Red, White and Jersey – English Lyrics

• By: Bon Jovi
• Album: Forever (Legendary Edition)

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the heart of New Jersey through Bon Jovi's 'Red, White and Jersey,' a song that encapsulates the essence of home and youthful dreams. This track offers a vibrant look at American culture and the power of nostalgia, making it a perfect tune to learn English through music .

[English]

[OCEAN SOUNDS]

♪♪♪

♪ I KNEW BEFORE I KNEW YA ♪

♪ THAT YOU WERE GOING TO BE THE ONE ♪

♪ SLOW DANCING IN THE FAST LANE ♪

♪ THAT’S JUST WHAT YOU DO WHERE WE COME FROM ♪

♪ WHEN YOU LEANED IN TO KISS ME ♪

♪ SAID "BOY YOU DON’T DESERVE ME" ♪

♪ YEAH, WE STARTED CRACKING UP ♪

♪ BUT NOW LOOK AT US, LOOK AT US, LOOK AT US ♪

♪ YEAH WE HELD ON TIGHT, LOOKING UP ALL NIGHT ♪

♪ AT THE LIGHTS OF NEW YORK CITY ♪

♪ WHEN YOU’RE 17 THOSE ARE CRAZY DREAMS ♪

♪ BUT YOU DREAMED THEM RIGHT THERE WITH ME ♪

♪ IT AIN’T NO SURPRISE THAT YOUR BLUE EYES ♪

♪ STILL FEEL LIKE HOME TO ME ♪

♪ WE’LL ALWAYS BE RED, WHITE AND JERSEY ♪

♪ THAT SUMMER WITH THE TOP DOWN ♪

♪ WE WERE SINGING ALONG TO “AMERICAN GIRL” ♪

♪ BIG TIMING IN A SMALL TOWN ♪

♪ IT WAS YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD ♪

♪ YEAH WE BOTH DIDN’T KNOW ANY BETTER ♪

♪ THAN TO LIVE LIKE THAT FOREVER ♪

♪ YEAH WE HELD ON TIGHT, LOOKING UP ALL NIGHT ♪

♪ AT THE LIGHTS OF NEW YORK CITY ♪

♪ WHEN YOU’RE 17 THOSE ARE CRAZY DREAMS ♪

♪ BUT YOU DREAMED THEM RIGHT THERE WITH ME ♪

♪ IT AIN’T NO SURPRISE THAT YOUR BLUE EYES ♪

♪ STILL FEEL LIKE HOME TO ME ♪

♪ WE’LL ALWAYS BE ♪

♪ RED, WHITE AND JERSEY ♪

♪♪♪

♪ NOW WHERE HAVE ALL THOSE SUMMERS GONE ♪

♪ HERE WE ARE STILL GOING STRONG ♪

♪ GOING STRONG, GOING STRONG ♪

♪ WE HELD ON TIGHT, LOOKING UP ALL NIGHT ♪

♪ AT THE LIGHTS OF NEW YORK CITY ♪

♪ WHEN YOU’RE 17 THOSE ARE CRAZY DREAMS ♪

♪ BUT YOU DREAMED THEM RIGHT THERE WITH ME ♪

♪ IT AIN’T NO SURPRISE THAT YOUR BLUE EYES ♪

♪ STILL FEEL LIKE HOME TO ME ♪

♪ WE’LL ALWAYS BE ♪

♪ RED, WHITE AND JERSEY ♪

♪♪♪

♪ RED, WHITE AND JERSEY ♪

♪ RED, WHITE AND JERSEY ♪

[MUSIC FADES]

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
dream /driːm/ B1	noun - a series of thoughts, images, or emotions occurring during sleep noun - a cherished aspiration or goal verb - to experience dreams while sleeping verb - to imagine or hope for something
blue /bluː/ A2	adjective - of the colour between green and violet in the spectrum
blue /bluː/ B2	adjective - feeling sad or depressed
eyes /aɪz/ A1	noun - organs of sight
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family
jersey /ˈdʒɜːrzi/ B2	noun - a knitted garment, often worn as sportswear
summer /ˈsʌmər/ A1	noun - the warmest season of the year
city /ˈsɪti/ A1	noun - a large town
lights /laɪts/ A2	noun - sources of illumination
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period of darkness between sunset and sunrise
fast /fæst/ A1	adjective - moving or capable of moving at high speed
slow /sloʊ/ A1	adjective - moving or operating at a low speed
red /rɛd/ A1	adjective - of the colour at the end of the visible spectrum next to orange
white /waɪt/ A1	adjective - of the colour of milk or fresh snow
kiss /kɪs/ A1	noun - the act of pressing one's lips to someone or something verb - to press one's lips against someone or something
hold /hoʊld/ A2	verb - to grasp, carry, or keep something in one's hands
tight /taɪt/ A2	adjective - firmly fixed, not loose
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries and peoples

Key Grammar Structures

• ♪ I KNEW BEFORE I KNEW YA ♪

  ➔ Past Simple with "before" clause

  ➔ The "before" clause indicates an action that happened prior to another past action. "Knew" is the past simple form of "know". "Ya" is an informal contraction of "you".

• ♪ THAT’S JUST WHAT YOU DO WHERE WE COME FROM ♪

  ➔ Noun Clause with "what" and Adverbial Clause of Place with "where"

  ➔ "What you do" functions as a noun clause, meaning "the thing that you do." "Where we come from" is an adverbial clause specifying the origin.

• ♪ SAID "BOY YOU DON’T DESERVE ME" ♪

  ➔ Direct Speech

  ➔ Direct speech uses quotation marks to report the exact words spoken by someone. The verb "said" introduces the quoted sentence.

• ♪ YEAH WE HELD ON TIGHT, LOOKING UP ALL NIGHT ♪

  ➔ Phrasal Verb & Participle Clause

  ➔ "Held on tight" is a phrasal verb meaning to grip firmly or persevere. "Looking up" is a present participle clause describing a simultaneous action or state.

• ♪ WHEN YOU’RE 17 THOSE ARE CRAZY DREAMS ♪

  ➔ Temporal Clause with "When"

  ➔ The clause introduced by "When" specifies the time at which the main statement ("Those are crazy dreams") is true.

• ♪ IT AIN’T NO SURPRISE THAT YOUR BLUE EYES ♪

  ➔ Impersonal "It" with "that" clause (Informal Double Negative)

  ➔ "It ain't no surprise" is an informal, emphatic double negative meaning "it is not surprising." The "that" clause introduces the subject of the surprise.

• ♪ WE’LL ALWAYS BE RED, WHITE AND JERSEY ♪

  ➔ Future Simple with "always"

  ➔ "We'll always be" uses the future simple tense with "always" to express a permanent, unchanging, or habitual state in the future.

• ♪ WE WERE SINGING ALONG TO “AMERICAN GIRL” ♪

  ➔ Past Continuous & Phrasal Verb

  ➔ "Were singing" uses the past continuous to describe an ongoing action in the past. "Singing along to" is a phrasal verb meaning to join in singing.

• ♪ THAN TO LIVE LIKE THAT FOREVER ♪

  ➔ Infinitive after Comparative

  ➔ The infinitive "to live" is used after the comparative structure "better than" to compare two actions or states.

• ♪ NOW WHERE HAVE ALL THOSE SUMMERS GONE ♪

  ➔ Present Perfect (Interrogative)

  ➔ "Have gone" uses the present perfect in a question to ask about a past action that has a result or relevance in the present.