new boyfriend. In the chorus, the girl first says that she wants him to leave her,
but then she says that she wants him to come back. This leaves the singer feeling very confused. He returns to the girl, like a “dead
man walking”, but he still feels jealous about her new boyfriend.

Find more on www.picnicenglish.com or follow us on Facebook/Twitter

3