Chasing Cars – English Lyrics

• By: Snow Patrol
• Album: The Forest Is The Path

Lyrics & Translation

Learn English with Snow Patrol's iconic ballad, "Chasing Cars." The song's simple, repetitive, and heartfelt lyrics make it an excellent choice for language learners to practice pronunciation and understand emotional expression in music. Its universal theme of love and escapism provides a relatable context to explore vocabulary and phrasing.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
lie /laɪ/ A2	verb - to be in or assume a horizontal position on a supporting surface
forget /fərˈɡet/ A2	verb - to fail to remember
world /wɜːld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries, peoples, and natural features
words /wɜːdz/ A1	noun - a unit of language that has meaning and can be spoken or written
told /toʊld/ A1	verb - past tense of tell; to communicate information or instructions
old /oʊld/ A1	adjective - having lived for a long time; no longer young
garden /ˈɡɑːrdən/ A2	noun - a plot of ground, usually near a house, used for growing flowers, vegetables, or fruit
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter, including capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole
chasing /ˈtʃeɪsɪŋ/ B1	verb - to pursue in order to catch or catch up with
cars /kɑːrz/ A1	noun - a road vehicle, typically with four wheels, powered by an internal combustion engine or electric motor and able to carry a small number of people
heads /hedz/ A1	noun - the part of the body above the neck where the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and brain are
eyes /aɪz/ A1	noun - the organ of sight
perfect /ˈpɜːrfɪkt/ B1	adjective - completely free from faults or defects
change /tʃeɪndʒ/ A2	verb - to make or become different

Key Grammar Structures

• We don't need Anything Or anyone

  ➔ Negative concord (double negative) and coordination

  ➔ The sentence uses "don't need" (negative) followed by "Anything Or anyone" implying a further negative aspect. While technically grammatically questionable in formal settings, it's a common stylistic choice in informal speech and song lyrics for emphasis. The 'or' coordinates 'anything' and 'anyone'.

• If I lie here If I just lie here Would you lie with me And just forget the world

  ➔ Conditional sentences (type 2), modal verb "would", and imperative mood (in a softened form)

  ➔ The lyrics use a type 2 conditional: "If I lie here...would you lie with me". This expresses an unreal or unlikely situation. "Would" is a modal verb expressing a polite request or a hypothetical situation. "forget the world" can be seen as a softened imperative, it's not a direct command but a plea.

• Forget what we're told Before we get too old

  ➔ Passive voice (we're told) and 'too' + adjective (too old)

  ➔ "we're told" is in the passive voice indicating that someone (unspecified) is telling us something. "too old" uses 'too' to indicate an excessive degree.

• Let's waste time Chasing cars Around our heads

  ➔ Imperative mood (Let's) and present participle used as a verb of movement (chasing)

  ➔ "Let's waste time" is an imperative suggesting an action. "Chasing" is a present participle modifying "time", describing what kind of activity to waste time with. It acts as a verb describing movement or action related to the time wasting.

• All that I am All that I ever was Is here in your perfect eyes

  ➔ Relative clauses (All that I am, All that I ever was), and subject-verb agreement (is)

  ➔ "All that I am" and "All that I ever was" are relative clauses functioning as the subject of the sentence. The verb "is" agrees with the singular subject (the entire concept expressed by the two clauses).

• I don't know where Confused about how as well

  ➔ Ellipsis and adverbial phrase

  ➔ "Confused about how as well" is elliptical; the full clause would be something like "I am confused about how as well". "As well" is an adverbial phrase indicating addition to a previous statement.