What A Wonderful World – English Lyrics

• By: Israel Kamakawiwoʻole

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the heart of Hawaiian music through Israel Kamakawiwoʻole's iconic rendition of 'What A Wonderful World.' This song offers a beautiful entry point into the Hawaiian language and the spirit of 'aloha.' Through its simple, heartfelt lyrics and the soothing sound of the ukulele, you can connect with a message of peace and appreciation for the world's beauty, making it a perfect and inspiring song for language learners.

[English]

(gentle music)

♪ Trees of green and red roses too ♪

♪ I watch them bloom for me and you ♪

♪ And I think to myself ♪

♪ What a wonderful world ♪

♪ Well, I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white ♪

♪ And the brightness of day ♪

♪ I like the dark ♪

♪ And I think to myself ♪

♪ What a wonderful world ♪

♪ The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky ♪

♪ Are also on the faces of people passing by ♪

♪ I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do ♪

♪ They're really saying ♪

♪ I, I love you ♪

♪ I hear babies cry ♪

♪ And I watch them grow ♪

♪ They'll learn much more ♪

♪ Than we'll know ♪

♪ And I think to myself ♪

♪ What a wonderful world ♪

- [Iz] Everybody gonna see it for yourself,

make their (speaking in Hawaiian).

And when you make your (speaking in Hawaiian)

It's like kinda automatic kinda,

you don't need to talk and stuff when, when happening.

And you just gotta let 'em

and that stuff's just waiting for when you ready.

Look what happened.

♪ The colors of the rainbow so pretty in the sky ♪

♪ Are also on the faces of people passing by ♪

♪ I see friends shaking hands, saying how do you do ♪

♪ They're really saying ♪

♪ I, I love you ♪

♪ I love you ♪

♪ I hear babies cry ♪

♪ And I watch them grow ♪

♪ They'll learn much more ♪

♪ Than we'll know ♪

♪ And I think to myself ♪

♪ What a wonderful world ♪

♪ What a wonderful world ♪

(gentle music)

Key Grammar Structures

• ♪ Trees of green and red roses too ♪

  ➔ Use of 'too' for addition.

  ➔ The word "**too**" adds another item to the list of things.

• ♪ I watch them bloom for me and you ♪

  ➔ Use of 'for' to indicate the recipient or beneficiary of an action.

  ➔ The preposition "**for**" shows that the blooming is *for* the benefit of "me and you".

• ♪ And I think to myself ♪

  ➔ Reflexive pronoun 'myself'.

  ➔ "**Myself**" refers back to the subject 'I', indicating the action of thinking is done by the speaker *to* the speaker.

• ♪ And I think to myself ♪

  ➔ Use of the simple present tense to express habitual action.

  ➔ The sentence uses the simple present tense, which is used here to express a recurring or habitual action: *thinking to myself*.

• ♪ Well, I see skies of blue and I see clouds of white ♪

  ➔ Parallel structure using 'and' to connect two similar phrases.

  ➔ The use of "**and**" connects two similar phrases ("I see skies of blue" and "I see clouds of white") maintaining grammatical balance and flow.

• ♪ And the brightness of day ♪

  ➔ Noun phrase: 'the brightness of day'.

  ➔ The phrase acts as a subject or object, showing how nouns and their modifiers can form essential units.

• ♪ I like the dark ♪

  ➔ Simple Present tense used to state a preference or general truth.

  ➔ The verb "**like**" in the present simple expresses a preference or enduring state.

• ♪ They're really saying ♪ ♪ I, I love you ♪

  ➔ Ellipsis and direct speech with a verb of saying ('saying').

  ➔ The first line uses ellipsis, omitting words. The second line is direct speech, quoting what they are *really* saying, introduced by "saying".

• ♪ They'll learn much more ♪

  ➔ Future tense (will + infinitive) to express a prediction.

  ➔ The phrase uses the future tense "**they'll learn**" to make a prediction about what babies will do.