The One That Got Away – English Lyrics

• By: Katy Perry

Lyrics & Translation

Learn English through the lens of emotional storytelling with Katy Perry's 'The One That Got Away.' This song is a fantastic tool for learners to understand the use of hypothetical conditionals ('would be') and narrative vocabulary regarding past memories and regret, all wrapped in a clear, accessible pop melody.

[English]

Summer after high school when we first met

We'd make out in your Mustang to Radiohead

And on my 18th birthday we got matching tattoos

Used to steal your parents' liquor and climb to the roof

Talk about our future like we had a clue

Never planned that one day I'd be losing you

In another life

I would be your girl

We'd keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say you were

The one that got away

The one that got away

I was June and you were my Johnny Cash

Never one without the other, we made a pact

Sometimes when I miss you I put those records on (whoa)

Someone said you had your tattoo removed

Saw you downtown singing the blues

It's time to face the music, I'm no longer your muse

But in another life

I would be your girl

We'd keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say you were

The one that got away

The one that got away

The one

The one

The one

The one that got away

All this money can't buy me a time machine, no

Can't replace you with a million rings, no

I should've told you what you meant to me (whoa)

'Cause now I pay the price

In another life

I would be your girl

We'd keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say you were

The one that got away

The one that got away

The one (the one)

The one (the one)

The one (the one)

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say you were

The one that got away

The one that got away

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
summer /ˈsʌmər/ A1	noun - The warmest season of the year
matching /ˈmætʃɪŋ/ A2	adjective - Corresponding or identical
tattoos /tæˈtuːz/ B1	noun - Designs made by inserting ink into the skin
liquor /ˈlɪkər/ B2	noun - Alcoholic drink, especially spirits
future /ˈfjuːtʃər/ A1	noun - The time or a period of time following the present
promises /ˈprɒmɪsɪz/ A2	noun - Declarations that one will do something
pact /pækt/ C1	noun - A formal agreement between individuals or parties
removed /rɪˈmuːvd/ B1	verb - Taken away or off
muse /mjuːz/ C2	noun - A person who is an inspiration to an artist
replace /rɪˈpleɪs/ B1	verb - To take the place of

Key Grammar Structures

• We'd make out in your Mustang to Radiohead

  ➔ Used to (habitual past action)

  ➔ "We'd" is a contraction of "we would," used here to describe past habits or repeated actions.

• Never planned that one day I'd be losing you

  ➔ Past Perfect / Future in the Past

  ➔ "I'd be losing" uses "would be + verb-ing" to express a future perspective from a point in the past.

• In another life, I would be your girl

  ➔ Second Conditional (Hypothetical/Imaginary)

  ➔ Uses "would + verb" to describe a hypothetical situation that is contrary to the present reality.

• I should've told you what you meant to me

  ➔ Modal Perfect (Regret/Past recommendation)

  ➔ "Should've told" indicates an action that was desirable in the past but did not happen.

• All this money can't buy me a time machine

  ➔ Modal verb of ability (Negative)

  ➔ "Can't" is used to state the impossibility of an action, despite having other resources.

• I was June and you were my Johnny Cash

  ➔ Simple Past (State of being)

  ➔ The verb "were" is used to define a past identity or a symbolic relationship between two people.

• Never planned that one day I'd be losing you

  ➔ Determiner / Relative pronoun omission

  ➔ The relative pronoun "that" is often omitted after verbs like "plan" or "think" in informal English.

• I'm no longer your muse

  ➔ Adverbial phrase of time (No longer)

  ➔ "No longer" expresses that a state which was true in the past is not true at the present moment.