遗憾效应 – English Lyrics

• By: 威神V
• Album: On My Youth

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the poignant lyrics of WayV's "遗憾效应" (On My Youth), a song that beautifully expresses the universal experience of growing up, making mistakes, and learning to overcome regrets. As the title track of their second full album, this song offers both Chinese and English versions, making it an excellent opportunity to explore Mandarin Chinese through its evocative storytelling and heartfelt delivery. You can learn about expressing complex emotions and reflections on personal growth in Chinese.

[English]

Oh, think I played out all of the cards I had

I know sorry's just gonna make you mad

Now you’re acting up, I can't pretend,

I don’t know why why

Uh and I know you never would bat an eye

When another guy steps to you to try

So you feel you’ve been missing out and that hurts my pride

Uh listen

uhm

All of those lies I told to you

All of those highs I stole from you

It was all out of my control

But I really want you to know

The truth

Blame it on my youth

Ay ay ay, you can blame it on that

Blame it on my youth

Ay ay, that was in my past life

Mm mm, that was in my past life

Way too much juice

Ay ay, I can’t even walk right

Mm mm, I can’t even talk right

Blame it on my youth

Ay ay, that was in my past life

Mm mm, caught up in the past

I know they say that we’re too young

Every day we’re growing

They say we’re too dumb

Problem is that we don’t know it

Anyway, any day, any case we gon’ elevate

We gon’ make mistakes

We’ll get there even if it’s late

Young we wanna celebrate

Love and we never hesitate

Hate that we miscommunicate

Times that we wanna walk away

Why why why, yeah we play the game

Baby win some, lose some, it’s all the same

Yeah I could blame it on the rain

I could blame it on the pain

I could blame it on my ego

Put a cross against my name

But I’m way up

And I’m trying to stay up

I never wanna walk alone

Just stay here in my zone

Baby, You know they say that love is all wrong

It feels so good but then you’re messed up

Just put me in the dock

Yeah, I stand as the accused

No excuses, yeah I’m guilty

blame it out my

Blame it on my youth

Ay ay ay, you can blame it on that

Blame it on my youth

Ay ay, that was in my past life

Mm mm, that was in my past life

Way too much juice

Ay ay, I can’t even walk right

Mm mm, I can’t even talk right

Blame it on my youth

Ay ay, that was in my past life

Mm mm, caught up in the past

Maybe I had to lose you

To know how good I had it

To know how good that we were

To know I’m deep in regret

Now your surface is cold

Now you’re burnt to the core

Perfect picture is torn on the floor

So I need to tell ya

(Blame it on my youth)

All of those lies I told to you

All of those highs I stole from you

It was all out of my control

But I really want you to know

The truth

Blame it on my youth

You can blame it on

you can blame it on that

Blame it on my youth

Ay ay, that was in my past life

Mm mm, that was in my past life

Way too much juice

Ay ay, I can’t even walk right

Mm mm, I can’t even talk right (Got me and truth yeah)

Blame it on my youth

You can blame it on

You can blame it on

You can blame it on that

Blame it on my youth

Key Grammar Structures

• I know sorry's just gonna make you mad

  ➔ Causative Verb 'make'

  ➔ The verb "make" is used here as a causative verb, meaning it forces or causes someone to do something or to be in a certain state. The structure is 'make + object + base form of verb' (though here it's 'make + object + adjective' for a state). In this line, 'sorry' will cause 'you' to become "mad".

• So you feel you’ve been missing out and that hurts my pride

  ➔ Present Perfect Continuous

  ➔ The present perfect continuous tense ("you’ve been missing out") is used to describe an action that started in the past and has been continuing up to the present moment, often emphasizing the duration or the ongoing nature of the activity. Here, it suggests that the feeling of 'missing out' has been happening for some time.

• All of those lies I told to you

  ➔ Reduced Relative Clause

  ➔ This is a reduced relative clause. The full clause would be 'All of those lies *that/which I told to you*'. When the relative pronoun (like 'that' or 'which') is the object of the relative clause, and the verb is active, it can be omitted, making the sentence more concise. Here, 'lies' are the object of 'told'.

• When another guy steps to you to try

  ➔ Infinitive of Purpose

  ➔ The infinitive "to try" is used here to express the purpose or reason behind the action of 'steps to you'. It answers the question 'why' another guy would approach you.

• Blame it on my youth

  ➔ Idiomatic Expression / Phrasal Verb

  ➔ The phrase "blame it on" is a common idiomatic expression used to attribute the cause of something (usually negative) to a specific reason or factor. Here, the speaker is attributing their past mistakes or issues to their 'youth'.

• Yeah I could blame it on the rain

  ➔ Modal Verb 'could' (for possibility/hypothetical alternative)

  ➔ The modal verb "could" is used here not to express past ability, but to suggest a possible alternative action or a hypothetical option for shifting blame. It implies that the speaker has other excuses they *might* use.

• Now you’re burnt to the core

  ➔ Passive Voice (Resultative / Adjectival Use of Past Participle)

  ➔ This is an example of the passive voice, but specifically using the past participle "burnt" to describe a state or result, rather than an ongoing action. 'To be burnt to the core' is an idiom meaning someone is deeply hurt or damaged, showing the permanent effect of past actions.

• Maybe I had to lose you

  ➔ Modal Verb 'had to' (Past Necessity/Obligation)

  ➔ The phrase "had to" is the past form of 'must' or 'have to', indicating a past necessity or obligation. The speaker implies that losing the other person was an unavoidable or necessary event for them to learn something, even if it was difficult.

• To know how good I had it

  ➔ Noun Clause (introduced by 'how')

  ➔ A noun clause functions as a noun in a sentence. Here, "how good I had it" acts as the object of the verb 'know'. It's an indirect question or statement expressing the extent or manner of something.

• We’ll get there even if it’s late

  ➔ Conditional Clause ('even if')

  ➔ The phrase "even if" introduces a concessive conditional clause, meaning that the main action will happen regardless of the condition expressed in the 'even if' clause. It emphasizes that reaching the goal is certain, despite the possibility of being late.