High – English Lyrics

• By: Grace VanderWaal

Lyrics & Translation

Grace VanderWaal's "High" is an intimate and reflective ballad that's perfect for learning vocabulary related to nostalgia and peaceful, 'soft as summer air' moments. The song’s simple, resonant storytelling and acoustic style offer a clear, emotionally grounded context for practicing listening comprehension and understanding expressions of longing and friendship.

[English]

Mmm

My breath starts to slow

In the front seat, saying "Man, it's been a long time"

Remember where we used to go

Rolling backwoods under streetlights

Oh, the air is soft and gentle, it's

Forgiving and kind

Oh, tell me what I'm thinking, are

You reading my mind?

Do you wanna get high?

White sugar in iced tea and porch light

I want you to show me

The warmth of a home and a bed

Clothes sticking to summer sweat

Do you wanna get high, high?

Oh, high, ooh

If I could freeze time

I'd take a piece of every season, we

We overstepped a line

A paper box vessel of misguided reason

The air is soft and gentle, it's

Forgiving and kind

Oh, tell me what I'm thinking, are

You reading my mind?

Do you wanna get high?

White sugar in iced tea and porch light

I want you to show me

The warmth of a home and a bed

Clothes sticking to summer sweat

Wanna get high

White sugar in iced tea and porch light

I want you to show me

The warmth of a home and a bed

Clothes sticking to summer sweat

Do you wanna get high, high?

Oh, high, ooh

Do you wanna get high, high?

Oh, high, ooh

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
slow /sloʊ/ A1	verb - to decrease in speed adjective - not fast
remember /rɪˈmɛmbər/ A2	verb - to recall or think of something from the past
rolling /ˈroʊlɪŋ/ A2	verb - to move in a circular motion
soft /sɒft/ A1	adjective - gentle and smooth
gentle /ˈdʒɛntəl/ A2	adjective - mild and kind
forgiving /fəˈrɪvɪŋ/ B1	adjective - willing to forgive
kind /kaɪnd/ A1	adjective - friendly and considerate
thinking /ˈθɪŋkɪŋ/ A1	verb - to have thoughts or ideas
high /haɪ/ A1	adjective - great in vertical extent adverb - at or to a great height
warmth /wɔrmθ/ B1	noun - the quality of being warm
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - a place where one lives
bed /bɛd/ A1	noun - a piece of furniture for sleeping
summer /ˈsʌmər/ A1	noun - the warmest season of the year
sweat /swɛt/ A2	noun - moisture excreted through the skin verb - to excrete moisture through the skin
freeze /friz/ A2	verb - to become solid due to cold
overstep /ˌoʊvərˈstɛp/ B2	verb - to go beyond a limit or boundary
misguided /ˌmɪsˈgaɪdɪd/ B2	adjective - wrongly directed or influenced
vessel /ˈvɛsəl/ B1	noun - a hollow container, especially for liquid
reason /ˈriːzən/ A2	noun - a cause or explanation

Key Grammar Structures

• My breath starts to slow

  ➔ Present Simple with 'starts'

  ➔ The verb 'starts' is in the present simple tense, indicating a habitual or general action. Here, it describes the beginning of the slowing of breath.

• Remember where we used to go

  ➔ Used to

  ➔ 'Used to' is employed to talk about past habits or states that are no longer true. Here, it refers to places the speaker and listener used to visit.

• Oh, the air is soft and gentle, it's / Forgiving and kind

  ➔ Comma splice

  ➔ A comma splice occurs when two independent clauses are joined by a comma without a coordinating conjunction. Here, 'Oh, the air is soft and gentle' and 'it's forgiving and kind' are connected by a comma.

• Do you wanna get high?

  ➔ Contraction 'wanna'

  ➔ 'Wanna' is a contraction of 'want to,' commonly used in informal speech. Here, it is used to ask if the listener wants to 'get high.'

• If I could freeze time

  ➔ Second conditional

  ➔ The second conditional is used to talk about hypothetical situations in the present or future that are unlikely to happen. Here, 'If I could freeze time' expresses an unreal condition.