Home – English Lyrics

• By: Passenger
• Album: All The Little Lights (Anniversary Edition)

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the soul-stirring world of Passenger's "Home." This beautiful acoustic folk song offers rich, thoughtful lyrics that explore universal themes of identity, belonging, and emotion, making it an excellent choice for language learners to engage with authentic, poetic English.

[English]

They say home is where the heart is

But my heart is wild and free

So am I homeless

Or just heartless?

Did I start this?

Did it start me?

...

...

They say fear is for the brave

For cowards never stare it in the eye

So am I fearless to be fearful

Does it take courage to learn how to cry

So many winding roads

So many miles to go

And oh.

...

Oh they say love is for the loving

Without love maybe nothing is real

So am I loveless or do I just love less

Oh since love left

I have nothing left to fear

...

So many winding roads

So many miles to go

When I start feeling sick of it all

It helps to remember I'm a brick in a wall

Who runs down from the hillside to the sea

...

When I start feeling that it's gone too far

I lie on my back and stare up at the stars

I wonder if they're staring back at me

Oh when I start feeling sick of it all

It helps to remember I'm a brick in a wall

Who runs down from the hillside to the sea

When I start feeling that it's gone too far

I lie on my back and stare up at the stars

I wonder if they're staring back at me

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives permanently
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - the organ that pumps blood through the body
wild /waɪld/ B1	adjective - living or growing in the natural environment; not domesticated or cultivated.
free /friː/ A1	adjective - not under the control or power of someone else
fear /fɪər/ A2	noun - an unpleasant emotion caused by the perception of danger, pain, or threat
brave /breɪv/ B1	adjective - ready to face and endure danger or pain; showing courage
cowards /ˈkaʊərdz/ B2	noun - a person who lacks courage to do or endure dangerous or unpleasant things.
eye /aɪ/ A1	noun - the organ of sight
courage /ˈkɜːrɪdʒ/ B2	noun - the ability to do something that frightens one
roads /roʊdz/ A1	noun - a wide way leading from one place to another
winding /ˈwaɪndɪŋ/ B2	adjective - with bends and turns
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of affection
left /left/ A1	verb - past tense of leave, to go away from
feeling /ˈfiːlɪŋ/ A2	noun - an emotional state or reaction
sick /sɪk/ A2	adjective - affected by illness; not in good health
brick /brɪk/ A2	noun - a rectangular block of baked clay used for building walls, etc.
wall /wɔːl/ A1	noun - a long, solid, vertical structure made of stone, brick, etc.
stars /stɑːrz/ A1	noun - fixed luminous point in the night sky
wonder /ˈwʌndər/ B1	verb - to feel curiosity or doubt about something

Key Grammar Structures

• They say home is where the heart is

  ➔ Indirect Speech with Present Simple

  ➔ This uses the structure "They say + subject + is + complement" to report a common saying. It reports what 'people' generally believe. The present simple "is" indicates a general truth.

• So am I homeless Or just heartless?

  ➔ Inversion (in questions with 'am')

  ➔ Normally, it would be "I am homeless". But in a question, the auxiliary verb "am" comes before the subject "I". The conjunction "Or" presents two options

• For cowards never stare it in the eye

  ➔ Adverb of Frequency (never)

  ➔ The adverb of frequency "never" indicates that cowards do not, at any time, stare fear in the eye. It shows a 0% occurrence.

• Does it take courage to learn how to cry

  ➔ Infinitive as a Noun (to learn)

  ➔ The phrase "to learn how to cry" functions as the subject of the verb "does take". Here, the infinitive phrase acts like a noun.

• So many winding roads So many miles to go

  ➔ Quantifiers 'So many' with countable nouns

  ➔ "So many" is used to indicate a large quantity of countable nouns (roads, miles). It emphasizes the large number.

• Without love maybe nothing is real

  ➔ Modal adverb (maybe) & Zero conditional (implied)

  ➔ "Maybe" expresses possibility or uncertainty. While not explicitly a zero conditional, the sentence implies one: If there is no love, then nothing is real (general truth).

• It helps to remember I'm a brick in a wall

  ➔ It + helps + to + infinitive

  ➔ The structure "It helps to + infinitive" expresses that something is useful or beneficial. In this case, remembering one's role (a brick in a wall) is helpful.

• Who runs down from the hillside to the sea

  ➔ Relative Clause (Who)

  ➔ "Who" introduces a relative clause that provides more information about the brick in the wall. It describes the action of the brick.