I Knew It, I Knew You – English Lyrics

• By: Taylor Swift

Lyrics & Translation

This song is a fantastic tool for English learners to practice recognizing the 'past perfect' and 'past simple' tenses while exploring conversational idioms about relationships and intuition. Its clear articulation and rhythmic chorus make it a special, engaging piece to help improve auditory comprehension.

[English]

I knew you

Through the daze of the blades of the grass in summer

Parachutes for the free fall of being younger

I memorized the sound of your bare footsteps

Running wild, it's been a long time

Life has ways of leaving those days behind

But seeing you tonight

I remembered I loved you

Came back when it mattered

I saw you, standing there in the light of the window

Wearing that same smile

Man, it's been a while

But I knew it, I knew you

I knew it, I knew you

I knew you, all your blues like a mood ring changing colors

You did too, there were times we could fight like brothers (Oh)

I watched you drive around the bend

For what I thought would be the last time I saw my friend

But love has ways of bringing things back to life

All you said was, "Hi"

And I remembered I loved you

Came back when it mattered

I saw you, standing there in the light of the window

Wearing that same smile

Man, it's been a while

But I knew it, I knew you (I knew, I knew)

I knew it, I knew you (I knew, I knew)

I knew it, I knew you (I knew, I knew)

Oh, the rivers I cried when we said goodbye

Wondering if I'd made it up in my mind

But now you look me in the eye

And you told me I loved you

Came back when it mattered

I saw you, standing there in the light of the window

Wearing that same smile

Yeah, it's been a while (Yeah, it's been a while)

Wearing that same smile

Man, it's been a while

Wearing that same smile

Man, it's been a while

But I knew it, I knew you (Ooh, I knew you)

I knew it, I knew you

Wearing that same smile (Ooh, I knew you)

I knew it, I knew you (Ooh, I knew you)

I knew it, I knew you (Ooh, I knew you)

I knew it

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
daze /deɪz/ C1	noun - a state of stunned confusion
parachutes /ˈpærəʃuːts/ B2	noun - cloth canopies used to slow a descent
memorized /ˈmɛməraɪzd/ B2	verb - to commit to memory
footsteps /ˈfʊtstɛps/ B1	noun - the sound of someone walking
mattered /ˈmætərd/ B1	verb - to be of importance
window /ˈwɪndoʊ/ A1	noun - an opening in a wall to let in light/air
smile /smaɪl/ A1	noun - a facial expression indicating pleasure
blues /bluːz/ B2	noun - feelings of sadness or depression
mood /muːd/ A2	noun - a temporary state of mind
colors /ˈkʌlərz/ A1	noun - visual perception of hue
brothers /ˈbrʌðərz/ A1	noun - male siblings
watched /wɒtʃt/ A2	verb - to look at or observe attentively
drive /draɪv/ A2	verb - to operate a vehicle
rivers /ˈrɪvərz/ A1	noun - large natural streams of water
wondering /ˈwʌndərɪŋ/ B1	verb - feeling doubt or curiosity

Key Grammar Structures

• It's been a long time

  ➔ Present Perfect Tense

  ➔ Use "'s been" (has been) to describe a state that started in the past and continues to the present or has relevance now.

• Life has ways of leaving those days behind

  ➔ Gerund as Object of Preposition

  ➔ The verb "leaving" functions as a noun following the preposition "of".

• I watched you drive around the bend

  ➔ Verb of Perception + Object + Bare Infinitive

  ➔ After the verb "watched", we use the base form "drive" to show the entire action was observed.

• Wondering if I'd made it up in my mind

  ➔ Past Perfect Tense

  ➔ "I'd made" (I had made) refers to an action completed before the moment of wondering in the past.

• There were times we could fight like brothers

  ➔ Modal Verb of Ability in the Past

  ➔ "Could" is used here to indicate the possibility or frequency of an action occurring in the past.

• For what I thought would be the last time

  ➔ Future in the Past

  ➔ We use "would be" to describe a future intention or prediction seen from a past perspective.

• I saw you, standing there

  ➔ Participle Clause

  ➔ "Standing" is a present participle used to describe the state of the object at the time of seeing.

• Life has ways of bringing things back to life

  ➔ Idiomatic usage: 'have ways of'

  ➔ This phrase suggests that life possesses certain methods or tendencies to make things happen.