How You Remind Me – English Lyrics

• By: Nickelback
• Album: No Fixed Address

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Nickelback's iconic track, "How You Remind Me," and explore the raw emotion and relatable storytelling that made it a global hit. This post-grunge anthem, born from personal conflict, offers powerful lyrics about self-reflection and troubled relationships. Learning the song's context and meaning can deepen your understanding of English expressions related to regret, introspection, and complex emotional dynamics in everyday conversation. Its direct and impactful language provides a strong foundation for grasping authentic rock lyricism.

[English]

Never made it as a wise man

I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing

Tired of living like a blind man

I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling

And this is how you remind me

This is how you remind me

Of what I really am

This is how you remind me

Of what I really am

It's not like you to say "Sorry"

I was waiting on a different story

This time, I'm mistaken

For handing you a heart worth breaking

And I've been wrong, I've been down

Been to the bottom of every bottle

These five words in my head

Scream, "Are we having fun yet?"

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no

It's not like you didn't know that

I said, "I love you," and I swear, I still do

And it must have been so bad

'Cause living with me must have damn near killed you

And this is how you remind me

Of what I really am

This is how you remind me

Of what I really am

It's not like you to say "Sorry"

I was waiting on a different story

This time, I'm mistaken

For handing you a heart worth breaking

And I've been wrong, I've been down

Been to the bottom of every bottle

These five words in my head

Scream, "Are we having fun yet?"

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no

Yeah, yeah, yeah, no, no

...

Never made it as a wise man

I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing

And this is how you remind me

This is how you remind me

This is how you remind me

Of what I really am

This is how you remind me

Of what I really am

It's not like you to say "Sorry"

I was waiting on a different story

This time I'm mistaken

For handing you a heart worth breaking

And I've been wrong, I've been down

Been to the bottom of every bottle

These five words in my head

Scream, "Are we having fun yet?"

Yeah, yeah, are we having fun yet?

Yeah, yeah, are we having fun yet?

Yeah, yeah, are we having fun yet?

Yeah, yeah

No, no

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
wise /waɪz/ B2	adjective - having or showing experience, knowledge, and good judgment
poor /pʊr/ A1	adjective - lacking sufficient money to live at a standard considered comfortable or normal in a society
stealing /ˈstiːlɪŋ/ B1	verb - taking (another person's property) without permission or legal right and without intending to return it.
tired /ˈtaɪərd/ A2	adjective - in need of sleep or rest; weary.
blind /blaɪnd/ B1	adjective - unable to see.
sight /saɪt/ A2	noun - the ability to see.
feeling /ˈfiːlɪŋ/ A2	noun - an emotional state or reaction.
story /ˈstɔːri/ A1	noun - an account of imaginary or real people and events told for entertainment.
mistaken /mɪˈsteɪkən/ B2	adjective - wrong in one's opinion or judgment.
heart /hɑːrt/ A1	noun - a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system by rhythmic contraction and dilation.
breaking /ˈbreɪkɪŋ/ A2	verb - separate into pieces as a result of a blow, shock, or strain.
wrong /rɔːŋ/ A1	adjective - not correct or true; incorrect.
bottom /ˈbɑːtəm/ A2	noun - the lowest point or part of something.
bottle /ˈbɑːtl/ A1	noun - a container, typically made of glass or plastic and with a narrow neck, used for storing liquids.
head /hed/ A1	noun - the part of the body above the neck where the eyes, nose, mouth, ears, and brain are.
scream /skriːm/ B1	verb - give a long, loud, piercing cry or cries expressing extreme emotion or pain.
fun /fʌn/ A1	noun - enjoyment or amusement.
swear /swer/ B1	verb - to make a solemn statement or promise undertaking to do something or affirming that something is the case.
bad /bæd/ A1	adjective - of poor quality or a low standard.
killed /kɪld/ A2	verb - cause the death of (a person, animal, or other living thing).

Key Grammar Structures

• Never made it as a wise man

  ➔ Past Simple with 'never' (negative adverb)

  ➔ Uses the past simple to describe a past inability or failure. '"Never"' modifies the verb to indicate that the action ('made it') never happened.

• I couldn't cut it as a poor man stealing

  ➔ Modal verb 'couldn't' + infinitive 'cut' + 'as' (preposition indicating role/function) + present participle 'stealing' (gerund functioning as a noun modifier)

  ➔ '"Couldn't cut it"' means wasn't good enough/successful. '"As"' means 'in the role of'. '"Stealing"' modifies 'poor man', suggesting the poor man is engaging in the act of stealing.

• Tired of living like a blind man

  ➔ Adjective 'Tired' (functioning as a predicate adjective) + preposition 'of' + gerund 'living' + preposition 'like' + noun phrase 'a blind man'

  ➔ '"Tired of"' indicates being weary or fed up with something. '"Living like a blind man"' uses a simile to express a lack of awareness or direction in life.

• I'm sick of sight without a sense of feeling

  ➔ 'Be sick of' (idiom indicating annoyance) + noun 'sight' + preposition 'without' + noun phrase 'a sense of feeling'

  ➔ '"Sick of"' is a stronger way of saying 'tired of'. It implies strong dislike. The line suggests having superficial awareness without genuine emotional connection.

• It's not like you to say "Sorry"

  ➔ It + be + not + like + [pronoun] + to + infinitive

  ➔ This structure expresses that something is out of character for someone. 'It's not like you to...' indicates that the action is unexpected or unusual for the person.

• I was waiting on a different story

  ➔ Past Continuous Tense ('was waiting') + preposition 'on' (used idiomatically with 'wait' to mean 'awaiting') + indefinite article 'a' + adjective 'different' + noun 'story'

  ➔ Past continuous shows an action in progress in the past. 'Waiting on' means expecting. The line implies the speaker anticipated a better outcome or explanation.

• For handing you a heart worth breaking

  ➔ Preposition 'For' + gerund 'handing' + indirect object 'you' + direct object 'a heart' + relative clause reduced to adjective phrase 'worth breaking'

  ➔ This line expresses regret or self-blame for offering someone a vulnerable part of oneself. 'Worth breaking' means 'valuable enough to be broken' (though used ironically here).

• These five words in my head

  ➔ Demonstrative adjective 'These' + cardinal number 'five' + noun 'words' + preposition 'in' + possessive adjective 'my' + noun 'head'

  ➔ This line sets up a situation where a specific phrase is constantly repeating in the speaker's mind. It's a fairly straightforward grammatical structure.

• Scream, "Are we having fun yet?"

  ➔ Verb 'Scream' (imperative, implying the words are being shouted internally) + direct speech enclosed in quotation marks: interrogative clause 'Are we having fun yet?' (present continuous tense)

  ➔ '"Scream"' is used metaphorically to emphasize the intensity and intrusiveness of the thought. The quoted question is a sarcastic rhetorical question suggesting the opposite – that the situation is not enjoyable.