Complicated – English Lyrics

• By: Avril Lavigne
• Album: Let Go

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne, a definitive pop-rock track from the early 2000s that eloquently expresses the common frustration with inauthenticity. This song's clear, relatable lyrics and straightforward narrative make it an excellent resource for English language learners to explore vocabulary and expressions tied to honesty, social dynamics, and personal integrity. Its direct style encourages an accessible and engaging learning experience, showing how simple language can convey profound and widely understood emotions.

[English]

- What's up, boys?

- So what do you guys wanna do today?

- Dude, you wanna crash the mall?

- Nice!

- Okay!

(gentle guitar music)

♪ Uh-huh ♪

♪ Life's like this ♪

♪ Uh-huh, uh-huh ♪

♪ That's the way it is ♪

(laid back pop-rock music)

♪ Because life's like this ♪

♪ Uh-huh, uh-huh ♪

♪ That's the way it is ♪

♪ Chill out, what you yelling for ♪

♪ Lay back, it's all been done before ♪

♪ And if you could only let it be, you will see ♪

♪ I like you the way you are ♪

♪ When we're driving in your car ♪

♪ And you're talking to me one on one ♪

♪ But you become somebody else around everyone else ♪

♪ You're watching your back like you can't relax ♪

♪ You try to be cool ♪

♪ You look like a fool to me ♪

♪ Tell me ♪

♪ Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated ♪

♪ I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else ♪

♪ Gets me frustrated ♪

♪ Life's like this, you ♪

♪ You fall and you crawl and you break ♪

♪ And you take what you get and you turn it into ♪

♪ Honesty and promise me I'm never gonna find you faking ♪

♪ No, no, no ♪

♪ You come over unannounced ♪

♪ Dressed up like you're something else ♪

♪ Where you are and where it's at you see ♪

♪ You're making me laugh out when you strike your pose ♪

♪ Take off all your preppy clothes ♪

♪ You know you're not fooling anyone ♪

♪ When you become somebody else around everyone else ♪

♪ You're watching your back like you can't relax ♪

♪ You try to be cool ♪

♪ You look like a fool to me ♪

♪ Tell me ♪

♪ Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated ♪

♪ I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else ♪

♪ Gets me frustrated ♪

♪ Life's like this, you ♪

♪ You fall and you crawl and you break ♪

♪ And you take what you get and you turn it into ♪

♪ Honesty and promise me I'm never gonna find you faking ♪

♪ No, no, no ♪

♪ No, no, no ♪

♪ No, no, no ♪

♪ No, no, no ♪

♪ Chill out, what ya yelling for ♪

♪ Lay back, it's all been done before ♪

♪ And if you could only let it be, you will see ♪

♪ Somebody else around everyone else ♪

♪ You're watching your back like you can't relax ♪

♪ You try to be cool ♪

♪ You look like a fool to me ♪

♪ Tell me ♪

♪ Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated ♪

♪ I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else ♪

♪ Gets me frustrated ♪

♪ Life's like this, you ♪

♪ You fall and you crawl and you break ♪

♪ And you take what you get and you turn it into ♪

♪ Honesty and promise me I'm never gonna find you faking ♪

♪ No, no ♪

♪ Why'd you have to go and make things so complicated ♪

♪ I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else ♪

♪ Gets me frustrated ♪

♪ Life's like this, you ♪

♪ You fall and you crawl and you break ♪

♪ And you take what you get and you turn it into ♪

♪ Honesty and promise me I'm never gonna find you faking ♪

♪ No, no, no ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
complicated /ˈkɒmplɪkeɪtɪd/ B2	adjective - consisting of many interconnecting parts; not easy to analyze or understand
frustrated /frʌˈstreɪtɪd/ B2	adjective - feeling or expressing distress and annoyance, especially because of inability to change or achieve something
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death
cool /kuːl/ B1	adjective - fashionable or attractive
fool /fuːl/ B1	noun - a person who acts unwisely or imprudently; a silly person
drive /draɪv/ A2	verb - to operate and control the direction and speed of a motor vehicle
talk /tɔːk/ A1	verb - to speak in order to give information or express ideas or feelings; to converse
see /siː/ A1	verb - to perceive with the eyes; to observe
take /teɪk/ A1	verb - to grasp, carry, or move something from one place to another
promise /ˈprɒmɪs/ B1	verb - to assure someone that one will definitely do something or that something will happen
laugh /læf/ A2	verb - to make the spontaneous sounds and movements of the face and body that are the instinctive expressions of lively amusement
strike /straɪk/ B2	verb - to hit forcibly and deliberately
mall /mɔːl/ A2	noun - a large indoor shopping area with various stores and restaurants

Key Grammar Structures

• Life's like this

  ➔ Contracted form of 'life is' using the possessive 's' to indicate a characteristic or state.

  ➔ The phrase uses the contracted form 'Life's' instead of 'Life is' to create a casual tone.

• You fall and you crawl and you break

  ➔ Use of simple present tense with coordinated verbs to describe repeated or habitual actions.

  ➔ The sequence 'fall and you crawl and you break' illustrates habitual actions or processes using the simple present tense with coordinated verbs.

• And you take what you get and you turn it into

  ➔ Use of the present simple tense with 'you' as the subject, combined with conjunctions to connect actions.

  ➔ This structure connects two actions 'take' and 'turn' with the conjunction 'and' to show sequence or combined actions.

• Promise me I'm never gonna find you faking

  ➔ Use of the modal 'gonna' as a colloquial contraction of 'going to' for future intention; embedded clause 'I'm never gonna find you faking'.

  ➔ The phrase uses the colloquial 'gonna' to express a future intention or promise, with a dependent clause indicating the speaker's assurance.