Falling Slowly – English Lyrics

• By: Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglova
• Album: The Swell Season

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the heartfelt story behind "Falling Slowly," the Oscar-winning song from the movie *Once*. Explore its themes of hope, vulnerability, and the magic of unexpected connections. This song offers a profound look at how music can mirror and shape our deepest emotions, inviting you to embrace the beauty of shared experiences and the promise of new beginnings .

[English]

I don't know you but I want you

All the more for that

Words fall through me and always fool me

And I can't react

And games that never amount

To more than they're meant

Will play themselves out

...

Take this sinking boat and point it home

We've still got time

Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice

You'll make it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me

And I can't go back

And moods that take me and erase me

And I'm painted black

Well, you have suffered enough

And warred with yourself

It's time that you won

...

Take this sinking boat and point it home

We've still got time

Raise your hopeful voice, you have a choice

You've made it now

Falling slowly, sing your melody

I'll sing along

...

I played the cards too late

Now you're gone

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
fall /fɔːl/ A1	verb - to drop or descend under the force of gravity
know /noʊ/ A1	verb - to be aware of through observation, inquiry, or information
want /wɒnt/ A1	verb - to have a desire to possess or do (something); wish for
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household
voice /vɔɪs/ A2	noun - the sound produced in a person's larynx and uttered through the mouth, as speech or song
choice /tʃɔɪs/ A2	noun - an act of selecting or making a decision when faced with two or more possibilities
sing /sɪŋ/ A2	verb - make musical sounds with the voice, especially words with a set tune
play /pleɪ/ A2	verb - engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose
react /riˈækt/ B1	verb - to respond to something
hopeful /ˈhoʊpfəl/ B1	adjective - feeling or inspiring optimism about a future event
mood /muːd/ B1	noun - a temporary state of mind or feeling
suffer /ˈsʌfər/ B2	verb - experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant)
war /wɔːr/ B2	verb - engage in a war or conflict noun - a state of armed conflict between different countries or different groups within a country
erase /ɪˈreɪs/ B2	verb - rub out or remove (writing or marks)

Key Grammar Structures

• I don't know you but I want you All the more for that

  ➔ Comparative Structure: 'All the more + adjective/adverb + for + reason'

  ➔ Expresses an increase in the feeling due to a reason. Here, the speaker wants the person 'all the more' (even more) 'for' the fact that they don't know them.

• Words fall through me and always fool me

  ➔ Present Simple: General Truth/Habitual Action

  ➔ The verb 'fall' and 'fool' are in the present simple tense, indicating that this is a recurring event or a general truth for the speaker. Words *always fool* me.

• Take this sinking boat and point it home

  ➔ Imperative Mood: Giving a command or instruction

  ➔ The sentence starts with the base form of the verb 'take' and 'point' indicating a command or suggestion.

• We've still got time

  ➔ Present Perfect: 'Have/Has + past participle'

  ➔ 'We've' is a contraction of 'we have'. 'Got' is the past participle of 'get'. The present perfect implies that the time is still relevant in the present.

• Falling slowly, eyes that know me

  ➔ Participle Phrase: 'Falling slowly' acting as an adjective

  ➔ 'Falling slowly' modifies 'eyes'. It describes the *eyes* that are knowing the speaker.

• And moods that take me and erase me

  ➔ Relative Clause: 'that take me and erase me' modifying 'moods'

  ➔ The clause 'that take me and erase me' provides additional information about the 'moods'. It is a defining relative clause because it is essential to understanding which moods are being referred to.

• It's time that you won

  ➔ Idiomatic Expression: 'It's time + past simple' for present wishes

  ➔ The structure 'It's time' followed by a clause in the past simple indicates that the action is overdue or that the speaker strongly feels the action should happen now. Although the verb 'won' is in the past simple, the wish or suggestion is for the present.

• I played the cards too late Now you're gone

  ➔ Past Simple: Completed action in the past with time expression 'too late'

  ➔ The verb 'played' is in the past simple, showing a finished action. The adverb 'too late' indicates the action happened after the appropriate or best time.