More to Lose – English Lyrics

• By: Miley Cyrus
• Album: Something Beautiful

Lyrics & Translation

“More to Lose” by Miley Cyrus offers a deeply emotional and relatable journey through the complexities of love and heartbreak. Its raw vulnerability and poignant lyrics, rich with metaphors, provide an excellent opportunity for language learners to engage with authentic English expressions of sorrow, indecision, and the struggle to let go. The song's stripped-down production allows Miley's powerful and expressive vocals to shine, making every word resonate with sincerity and offering a clear, accessible way to understand emotional nuance in English.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
stay /steɪ/ A1	verb - to remain in a place
lose /luːz/ A1	verb - to be deprived of something
road /roʊd/ A1	noun - a way or course
liar /ˈlaɪər/ B1	noun - a person who tells lies
star /stɑːr/ A1	noun - a famous or talented performer
coat /koʊt/ A1	noun - an outer garment
throw /θroʊ/ A1	verb - to propel with force
mind /maɪnd/ A2	noun - the element that reasons, thinks, feels, perceives, wills, and judges
ecstasy /ˈekstəsi/ C1	noun - an overwhelming feeling of great happiness or joyful excitement
pray /preɪ/ B1	verb - to address a solemn request or expression of thanks to God or another deity
true /truː/ A1	adjective - in accordance with fact or reality
choose /tʃuːz/ A2	verb - to pick out; select
tears /tɪərz/ A2	noun - drops of clear salty liquid secreted from glands in the eye
show /ʃoʊ/ A1	noun - a theatrical performance or entertainment
memories /ˈmeməriz/ B1	noun - something remembered from the past
fade /feɪd/ B1	verb - to gradually grow faint and disappear
denim /ˈdenɪm/ B1	noun - a sturdy cotton twill fabric, typically blue, used for jeans, overalls, and other clothing
pride /praɪd/ B1	noun - a feeling of deep pleasure or satisfaction derived from one's own achievements, the achievements of one's close associates, or from qualities or possessions that are widely admired

Key Grammar Structures

• The more I stay, the less I go

  ➔ Comparative structure with 'the more...the less'

  ➔ 'The more...the less' indicates a proportional relationship between two actions or qualities.

• Say I'm leavin', but I'm only playin' liar

  ➔ Use of the present simple tense for reported speech and actions

  ➔ The song uses the present simple tense to describe ongoing or habitual actions, especially in reported speech.

• I stay when the ecstasy is far away

  ➔ Use of the simple present tense to express habitual actions or states

  ➔ The simple present tense describes habitual actions or general truths.

• And I pray that it's comin' 'round again

  ➔ Use of the present continuous tense ('is coming') for ongoing actions

  ➔ The present continuous tense describes actions that are happening at the moment of speaking or are ongoing.

• I just thought we had more to lose

  ➔ Use of past perfect tense ('had') to express a completed action or state before another past moment

  ➔ Past perfect tense indicates an action completed before another past action or time.

• And you say it, but I wish it wasn't true

  ➔ Use of the second conditional structure ('if...wasn't') for expressing unreal or hypothetical situations

  ➔ Second conditional structures talk about unreal or hypothetical situations using 'if' + past tense.

• I just thought we had more to lose

  ➔ Past simple tense for expressing completed thoughts or perceptions in the past

  ➔ Past simple is used to describe completed thoughts or perceptions at a specific past time.