– English Lyrics

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

MARÍA I've never seen you before.

You're not Puerto Rican.

BERNARDO You keep away from him. He's a gangster.

RACHEL ZEGLER I'm Rachel Zegler, and I play

María Vasquez in West Side Story.

ANSEL ELGORT My name is Ansel Elgort and I play Tony.

TONY I want to be with you forever.

VALENTINA You don't want to start with

I'd like to take you out to coffee?

RACHEL ZEGLER The biggest challenge María faces is

the choice between family and love.

ANSEL ELGORT Tony is really on a journey

of transformation.

Through María he finds hope.

ANITA Do you want to start World War 3?

ANSEL ELGORT This was an insanely amazing experience.

RACHEL ZEGLER West Side Story is such a musical staple

in pop culture and I feel so lucky to be a part of that.

TONY Run away with me.

♫ Tonight ♫

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
seen /siːn/ B1	verb - to have perceived with the eyes; to have understood
gangster /ˈɡæŋstər/ B2	noun - a criminal, especially one involved in organized crime
play /pleɪ/ A2	verb - to perform in a role in a play, film, or television show
forever /fərˈevər/ B1	adverb - for all time; eternally
challenge /ˈtʃælɪndʒ/ B2	noun - a task or situation that tests someone's abilities
choice /tʃɔɪs/ B1	noun - the act of selecting something or someone
journey /ˈdʒɜːrni/ B2	noun - an act of traveling from one place to another
transformation /ˌtrænsfərˈmeɪʃn/ C1	noun - a marked change in form, nature, or appearance
hope /hoʊp/ A2	noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen
start /stɑːrt/ A2	verb - begin
insanely /ɪnˈseɪnli/ B2	adverb - extremely; very
amazing /əˈmeɪzɪŋ/ B1	adjective - causing great surprise or wonder
experience /ɪkˈspɪriəns/ B1	noun - an event or occurrence which leaves an impression on someone
staple /ˈsteɪpəl/ B2	noun - a main or essential item
culture /ˈkʌltʃər/ B2	noun - the customs, arts, social institutions, and achievements of a particular nation, people, or group
lucky /ˈlʌki/ A2	adjective - having good fortune
run /rʌn/ A2	verb - move at a speed faster than a walk

Key Grammar Structures

• I've never seen you before.

  ➔ Present Perfect tense

  ➔ The Present Perfect ("have" + past participle) describes an action that started in the past and continues to have relevance in the present. Here, it means the speaker has no prior experience of seeing the person. The use of "never" emphasizes this lack of past experience. "seen" is the past participle of "see".

• You don't want to start with I'd like to take you out to coffee?

  ➔ Conditional sentence (Type 1) & Contraction of 'I would'

  ➔ This is a rhetorical question implying a more polite opening line is preferred. "Don't want to" forms the negative conditional. "I'd" is a contraction of "I would", used to express politeness or a conditional mood. The structure implies 'If you want to make a good impression, you shouldn't start with...'.

• The biggest challenge María faces is the choice between family and love.

  ➔ Noun clause as subject & Infinitive phrase as complement

  ➔ The sentence begins with a noun clause ("The biggest challenge María faces") functioning as the subject. The phrase "the choice between family and love" is a noun phrase acting as a complement to the verb 'is'. It specifies *what* the challenge is.

• Tony is really on a journey of transformation.

  ➔ Prepositional phrase as post-modifier & Adverb of degree

  ➔ "of transformation" is a prepositional phrase modifying the noun "journey". It specifies the *type* of journey. "really" is an adverb of degree, intensifying the verb "is".