5-minute listening: Practise your English with The Weeknd’s How Do I Make You Love Me?
- Work on your English listening comprehension with our short exercises: play the audio linked below; answer the questions; and check the answers at the bottom of the page
- The song’s music video, released on July 22, features an animated version of the four-time Grammy winner as he navigates a surreal, gory trek through the city
The video for “How Do I Make You Love Me?” depicts The Weeknd in a bizarre animated world. Photo: Captured from YouTubeThe Weeknd released an animated music video for How Do I Make You Love Me? on July 22, with the storyline picking up from his previous video for Out of Time in which the singer was in hospital wearing a bronze-coloured mask.
In his latest video, the four-time Grammy winner transitions from the real world to animation as he wakes up from anaesthesia, takes a bizarre and gory trip through the city, and loses a few body parts along the way.
Listen to the song, and see how well you understand the lyrics by completing the quiz below. Check the answers below, and play the song again!
Questions
1. Which of the following can replace “back in time” in verse one?
A. into the future
B. to the past
C. to the end
D. at the very last moment
2. What will the singer do for the other person according to verse one?
A. make a drink
B. remove clothes from a luggage
C. give encouragement
D. keep track of time
3. If you are not “fazed” by something, it does not ...
A. surprise you
B. worry you
C. bother you
D. all of the above
4. When you are seeking someone’s approval, you most likely want them to ...
A. accept you and be happy with who you are
B. like you and the things that you do
C. have a good opinion of you
D. all of the above
5. What does the use of the word “desperately” indicate?
A. the singer’s explanation for his actions
B. how hurt the singer feels
C. how badly the singer wants something
D. the singer’s opinion of the other person
6. What does the singer want based on your understanding of the chorus?
A. to fall in love with someone
B. a way to escape from reality
C. the other person’s affection
D. to move on from his previous relationship
7. Which of the following words best describes the tone of the chorus?
A. doubting
B. earnest
C. resentful
D. cynical
8. If you want something to “last eternally”, you don’t want it to ...
A. disappear
B. be around forever
C. continue
D. remain for too long
9. What does the singer see in the girl in verse two?
A. her forgotten memories
B. the pain and anger inside her
C. the secrets she has been hiding
D. her true personality
10. According to verse two, how has the girl been affected by all the things she has tolerated?
A. They have resulted in her feeling lost.
B. They have made her unemotional.
C. They have caused her to have a fiery personality.
D. none of the above
Lyrics
Verse one
We’re going back in time
I’d like to see you try
Unpacking thoughts through tunnels in your mind
I’ll fix you mushroom tea
And cross the restless sea
Release yourself to escape reality
Pre-chorus
It doesn’t faze you
I need a breakthrough
I only want what’s right in front of me
It’s quite unusual
Seeking approval
Begging for it desperately
I said
Chorus
How do I make you love me?
How do I make you fall for me?
How do I make you want me
And make it last eternally?
How do I make you love me? (Ooh, ah)
How do I make you fall for me?
How do I make you want me (Ooh, ah)
And make it last eternally?
Verse two
I can see the real you, girl
You don’t have to hide
Forget about what your daddy said
I’ll teach you how to shine
And all the things you tolerated
Made you cold inside
But I can light you up again
Like embers of a fire
Pre-chorus
It doesn’t faze you
I need a breakthrough
I only want what’s right in front of me
It’s quite unusual
Seeking approval
Begging for it desperately
I said
Chorus
How do I make you love me?
How do I make you fall for me?
How do I make you want me
And make it last eternally?
How do I make you love me? (Ooh, ah)
How do I make you fall for me?
How do I make you want me (Ooh, ah)
And make it last eternally?
Answers
1. B
2. A
3. D
4. D
5. C
6. C
7. B
8. A
9. D
10. B