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:
-
When a moment came that stopped me on a dime
➔ Relative Clause (that stopped me...)
➔ The relative clause "that stopped me on a dime" modifies "a moment". It provides essential information about the type of moment being described.
-
Looking at the x-rays
➔ Gerund phrase as a verb complement
➔ "Looking at the x-rays" is a gerund phrase acting as a verb complement; indicating what he spent his time doing.
-
That this might really be the real end
➔ Indirect Speech/Reported Speech with 'might'
➔ The use of "might" indicates a possibility or uncertainty in the reported speech. The original statement likely contained "may" or "might".
-
Man whatcha do?
➔ Informal contraction of 'What are you going to do?'
➔ "Whatcha" is a colloquial contraction of "What are you" or "What are you going to". It demonstrates informal speech patterns.
-
I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin'
➔ Past Perfect Continuous (I'd been denyin')
➔ The past perfect continuous ("I'd been denyin'") indicates an action that was in progress for a period of time before another action in the past (giving forgiveness). It emphasizes the duration of the denial.
-
That most the time I wasn't
➔ Ellipsis (omission of words) - I wasn't [the husband].
➔ The phrase is incomplete, with the implied words "the husband" omitted. This is a common technique in informal speech to avoid repetition.
-
Wasn't such an imposition
➔ Negative construction with 'such'
➔ "Wasn't such an imposition" uses "such" to emphasize the degree to which something was *not* an imposition, highlighting the change in perspective.
-
Like tomorrow was a gift
➔ Subjunctive mood (was)
➔ The use of "was" instead of "were" with "tomorrow" in "Like tomorrow was a gift" is an example of the subjunctive mood expressing a hypothetical or contrary-to-fact situation. Though grammatically "were" is more correct, "was" is often used colloquially.