Live Like You Were Dying
Lyrics:
[English]
He said "I was in my early 40's
With a lot of life before me
When a moment came that stopped me on a dime
I spent most of the next days
Looking at the x-rays
Talkin' 'bout the options
And talkin' 'bout sweet times"
I asked him when it sank in
That this might really be the real end
How's it hit ya
When you get that kind of news?
Man whatcha do?
And he said
"I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin' "
And he said, "Some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin' "
He said, "I was finally the husband
That most the time I wasn't
And I became a friend a friend would like to have
And all of a sudden goin' fishin'
Wasn't such an imposition
And I went three times that year I lost my dad
Well I, I finally read the good book
And I took a good long hard look
At what I'd do if I could do it all again
And then"
"I went skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu
And I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin' "
And he said "Some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin' "
"Like tomorrow was a gift
And ya got eternity to think about what to do with it
What did do with it?
What did I do with it?
What would I do with it?"
"Skydiving
I went Rocky Mountain climbing
I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu
Then I loved deeper
And I spoke sweeter
And I watched an eagle as it was flyin'"
And he said "Some day I hope you get the chance
To live like you were dyin'
To live like you were dyin'
To live like you were dyin'
To live like you were dyin'
To live like you were dyin'"
Woo
...
Vocabulary in this song:
Vocabulary | Meanings |
---|---|
life /laɪf/ A1 |
|
time /taɪm/ A1 |
|
love /lʌv/ A1 |
|
die /daɪ/ A2 |
|
friend /frɛnd/ A1 |
|
day /deɪ/ A1 |
|
hope /hoʊp/ A2 |
|
mountain /ˈmaʊntən/ A2 |
|
husband /ˈhʌzbənd/ A2 |
|
chance /tʃæns/ B1 |
|
news /njuːz/ B1 |
|
gift /ɡɪft/ B1 |
|
bull /bʊl/ B1 |
|
skydiving /ˈskaɪdaɪvɪŋ/ B2 |
|
eternity /ɪˈtɜːrnəti/ B2 |
|
forgiveness /fərˈɡɪvnəs/ B2 |
|
Grammar:
-
I spent most of the next days looking at the x-rays
➔ Gerunds after prepositions ('of')
➔ The word "looking" is a gerund (verb ending in -ing used as a noun) and it functions as the object of the preposition "of". This shows an activity happening during the time spent.
-
I asked him when it sank in That this might really be the real end
➔ Indirect question with "when" + subordinate clause with "that" + modal verb "might"
➔ The sentence uses an indirect question introduced by "when". The clause "that this might really be the real end" is a subordinate clause introduced by "that" explaining the content of what he asked. "Might" expresses possibility.
-
I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin'
➔ Relative clause with omitted relative pronoun ('that' or 'which')
➔ The relative pronoun "that" or "which" is omitted between "forgiveness" and "I'd". The full sentence would be "I gave forgiveness that/which I had been denying". This omission is common in spoken and informal English.
-
That most the time I wasn't
➔ Ellipsis (omission of words) in a relative clause
➔ This is a shortened form of "That I wasn't most of the time". The words "the husband" are implied from the previous line and omitted here for brevity.
-
Wasn't such an imposition
➔ Negative construction with "such a/an"
➔ The phrase "wasn't such an imposition" uses "such" to emphasize the degree to which something is *not* an imposition. It means that going fishing became more appealing and less of a burden.
-
What I'd do if I could do it all again
➔ Second conditional (hypothetical situation in the present/future)
➔ This uses the second conditional to talk about a hypothetical situation in the present or future. "If I could do it all again" (past simple) expresses the condition, and "what I'd do" (would + infinitive) expresses the result.
-
Like tomorrow was a gift
➔ Subjunctive mood after 'as if' / 'as though' / 'like' (expressing unreal or hypothetical situations)
➔ The phrase "Like tomorrow was a gift" uses the subjunctive mood (were instead of was) to indicate that tomorrow being a gift is not a factual statement, but rather a feeling or perspective. 'Like' in this context means 'as if'. While "was" is increasingly accepted in informal usage, "were" is grammatically more correct in formal settings.