I Lived – English Lyrics

• By: OneRepublic

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into OneRepublic's powerful anthem "I Lived" – a song that encapsulates the universal message of living life without regrets and embracing every challenge. Its clear, motivating lyrics and emotional delivery make it an excellent choice for English language learners, offering practical vocabulary related to resilience, aspirations, and overcoming adversity. Discover how this song, filled with hope and universal applicability, can inspire your language journey while exploring themes of personal growth and making the most of every day.

[English]

Hope when you take that jump

You don't fear the fall

Hope when the water rises

You built a wall

Hope when the crowd screams out

It's screaming your name

Hope if everybody runs

You choose to stay

Hope that you fall in love

And it hurts so bad

The only way you can know

You give it all you have

And I hope that you don't suffer

But take the pain

Hope when the moment comes you'll say

I, I did it all

I, I did it all

I owned every second that this world could give

I saw so many places

The things that I did

Yeah, with every broken bone

I swear I lived

Hope that you spend your days

But they all add up

And when that sun goes down

Hope you raise your cup

Oh, oh

I wish that I could witness

All your joy

And all your pain

But until my moment comes, I'll say

I, I did it all

I, I did it all

I owned every second that this world could give

I saw so many places

The things that I did

Yeah, with every broken bone

I swear I lived

Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Oh, whoa-oh-oh, oh, whoa-oh-oh

(With every broken bone)

I swear I lived

(With every broken bone)

I swear I

I, I did it all

I, I did it all

I owned every second that this world could give

I saw so many places

The things that I did

Yeah with every broken bone

I swear I lived

Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

I swear I lived

Oh, whoa-oh-oh-oh, oh-oh

Oh, whoa-oh-oh, oh, whoa-oh-oh

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
jump /dʒʌmp/ A1	verb - to push oneself off a surface and into the air using the legs noun - an act of jumping
fear /fɪər/ A2	noun - an unpleasant emotion caused by the perception of danger, pain, or threat verb - be afraid of (someone or something) as likely to be dangerous, painful, or threatening
fall /fɔːl/ A1	verb - to drop down unintentionally noun - an act of falling
water /ˈwɔːtər/ A1	noun - a colorless, transparent, odorless, and tasteless liquid
rises /ˈraɪzɪz/ A1	verb - to move upwards
wall /wɔːl/ A1	noun - a continuous vertical brick or stone structure that encloses or divides an area of land
crowd /kraʊd/ A2	noun - a large number of people gathered together
screams /skriːmz/ B1	verb - to give a loud, piercing cry
name /neɪm/ A1	noun - a word or set of words by which a person, animal, place, or thing is known
runs /rʌnz/ A1	verb - to move at a speed faster than a walk; never having both feet on the ground at the same time.
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of affection
hurts /hɜːrts/ A2	verb - cause physical pain or injury to
suffer /ˈsʌfər/ B1	verb - experience or be subjected to (something bad or unpleasant)
pain /peɪn/ A2	noun - physical suffering or discomfort caused by illness or injury
owned /oʊnd/ B1	verb - have (something) as one's own; possess
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries, peoples, and natural features.
places /ˈpleɪsɪz/ A1	noun - a particular position or point in space
broken /ˈbroʊkən/ A2	adjective - having been fractured or damaged and no longer in one piece or in working order.
bone /boʊn/ A1	noun - any of the pieces of hard, whitish tissue making up the skeleton in humans and other vertebrates.
lived /lɪvd/ A1	verb - remained alive
days /deɪz/ A1	noun - each of the twenty-four-hour periods, reckoned from one midnight to the next, into which a year is divided, and corresponding to a rotation of the earth on its axis.
sun /sʌn/ A1	noun - the star that provides light and heat to Earth
joy /dʒɔɪ/ B1	noun - a feeling of great pleasure and happiness
moment /ˈmoʊmənt/ A2	noun - a very short period of time

Key Grammar Structures

• Hope when you take that jump You don't fear the fall

  ➔ Subjunctive Mood (in 'Hope' clauses)

  ➔ The use of "hope" here implies a desire or wish. While not explicitly using the subjunctive in a typical way, it expresses a desired outcome. The phrase "you don't fear the fall" expresses a hope that someone *will not* fear. Though simpler sentence structures could have been used, this usage emphasizes wishing for a positive attitude in a difficult moment.

• Hope when the water rises You built a wall

  ➔ Past Simple Tense (for a hypothetical situation after 'Hope')

  ➔ Again, the 'Hope' clause sets up a hypothetical scenario. "You built a wall" is in the past simple, not literally meaning that the person *has* built a wall, but expressing the wish that *if* the water rises, the person *would have* built a wall to protect themselves. It's a form of wishing for a proactive response.

• Hope that you fall in love And it hurts so bad

  ➔ Result Clauses with 'so...that'

  ➔ The phrase implies a consequence of falling in love. Although the "that" is omitted (a common practice), the implied structure is "It hurts *so* bad *that*...". It emphasizes the intensity of the pain that can come with love, suggesting it's a necessary part of the experience.

• The only way you can know You give it all you have

  ➔ Relative Clause (reduced) and 'All' as pronoun

  ➔ "The only way you can know" implies a relative clause, "The only way *that* you can know". The relative pronoun "that" is omitted, making it a reduced relative clause. "All you have" functions as a noun phrase; you give *everything* you possess.

• I owned every second that this world could give

  ➔ Past Simple Tense, Relative Clause with omitted relative pronoun

  ➔ The sentence uses past simple "owned" to talk about something that happened in the past and is now complete. "that this world could give" is a relative clause modifying "every second". The relative pronoun ("that" or "which") is omitted.

• Yeah, with every broken bone I swear I lived

  ➔ Ellipsis (omission of words)

  ➔ The phrase "with every broken bone" implies a condition or circumstance. There's an ellipsis in the sentence. It's short for "Even with every broken bone, I swear I lived." The implied conjunction (even with/despite) shows the relationship between suffering and a fulfilling life.