What Could Have Been Love – English Lyrics

• By: Aerosmith

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the raw emotion of Aerosmith's "What Could Have Been Love"! This powerful ballad is a fantastic way to experience English through its vivid expressions of regret, longing, and reflection on lost chances. Steven Tyler's passionate delivery and the song's relatable narrative make it special, offering learners a rich vocabulary for discussing relationships, emotions, and personal introspection. Let the lyrics guide you through a story of what might have been, making language learning an emotional journey.

[English]

[DISTANT RUMBLING]

[AIR WHOOSHING]

- WHICH ONE YOU WANT?

[AIR WHOOSHING]

- I WANT THAT ONE.

THANK YOU.

[TRAIN RUMBLING]

[TRAIN HORN BLOWING]

[ENGINE REVVING]

[RADIO CRACKLING]

[MELANCHOLIC ROCK MUSIC]

[ENGINE REVVING]

♪ I WAKE UP AND WONDER HOW EVERYTHING WENT WRONG ♪

♪ AM I THE ONE TO BLAME ♪

♪ I GAVE UP AND LEFT YOU FOR A NOWHERE-BOUND TRAIN ♪

♪ NOW THAT TRAIN HAS COME AND GONE ♪

♪ I CLOSE MY EYES AND SEE YOU LYING IN MY BED ♪

♪ AND I STILL DREAMED OF THAT DAY ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

♪ SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY THING ♪

♪ THAT WAS EVER MEANT TO BE ♪

♪ DIDN'T KNOW, COULDN'T SEE WHAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME ♪

♪ AND NOW THAT I'M ALONE ALL I HAVE IS EMPTINESS ♪

♪ THAT COMES FROM BEING FREE ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE WILL NEVER BE ♪

♪ AN OLD FRIEND WHO TOLD ME THAT YOU FOUND SOMEBODY NEW ♪

♪ OH, YOU'RE FINALLY MOVING ON ♪

♪ YOU THINK THAT I'D BE OVER YOU AFTER ALL THESE YEARS ♪

♪ YEAH, BUT TIME HAS PROVED IT WRONG ♪

♪ 'CAUSE I'M STILL HOLDIN' ON ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

♪ SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY THING ♪

♪ THAT WAS EVER MEANT TO BE ♪

♪ DIDN'T KNOW, COULDN'T SEE WHAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

♪ AND NOW THAT I'M ALONE ALL I HAVE IS EMPTINESS ♪

♪ THAT COMES FROM BEING FREE ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE WILL NEVER BE ♪

♪ WE'VE GONE OUR SEPARATE WAYS ♪

♪ SAY GOODBYE TO ANOTHER DAY ♪

♪ I STILL WONDER WHERE YOU'RE AT ♪

♪ ARE YOU TOO FAR FROM TURNING BACK ♪

♪ YOU WERE SLIPPING THROUGH MY HANDS ♪

♪ AND I DIDN'T UNDERSTAND ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

♪ SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONLY THING ♪

♪ THAT WAS EVER MEANT TO BE ♪

♪ DIDN'T KNOW, COULDN'T SEE WHAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

♪ AND NOW THAT I'M ALONE ALL I HAVE ♪

♪ IS EMPTINESS THAT COMES FROM BEING FREE ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE WILL NEVER BE ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE WILL NEVER BE ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

♪ WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN LOVE ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
wake /weɪk/ A2	verb - to become conscious after sleeping
wonder /ˈwʌndər/ A2	verb - to be curious to know something noun - a feeling of surprise mingled with admiration, caused by something beautiful, unexpected, or inexplicable.
wrong /rɔːŋ/ A2	adjective - not correct or true noun - an action that is not correct or legal
blame /bleɪm/ B1	verb - to hold someone responsible for something bad noun - responsibility for a fault or wrong
train /treɪn/ A1	noun - a series of connected railway carriages or wagons
eyes /aɪz/ A1	noun - the organs of sight
dreamed /driːmd/ A2	verb - experience dreams during sleep
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - an intense feeling of affection
thing /θɪŋ/ A1	noun - an object that one need not, cannot, or does not wish to give a specific name to
alone /əˈləʊn/ A2	adjective - having no one else present
emptiness /ˈemptinəs/ B2	noun - the state of containing nothing
friend /frend/ A1	noun - a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection
moving /ˈmuːvɪŋ/ A2	verb - changing position or going from one place to another
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.
holding /ˈhəʊldɪŋ/ A2	verb - to have and keep something in one's hand
ways /weɪz/ A1	noun - a method of doing something
goodbye /ˌɡʊdˈbaɪ/ A1	noun - a word or phrase used when parting
slipping /ˈslɪpɪŋ/ B1	verb - to lose one's grip or footing and slide unexpectedly
hands /hændz/ A1	noun - the end part of a person's arm beyond the wrist
understand /ˌʌndəˈstænd/ A2	verb - to perceive the meaning of

Key Grammar Structures

• ♪ I WAKE UP AND WONDER HOW EVERYTHING WENT WRONG ♪

  ➔ Past Simple Tense, Indirect Question

  ➔ The sentence uses the Past Simple ("went") to describe a completed action in the past. 'How everything went wrong' is an indirect question embedded within the main clause. The word "wonder" introduces the indirect question.

• ♪ I GAVE UP AND LEFT YOU FOR A NOWHERE-BOUND TRAIN ♪

  ➔ Past Simple Tense, Infinitive of Purpose

  ➔ The sentence uses the Past Simple ("gave", "left") to describe past actions. 'For a nowhere-bound train' functions as a prepositional phrase explaining the reason for leaving – the infinitive 'to go' is implied. The phrase indicates the destination of the train is unimportant.

• ♪ DIDN'T KNOW, COULDN'T SEE WHAT WAS RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME ♪

  ➔ Negative Past Ability (couldn't), Past Simple Negative (didn't know), Relative Clause

  ➔ This line demonstrates negative past ability with 'couldn't see' (inability to perceive). 'Didn't know' is a simple past negative. 'What was right in front of me' is a relative clause modifying 'see' or 'know', providing further information about what was unseen/unknown.

• ♪ AND NOW THAT I'M ALONE ALL I HAVE IS EMPTINESS ♪

  ➔ Present Perfect, Conjunction 'that', Noun as Subject Complement

  ➔ The phrase 'I'm alone' uses the present perfect to describe a state resulting from a past action. 'That' introduces a subordinate clause explaining the reason for the current state. 'Emptiness' functions as a subject complement, describing the state of 'I'.