One – English Lyrics

• By: Mary J. Blige, U2

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the layers of meaning in "One," a song that bridges rock and soul. Through its powerful lyrics about unity and division, you can explore complex emotional vocabulary and idiomatic expressions. The collaboration between U2's Bono and the 'Queen of Hip-Hop Soul' Mary J. Blige makes this a unique version to appreciate the nuances of vocal interpretation and how different artists can bring new life to a classic.

[English]

Is it getting better?

Or do you feel the same?

Will it make it easier on you now

You got someone to blame?

You say, one love, one life (One life)

It's one need in the night

One love (One love)

Get to share it

Leaves you darling

If you don't care for it

...

Mary

Did I disappoint you?

Or leave a bad taste in your mouth?

You act like you never had love

And you want me to go without

...

Well, it's too late, tonight

To drag the past out into the light

We're one, but we're not the same

We get to carry each other, carry each other

One (One)

One (Oh, oh, one)

One (One, oh-oh)

One (Oh-oh)

...

Have you come here for forgiveness?

Have you come to raise the dead?

Have you come here to play Jesus?

To the lepers in your head

Well, did I ask too much? More than a lot?

You gave me nothing, now it's all I got

We're one but we're not the same

See we, hurt each other then we do it again

You say, love is a temple, love is a higher law

Love is a temple, love is a higher law

You ask for me to enter but then you make me crawl

And I can't keep holding on to what you've got

'Cause all you got is hurt

...

One love, one blood

One life, you've got to do what you should

One life with each other

Sisters and my brothers

One life but we're not the same

We get to carry each other, carry each other

One

One

One

One

One

One

One love, one love

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - A deep feeling of affection or liking for someone or something. verb - To feel deep affection for someone or something.
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - The existence of an individual human being or animal.
same /seɪm/ A1	adjective - Identical; not different.
blame /bleɪm/ B1	verb - To assign responsibility for a fault or wrong. noun - Responsibility for a fault or wrong.
share /ʃeər/ A2	verb - To have, use, or experience something jointly with others.
care /keər/ A2	verb - To feel concern or interest; to look after and provide for the needs of someone or something. noun - Serious attention or consideration applied to doing something correctly or to avoiding damage or risk; a feeling of concern.
disappoint /ˌdɪsəˈpɔɪnt/ B1	verb - To fail to fulfill the hopes or expectations of someone.
taste /teɪst/ A2	noun - The sensation of flavor perceived in the mouth and throat on contact with a substance; a brief experience of something. verb - To perceive the flavor of something; to experience something briefly.
drag /dræɡ/ B1	verb - To pull someone or something along forcefully, roughly, or with difficulty; (figurative) to bring up or reveal something unpleasant from the past.
past /pɑːst/ A2	noun - The time that has gone by; events that have happened previously. adjective - Gone by in time; over.
light /laɪt/ A1	noun - The natural agent that makes things visible; illumination; (figurative) understanding or knowledge.
carry /ˈkæri/ A2	verb - To support and move (someone or something) from one place to another; (figurative) to support or help someone through difficulties.
forgiveness /fərˈɡɪvnəs/ B2	noun - The action or process of forgiving or being forgiven; ceasing to feel resentment against an offender.
raise /reɪz/ A2	verb - To lift or move to a higher position; to cause to appear or occur; (in context) to bring back to life.
dead /ded/ A2	adjective - No longer alive. noun - (The dead) People who have died.
hurt /hɜːrt/ A2	verb - To cause pain or injury to (a person, animal, or part of the body); to feel pain. noun - Physical injury or pain; emotional pain or distress.
temple /ˈtempəl/ B1	noun - A building devoted to the worship of a god or gods; a place of spiritual significance.
law /lɔː/ A2	noun - A system of rules that a particular country or community recognizes as regulating the actions of its members; a principle or rule.
crawl /krɔːl/ B1	verb - To move forward on the hands and knees or by dragging the body close to the ground; (figurative) to move very slowly or with difficulty, often in a subservient manner.
blood /blʌd/ A2	noun - The red liquid that circulates in the arteries and veins of humans and other vertebrate animals; (figurative) kinship or ancestry.

Key Grammar Structures

• Is it getting better?

  ➔ Present continuous tense

  ➔ The phrase uses the present continuous tense with 'is getting' to ask about an ongoing change or development.

• You say, one love, one life (One life)

  ➔ Reported speech

  ➔ The phrase 'You say' introduces reported speech, where the speaker is quoting or referencing someone else's words.

• Did I disappoint you?

  ➔ Past simple in questions

  ➔ The question uses the past simple tense with 'did' to inquire about a completed action in the past.

• We're one, but we're not the same

  ➔ Present simple with contraction

  ➔ The sentence uses contractions ('we're') in the present simple tense to state a general truth or ongoing condition.

• Have you come here for forgiveness?

  ➔ Present perfect in questions

  ➔ The question uses the present perfect tense with 'have come' to ask about an action that occurred in the past with results relevant to the present.

• We get to carry each other, carry each other

  ➔ Modal verb 'get to'

  ➔ The phrase uses the modal verb 'get to' to express opportunity or permission to perform an action.

• One love, one blood

  ➔ Noun + noun compound

  ➔ The phrase uses a noun + noun compound structure to create a new meaning, emphasizing unity and connection.

• You got someone to blame?

  ➔ Tag question

  ➔ The phrase ends with a tag question ('to blame?') to seek confirmation or to make the statement more conversational.