Pretty Shining People – English Lyrics

• By: George Ezra
• Album: Gold Rush Kid

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into George Ezra's "Pretty Shining People," a folk-rock gem that perfectly balances relatable worries with an overwhelmingly positive outlook. Through its engaging narrative and catchy chorus, you can pick up conversational English expressions related to self-reflection and communal encouragement, discovering how music can bridge feelings of isolation with a powerful message of togetherness.

[English]

Me and Sam in the car talking 'bout America

Heading to the wishing well we've reached our last resort

I turned to him said, "Man help me out

I fear I'm on an island in an ocean full of change

Can't bring myself to dive into an ocean full of change

Am I losing touch

Am I losing touch now?"

He said

"Why, why, what a terrible time to be alive

If you're prone to overthinking and

Why, why, what a terrible time to be alive

If you're prone to second guessing"

Hey pretty smiling people

We're alright together

We're alright together

Hey pretty shining people

We're alright together

We're alright together, hey

Took it in turns to dream about the lottery

What we might have done if we had entered and had won

We're each convinced that nothing would have changed

But if this were the case why is it a conversation anyway?

Are we losing touch?

Are we losing touch now?

He said

"Why, why, what a terrible time to be alive

If you're prone to overthinking and

Why, why, what a terrible time to be alive

If you're prone to second guessing"

Hey pretty smiling people

We're alright together

We're alright together

Hey pretty shining people

We're alright together

We're alright together, hey

Don't we all need love?

The answer is easy

Don't we all need love?

The answer is easy

Hey pretty smiling people

We're alright together

We're alright together

Hey pretty shining people

We're alright together

We're alright together

Hey pretty smiling people

We're alright together

We're alright together

Hey pretty shining people

We're alright together

We're alright together, hey

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
ocean /ˈoʊʃən/ A2	noun - the vast body of salt water that covers much of the Earth's surface
island /ˈaɪlənd/ A2	noun - a piece of land surrounded by water
change /tʃeɪndʒ/ A2	noun - the process of becoming different; something that is different verb - to make something different or become different
touch /tʌtʃ/ A2	noun - the sense of touch; the act of touching verb - to make contact with
dream /driːm/ B1	noun - a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep; a cherished aspiration verb - to experience dreams during sleep; to hope for
lottery /ˈlɒtəri/ B1	noun - a drawing of lots to determine a prize
love /lʌv/ A2	noun - a strong affection for another person verb - to feel love for someone or something
conversation /ˌkɑːnvərˈseɪʃən/ B2	noun - a talk between two or more people
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the ongoing sequence of events; a point in time
people /ˈpiːpəl/ A2	noun - human beings in general; persons
fear /fɪər/ /fɪr/ B1	noun - an unpleasant emotion caused by threat verb - to be afraid
answer /ˈænsər/ B1	noun - a solution or reply verb - to reply
easy /ˈiːzi/ A2	adjective - not difficult; simple
smiling /ˈsmaɪlɪŋ/ A2	adjective - having a smile; showing happiness
shining /ˈʃaɪnɪŋ/ B1	adjective - emitting or reflecting light; bright
pretty /ˈprɪti/ A2	adjective - attractive or pleasant to look at
prone /proʊn/ B2	adjective - likely to suffer from or experience something
won /wʌn/ A2	verb - past tense of win; to have achieved victory

Key Grammar Structures

• I fear I'm on an island in an ocean full of change

  ➔ Present Simple for stating feelings and Present Continuous contraction ('I'm')

  ➔ The verb 'fear' shows a current feeling (present simple). 'I'm' is a contraction of 'I am' showing the present continuous state of being on the island.

• Can't bring myself to dive into an ocean full of change

  ➔ Modal verb 'can't' for ability/possibility and reflexive pronoun 'myself'

  ➔ 'Can't' expresses inability, while 'myself' emphasizes the subject doing the action on themselves.

• Am I losing touch now?

  ➔ Present Continuous in question form, subject-auxiliary inversion

  ➔ The question uses present continuous tense with inversion: 'Am' before 'I' to form a yes/no question.

• "Why, why, what a terrible time to be alive"

  ➔ Exclamative sentence structure expressing strong emotion

  ➔ 'What a terrible time' is an exclamative phrase emphasizing the negativity of the situation.

• If you're prone to overthinking and...

  ➔ Conditional clause using 'if' + Present Simple tense

  ➔ The clause introduces a condition under which the main statement applies, using present simple.

• Took it in turns to dream about the lottery

  ➔ Past simple tense with the expression 'take it in turns' (idiomatic phrase)

  ➔ 'Took' is past simple, indicating completed action. 'Take it in turns' means doing something alternately.

• Are we losing touch now?

  ➔ Present continuous question with subject-auxiliary inversion and interrogative form

  ➔ Formed by inverting the auxiliary 'are' and subject 'we' to ask a yes/no question.

• Don't we all need love?

  ➔ Negative question using auxiliary 'do' + subject + main verb

  ➔ The negative question is used to express surprise or to confirm a positive expectation.