First Time – English Lyrics

• By: Hozier
• Album: Unreal Unearth

Lyrics & Translation

Embark on a lyrical journey with Hozier's "First Time," a song rich with poetic depth and profound themes. Through its intricate storytelling and evocative imagery, you can delve into English vocabulary related to love, transformation, and Greek mythology. Discover how Hozier masterfully crafts narratives that resonate with universal human experiences, making this a unique and rewarding listen for language learners.

[English]

Remember once I told you about

How before I heard it from your mouth

My name would always hit my ears as such an awful sound?

And the soul, if that's what you'd call it

Uneasy ally of the body

It felt nameless as a river undiscovered underground

And the first time that you kissed me

I drank dry the River Lethe

The Liffey would have been softer on my stomach all the same

But you spoke some quick new music

That went so far to soothe this soul

As it was and ever shall be, unearth without a name

Some part of me must have died

The first time that you called me "baby"

And some part of me came alive

The first time that you called me "baby"

These days, I think I owe my life

To flowers that were left here by my mother

Ain't that like them, gifting life to you again

This life lived mostly underground

Unknowing either sight nor sound

'Til reaching up for sunlight just to be ripped out by the stem

Sensing only now it's dying

Drying out, then drowning blindly

Blooming forth its every colour

In the moments it has left

To share the space with simple living things

Infinitely suffering, but fighting off like all creation

The absence of itself, anyway

Some part of me must have died

Each time that you called me "baby"

And some part of me stayed alive

Each time that you called, each time that you called

Come here

Ooh-la-la, ooh-la-la

Whatever keeps you around, it keeps you around

Ooh-la-la, come here, ooh-la-la

Whatever keeps you around, it keeps you around

The last time it was heard out loud

The perfect genius of our hands and mouths were shocked

To resignation as the arguing declined

When I was young, I used to guess

Are there limits to any emptiness?

When was the last time?

Come here to me, when was the last time?

Some part of me must have died

The final time you called me "baby"

But some part of me came alive

The final time you called me "baby"

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
kiss /kɪs/ A2	verb - to touch or press with the lips as a sign of love or greeting noun - a gesture of affection involving pressing lips together
river /ˈrɪvər/ B1	noun - a large natural stream of water flowing in a channel to the sea, a lake, or another river noun - a large flow or movement resembling a stream of water
soul /soʊl/ B2	noun - the spiritual or immaterial part of a human being, often regarded as immortal
underground /ˌʌndərˈɡraʊnd/ B2	adjective - beneath the surface of the ground
flower /ˈflaʊər/ A2	noun - the blossom of a plant
native /ˈneɪtɪv/ B2	adjective - born in a particular place or country
create /kriˈeɪt/ B1	verb - to bring something into existence
meaning /ˈmiːnɪŋ/ B2	noun - the idea that a word or phrase represents
alive /əˈlaɪv/ B1	adjective - living; not dead
drown /draʊn/ B2	verb - to die by submersion in water
drowning /ˈdraʊnɪŋ/ B2	verb (gerund) - the act of suffocating in water
shocked /ʃɒkt/ or /ʃɑːkt/ B2	adjective - surprised or upset by something unexpected
limit /ˈlɪmɪt/ B1	noun - a point beyond which something does not or cannot extend verb - to restrict or reduce
emptiness /ˈɛmptɪnəs/ C1	noun - the state of containing nothing; void or vacancy

Key Grammar Structures

• My name would always hit my ears as such an awful sound

  ➔ Conditional tense with 'would' to express habitual or hypothetical situations

  ➔ 'Would' is used here to indicate a habitual or imagined reaction in the past

• I drank dry the River Lethe

  ➔ Simple past tense to describe a completed action

  ➔ The verb 'drank' is the past tense of 'drink', indicating a completed action in the past

• The soul, if that's what you'd call it

  ➔ Second conditional or hypothetical clause using 'if' to discuss a situation contrary to fact

  ➔ The phrase 'if that's what you'd call it' introduces a hypothetical or doubtful statement

• Some part of me must have died

  ➔ Modal verb 'must' with perfect infinitive to express deduction or certainty about a past event

  ➔ 'Must have died' suggests a logical conclusion or strong belief about what happened in the past

• Come here to me, when was the last time?

  ➔ Interrogative sentence using 'when' to ask about the time of a past event

  ➔ 'When was the last time?' is used to inquire about the most recent occurrence of an event

• The final time you called me 'baby'

  ➔ Superlative noun 'final' used with 'time' to specify the last occurrence

  ➔ 'Final time' indicates the last occurrence of an action or event