Do You Remember? – English Lyrics

• By: Phil Collins
• Album: ...But Seriously!

Lyrics & Translation

[English]

We never talked about it

But I hear the blame was mine

And I called you up to say I'm sorry

But I wouldn't want to waste your time

'Cause I love you

But I can't take anymore

There's a look I can't describe in your eyes

If we could try like we tried before

Would you keep on telling me those lies? (Telling me lies)

Do you remember?

(Do you remember?)

Do you remember?

(Do you remember)

There seemed no way to make up

'Cause it seemed your mind was set

And the way you looked, it told me

It's a look I know I'll never forget

You could've come over to my side

You could've let me know

You could've tried to see the distance between us

But it seemed too far for you to go (so far to go)

Do you remember?

(Do you remember?)

Ooh, do you remember?

(Do you remember?)

Through all of my life

In spite of all the pain

You know that people are funny sometimes

They just can't wait to get hurt again

Tell me, do you remember?

(Do you remember?)

There are things we won't recall

And feelings we'll never find

It's taken so long to see it

'Cause we never seemed to have the time

There was always something

More important to do

More important to say

But I love you

Wasn't one of those things

And now it's too late (now it's too, now it's too late)

Do you remember?

(Do you remember? Now it's over)

(Do you remember? Ooh, it's over)

Ooh, do you remember?

(Do you remember? Now it's over)

(Do you remember? Ooh, it's over) ooh, yeah!

Tell me, do you remember?

(Do you remember? Now it's over)

Ooh, do you remember?

(Do you remember? Ooh, it's over)

(Do you remember? Now it's over) tell me now, tell me now

(Do you remember? Ooh, it's over) tell me now, tell me now

Do you remember?

(Do you remember? Now it's over)

Do you? Do you? Do you? Do you?

...

Key Grammar Structures

• But I hear the blame was mine

  ➔ Passive Voice (Past Simple)

  ➔ The phrase 'the blame was mine' uses passive voice structure [was + past participle]. It emphasizes the action (being blamed) rather than who assigned the blame.

• I wouldn't want to waste your time

  ➔ Conditional (Would) + Infinitive

  ➔ 'Wouldn't want' expresses hypothetical or polite refusal. The infinitive 'to waste' shows purpose. This structure softens a negative statement.

• There's a look I can't describe in your eyes

  ➔ Reduced Relative Clause

  ➔ The relative clause 'I can't describe' omits the pronoun 'that/which' ('a look [that] I can't describe'). This is common in informal English.

• If we could try like we tried before

  ➔ Second Conditional + Adverbial Comparison

  ➔ 'If we could try' introduces a hypothetical situation (second conditional). 'Like we tried before' compares current possibility to past action using 'like' as a conjunction.

• You could've come over to my side

  ➔ Modal Perfect (Could + Have + Past Participle)

  ➔ 'Could have + past participle' expresses unrealized past possibility or ability. It implies the action didn't happen despite being possible.

• They just can't wait to get hurt again

  ➔ Phrasal Verb (Can't Wait) + Passive Infinitive

  ➔ 'Can't wait' is a phrasal verb meaning strong eagerness. 'To get hurt' uses passive infinitive (to be + past participle) showing the subject receives the action.

• It's taken so long to see it

  ➔ Present Perfect + Infinitive of Result

  ➔ 'It's taken' (present perfect) emphasizes duration to the present. The infinitive 'to see it' shows the result of the prolonged process.

• But 'I love you' wasn't one of those things

  ➔ Noun Phrase as Subject + Past Simple Negative

  ➔ The quoted phrase 'I love you' functions as a singular noun phrase subject. 'Wasn't' (was not) is past simple negative, indicating absence in the past.