First Day of My Life – English Lyrics

• By: Bright Eyes
• Album: I’m Wide Awake, It’s Morning

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music is a powerful and enjoyable experience, and "First Day of My Life" by Bright Eyes is a perfect song to start with. Its clear, simple lyrics and heartfelt emotion make it easy to follow along and connect with the story. The song's universal theme of love and new beginnings can help you learn vocabulary related to emotions and relationships in a beautiful and memorable way.

[English]

This is the first day of my life

Swear I was born right in the doorway

I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed

They're spreading blankets on the beach

Yours is the first face that I saw

I think I was blind before I met you

Now I don't know where I am

I don't know where I've been

But I know where I want to go

And so I thought I'd let you know

That these things take forever

I especially am slow

But I realized that I need you

And I wondered if I could come home

...

Remember the time you drove all night

Just to meet me in the morning

And I thought it was strange

You said everything changed

You felt as if you'd just woke up

And you said, "This is the first day of my life

I'm glad I didn't die before I met you

But, now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you

And I'd probably be happy"

So if you wanna be with me

With these things there's no telling

We just have to wait and see

But I'd rather be working for a paycheck

Than waiting to win the lottery

...

Besides, maybe this time it's different

I mean I really think you like me

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
day /deɪ/ A1	noun - the period of light between one night and the next
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.
born /bɔːrn/ A2	verb - brought into life
rain /reɪn/ A1	noun - water falling in drops from vapor condensed in the atmosphere. verb - fall as rain
face /feɪs/ A1	noun - the front part of the head, from the forehead to the chin. verb - to deal with
blind /blaɪnd/ B1	adjective - unable to see
things /θɪŋz/ A1	noun - objects that one need not, cannot, or does not wish to give a specific name to.
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives adverb - to one's home
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period from sunset to sunrise in each twenty-four hours.
morning /ˈmɔːrnɪŋ/ A1	noun - the period of time between sunrise and noon.
strange /streɪndʒ/ B1	adjective - unusual or surprising; difficult to understand or explain.
care /ker/ A2	verb - feel concern or interest; attach importance to something. noun - the provision of what is necessary for the health, welfare, maintenance, and protection of someone or something.
happy /ˈhæpi/ A1	adjective - feeling or showing pleasure or contentment.
work /wɜːrk/ A1	verb - be engaged in physical or mental activity in order to achieve a purpose or result, especially in one's job noun - activity involving mental or physical effort done in order to achieve a purpose or result.

Key Grammar Structures

• Swear I was born right in the doorway

  ➔ Subjunctive mood (implied)

  ➔ While not explicitly using "if" or other subjunctive markers, "Swear I *was* born..." implies a hypothetical or exaggerated statement for emphasis. It's not a literal birth, but a metaphorical one.

• Yours is the first face that I saw

  ➔ Relative clause (that/which omitted)

  ➔ The word "that" can be omitted when it's the object of the relative clause. "Yours is the first face *that* I saw."

• I think I was blind before I met you

  ➔ Past perfect tense (was blind *before* met)

  ➔ Using 'was blind' (simple past) to describe a state *before* meeting the person, which is in the simple past ('met'). Past perfect would be used in more formal writing: "I think I *had been* blind..."

• I realized that I need you

  ➔ Noun clause with "that"

  ➔ "that I need you" functions as the object of the verb "realized."

• Remember the time you drove all night Just to meet me in the morning

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose (to meet)

  ➔ "To meet me in the morning" explains the purpose of driving all night.

• You felt as if you'd just woke up

  ➔ Past perfect subjunctive (you'd woke up)

  ➔ The expression "as if" introduces a hypothetical situation in the past. "You'd woke up" is a contraction of "you had woke up," representing the past perfect tense in a subjunctive context.

• I'm glad I didn't die before I met you

  ➔ Past perfect tense (didn't die *before* met)

  ➔ Expressing a sequence of past events where one event (dying) occurred before another (meeting).

• But I'd rather be working for a paycheck Than waiting to win the lottery

  ➔ Conditional sentence type 2 (Hypothetical), comparative structure

  ➔ "I'd rather be working... than waiting..." expresses a preference in a hypothetical situation. 'I'd' is a contraction of 'I would'. It describes something that is not currently happening, but the speaker would prefer it over something else that is also not happening (winning the lottery).