First Time On Earth – English Lyrics

• By: Alex Warren
• Album: You'll Be Alright, Kid

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the raw emotion and relatable narrative of Alex Warren's "First Time On Earth." This song offers a compelling opportunity to engage with authentic English storytelling, exploring complex family dynamics and the universal journey of understanding and forgiveness. Its heartfelt lyrics and narrative depth make it a powerful piece to connect with, while its clear vocal delivery provides an excellent way to practice listening and comprehension skills.

[English]

Been walking on a tightrope, juggling high hopes and reality

Just trying not to mess up, tryna keep my head up, fighting gravity

I can't outrun growing up, I still feel like a kid

Quick to judge the ones we love

Sometimes I forget

It's your first time on Earth too

And I hope that you know that I don't blame you

It's just pain that you were passing down

I'm older, and I see it now

It's your first time on Earth too

Watch bottles in the cabinet, tryna kill a habit that was killing you

Back then

I didn't get that you gave me the best that you knew how to do

You were far from done growing up when you had a kid

Quick to judge the ones we love

Sometimes I forget

It's your first time on Earth too

And I hope that you know that I don't blame you

It's just pain that you were passing down

I'm older, and I see it now

It's your first time on Earth too

When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you

Just 'cause I'm angry sometimes

Don't mean I don't miss you

You had your issues and I had mine

Oh, I'd forgive you if we still had time

I was too young, I couldn't see

The world on your shoulders, you traded your dreams

For me, for us, is that just life?

Nobody ever gets everything right

It's your first time on Earth too (Oh-oh)

And I hope that you know that I don't blame you

(You know I don't blame you)

It's just pain that you were passing down

I'm older, and I see it now

It's your first time on Earth too

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
tightrope /ˈtaɪtroʊp/ C1	noun - a tightly stretched rope or wire on which acrobats balance; a difficult or precarious situation.
juggling /ˈdʒʌɡlɪŋ/ B2	verb - trying to manage or balance several different things at the same time.
gravity /ˈɡrævəti/ B1	noun - the force that attracts objects towards one another, especially the force that causes things to fall to the ground.
outrun /ˌaʊtˈrʌn/ B2	verb - to run faster than someone or something, so that you escape from them or leave them behind; to grow too quickly for (something) to keep up or cope with.
judge /dʒʌdʒ/ B1	verb - to form an opinion about someone or something, often a negative one, without knowing all the facts. noun - a public official appointed to decide cases in a law court.
blame /bleɪm/ B1	verb - to say or think that someone or something is responsible for something bad. noun - the responsibility for something bad that has happened.
pain /peɪn/ A2	noun - mental or emotional suffering or distress. noun - the physical feeling caused by disease, injury, or something that hurts the body.
habit /ˈhæbɪt/ B1	noun - a thing that you do often and almost without thinking, especially something that is hard to stop doing.
issues /ˈɪʃuːz/ B2	noun - problems or difficulties.
forgive /fərˈɡɪv/ B1	verb - to stop blaming or being angry with someone for something bad that they have done, or not punish them for it.
trade /treɪd/ B1	verb - to exchange something for something else. noun - the activity of buying and selling goods and services.
dreams /driːmz/ A2	noun - strongly desired aims or ambitions. noun - a series of images, events, and feelings that appear in your mind while you are asleep.
shoulders /ˈʃoʊldərz/ B1	noun - the parts of the body between the neck and the top of the arms; used to refer to the responsibility or burden that someone has.
mess /mes/ B1	verb - to spoil or damage something, or to do something badly. noun - a dirty or untidy state or place; a difficult or unpleasant situation.
pass down /pæs daʊn/ B2	verb - to give something to someone who is younger or comes after you, or to explain to them how to do something that you know.
reality /riˈæləti/ B1	noun - the state of things as they are, rather than as they are imagined to be.
older /ˈoʊldər/ A2	adjective - having lived for a longer time; of a greater age.
angry /ˈæŋɡri/ A2	adjective - having a strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility.

Key Grammar Structures

• Been walking on a tightrope, juggling high hopes and reality

  ➔ Present Perfect Continuous

  ➔ The phrase "Been walking" uses the present perfect continuous tense to describe an action that started in the past and is still ongoing or has just finished, emphasizing its duration and continuous nature. It conveys a long-term struggle.

• Just trying not to mess up, tryna keep my head up, fighting gravity

  ➔ Gerunds as Nominals/Participles

  ➔ The words "trying" and "fighting" are gerunds, which are "-ing" forms of verbs acting as nouns or as part of a continuous action. "tryna" is a colloquial contraction of "trying to".

• I can't outrun growing up, I still feel like a kid

  ➔ Phrasal Verb + Gerund

  ➔ "outrun" is a phrasal verb meaning to escape something by running faster or to avoid. "growing up" is a gerund functioning as the object of the phrasal verb, indicating the process the speaker wants to avoid.

• It's your first time on Earth too

  ➔ Introductory "It" / Impersonal "It"

  ➔ "It's" (It is) is used here as an introductory or impersonal subject. It doesn't refer to a specific noun but introduces a general statement, fact, or situation.

• And I hope that you know that I don't blame you

  ➔ Noun Clauses (subordinate clauses acting as objects)

  ➔ The phrases "that you know" and "that I don't blame you" are noun clauses. They function as direct objects of the verbs "hope" and "know" respectively. The conjunction "that" can often be omitted in spoken or informal English.

• It's just pain that you were passing down

  ➔ Cleft Sentence (emphasis)

  ➔ This is a cleft sentence (specifically, an 'It-cleft') used to emphasize "pain". The structure 'It is/was X that/who Y' highlights X as the most important information.

• You were far from done growing up when you had a kid

  ➔ Adjective Phrase ("far from done") + Time Clause

  ➔ "far from done" is an idiomatic adjective phrase meaning 'not at all finished' or 'nowhere near completion'. "when you had a kid" is a time clause, indicating the circumstance or point in time.

• When you pass through the waters, I'll be with you

  ➔ Conditional Sentence (Type 1 with 'When' for certainty/probability)

  ➔ This sentence describes a future situation that is likely to happen ("When you pass through the waters") and its consequence ("I'll be with you"). "When" implies a high degree of certainty or expectation compared to "If".

• Oh, I'd forgive you if we still had time

  ➔ Conditional Sentence (Type 2 - Hypothetical Past)

  ➔ This is a Type 2 Conditional sentence, used to talk about an unreal or hypothetical situation in the present or future ("if we still had time") and its probable result ("I'd forgive you"). It implies that they do not have time.