Lyrics & Translation
Learning a language through music is a powerful tool, and 'The Best Was Yet to Come' by Bryan Adams offers a unique opportunity to connect with English on an emotional level. The song's clear and heartfelt storytelling, born from a tragic real-life event, allows learners to engage with themes of hope and loss. Its narrative structure and poignant vocabulary provide a rich context for understanding nuanced expression, making it a special and memorable song for language learners.
[English]
Just a small town girl in the city lightsThe best was yet to come
Then lonely days turned to endless nights
The best was yet to come
How were you to know
That you would be the lucky one
Ain't it funny how time flies
When the best was yet to come
You can cry yourself to sleep at night
You can't change the things you've done
You had it there then it slipped away
Yeah, you left the song unsung
Even through your tears
I never saw you come undone
What's so good about goodbye
When the best was yet to come
I find myself thinkin' about yesterday
When you were here and livin' in a dream
In the moment that it takes
You find you made your first mistake
Like the setting sun
You turn around it's gone
Just a small time girl who had it made
Or so the story goes
She had it there then it slipped away
Oh, how was she to know
Even through her tears
I never saw her come undone
Ain't it funny how time flies
When the best was yet to come, oh
What's so good about goodbye
When the best was yet to come
Key Vocabulary
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Key Grammar Structures
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Just a small town girl in the city lights
➔ Prepositional phrase (in the city lights)
➔ The preposition "in" introduces the phrase describing the setting where the girl is. It provides information about **location**.
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The best was yet to come
➔ Future perfect tense (was yet to come)
➔ This phrase uses the auxiliary verb "was" combined with "yet to come" to express an event that will happen in the future. It suggests something positive is **still going to happen**.
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How were you to know
➔ Inversion for emphasis and question formation
➔ The auxiliary verb "were" is placed before the subject "you" to form a question and add emphasis to the question. This also sounds more poetic.
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Ain't it funny how time flies
➔ Contraction and rhetorical question
➔ "Ain't" is a colloquial contraction for "am not/is not/are not" (depending on the context). The sentence is a rhetorical question; it doesn't require an answer but emphasizes the speed of time.
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You can cry yourself to sleep at night
➔ Reflexive pronoun ("yourself")
➔ The reflexive pronoun "yourself" is used because the subject of the verb "cry" is the same as the object of the verb "cry" - you are crying to yourself. It emphasizes self-directed action.
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You had it there then it slipped away
➔ Past Perfect tense and simple past
➔ The first clause "You had it there" could be considered past perfect but is often simplified in this context. The second clause uses simple past to describe a completed action in the past ("slipped away").
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Even through your tears
➔ Prepositional phrase (through your tears)
➔ The preposition "through" introduces a phrase describing the situation or context. It suggests something exists despite the tears.
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What's so good about goodbye
➔ Inversion and question formation; contraction.
➔ The contraction "What's" indicates a question. The sentence questions the merit of saying goodbye, highlighting the negative emotion.
