Skin – English Lyrics

• By: Joy Crookes
• Album: Juniper

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the power of music as a language of hope and empathy with Joy Crookes' "Skin". This deeply personal song offers a chance to learn English through its direct and heartfelt lyrics. What makes it special is its raw honesty, born from a real-life situation, offering a universal message of support and the beauty of being comfortable in your own skin.

[English]

(gentle piano music)

♪ I wish I could pull away the clothes, the dress ♪

♪ Your mind is easiest when we both ♪

♪ Undress each other ♪

♪ Underneath the southeast sky ♪

♪ I asked you for a light ♪

♪ Now I'd do anything ♪

♪ To keep us together ♪

♪ Don't say that you're giving up ♪

♪ What if you decide that you don't wanna wake up, too ♪

♪ I don't know what I'd do ♪

♪ 'Cause I've built my life around you ♪

♪ Don't you know ♪

♪ The skin that you're given ♪

♪ Was made to be lived in ♪

♪ You've got a life ♪

♪ You've got a life ♪

♪ Worth living ♪

(gentle piano music)

♪ Bussing down to Waterloo ♪

♪ Just to feel control ♪

♪ I can't fix everything ♪

♪ As much as I want to ♪

♪ You were in and out of thinking ♪

♪ You could live past 12 ♪

♪ You're so much different now ♪

♪ It can't destroy you ♪

♪ So don't say that you're giving up ♪

♪ What if you decide that you don't wanna wake up, too ♪

♪ I don't know what I'd do ♪

♪ 'Cause I've built my life around you ♪

♪ Don't you know ♪

♪ The skin that you're given ♪

♪ Was made to be lived in ♪

♪ You've got a life ♪

♪ You've got a life ♪

♪ Worth living ♪

(gentle strings music)

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
undress /ʌnˈdrɛs/ B1	verb - to remove clothes
control /kənˈtrəʊl/ B2	noun - the power to influence or direct people's behavior or the course of events verb - to have power over
decide /dɪˈsaɪd/ B1	verb - to make a choice or come to a conclusion
destroy /dɪsˈtrɔɪ/ C1	verb - to ruin or completely eliminate something
built /bɪlt/ A2	verb (past of build) - to construct or make by putting parts together
living /ˈlɪvɪŋ/ A2	noun/adj - the state of being alive verb (present participle of live) - to have life or exist in a particular way
given /ˈɡɪv.ən/ B1	verb (past participle of give) - to have offered or provided something
made /meɪd/ A1	verb (past of make) - to create or produce
worry /ˈwʌr.i/ B2	verb - to feel anxious or concerned about something
fix /fɪks/ B1	verb - to repair or mend
feel /fiːl/ A2	verb - to experience an emotion or sensation
worth /wɜːθ/ B2	noun/preposition - value or merit; regard as having a particular value
living /ˈlɪv.ɪŋ/ A2	noun/adj - the act of having life or existence
live /lɪv/ A2	verb - to have life or remain alive

Key Grammar Structures

• Your mind is *easiest* when we both *undress* each other

  ➔ Superlative adjective + 'when' clause

  ➔ 'Easiest' is the superlative form of 'easy', emphasizing the highest degree.

• I wish I could *pull away* the clothes, the dress

  ➔ Use of 'wish' + past simple/modal verb to express regret or desire

  ➔ 'Wish' expresses a desire contrary to reality, often followed by a past tense or modal verb.

• I've built my life *around* you

  ➔ Present perfect tense + preposition 'around' to indicate a focus or foundation

  ➔ The present perfect tense ('have' + past participle) shows an action with relevance to the present.

• You were in and out of *thinking*

  ➔ Prepositional phrase + gerund ('thinking') to describe ongoing or repeated action

  ➔ Gerund ('thinking') acts as a noun, describing the action or state.

• You're so much *different* now

  ➔ Adjective ('different') used with 'be' to describe a change in state or condition

  ➔ The adjective 'different' describes a change or difference in characteristic.

• The skin that you're given *was made* to be lived in

  ➔ Passive voice ('was made') to indicate that the subject was created by an unspecified agent

  ➔ 'Was made' is the past passive form of 'make', indicating an action done to the subject by an unspecified agent.