When I Look At You – English Lyrics

• By: Miley Cyrus

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the emotional depth of English through Miley Cyrus's touching ballad, "When I Look at You." This song is a wonderful tool for language learners to explore descriptive and heartfelt vocabulary related to love and support. The clear, narrative lyrics make it a special and accessible song to connect with and learn from.

[English]

Everybody needs inspiration

Everybody needs a song

A beautiful melody

When the night's so long

'Cause there is no guarantee

That this life is easy

Yeah, when my world is falling apart

When there's no light to break up the dark

That's when I, I

I look at you

When the waves

Are flooding the shore and I can't

Find my way home anymore

That's when I, I

I look at you

When I look at you, I see forgiveness

I see the truth

You love me for who I am

Like the stars hold the moon

Right there where they belong

And I know I'm not alone

Yeah, when my world is falling apart

When there's no light to break up the dark

That's when I, I

I look at you

When the waves

Are flooding the shore and I can't

Find my way home anymore

That's when I, I

I look at you

You appear just like a dream to me

Just like Kaleidoscope colors that

Cover me, all I need

Every breath that I breathe

Don't you know you're beautiful?

...

Yeah, yeah, yeah

When the waves

Are flooding the shore and I can't

Find my way home anymore

That's when I, I

I look at you

I look at you

...

You appear just like a dream

To me

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
inspiration /ˌɪnspəˈreɪʃn/ B2	noun - the process of being mentally stimulated to do or feel something, especially to do something creative.
song /sɔŋ/ A1	noun - a short poem or other set of words set to music or meant to be sung.
beautiful /ˈbjuːtɪfl/ A2	adjective - pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically.
melody /ˈmelədi/ B1	noun - a sequence of single notes that is musically satisfying.
night /naɪt/ A1	noun - the period from sunset to sunrise in each twenty-four hours
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes animals and plants from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
world /wɜːld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries, peoples, and natural features.
falling /ˈfɔːlɪŋ/ A2	verb - move downward, typically rapidly and freely, under the influence of gravity.
apart /əˈpɑːrt/ B1	adverb - separated by a specified distance
light /laɪt/ A1	noun - the natural agent that stimulates sight and makes things visible.
dark /dɑːrk/ A2	adjective - with little or no light.
waves /weɪvz/ A2	noun - a disturbance on the surface of a liquid body, as the sea or a lake, in the form of a moving ridge.
shore /ʃɔːr/ A2	noun - the land along the edge of a sea, lake, or other large body of water.
home /hoʊm/ A1	noun - the place where one lives permanently, especially as a member of a family or household.
forgiveness /fərˈɡɪvnəs/ B2	noun - the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven.
truth /truːθ/ A2	noun - the quality or state of being true.
stars /stɑːrz/ A1	noun - a fixed luminous point in the night sky which is a large, remote incandescent body like the sun.
moon /muːn/ A1	noun - the natural satellite of the earth, visible (chiefly at night) by reflected light from the sun.
dream /driːm/ A2	noun - a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep.
beautiful /ˈbjuːtɪfl/ A2	adjective - pleasing the senses or mind aesthetically.

Key Grammar Structures

• Everybody needs inspiration

  ➔ Subject-verb agreement (Everybody - needs)

  ➔ "Everybody" is treated as a singular pronoun, therefore requiring the singular verb form "needs".

• When the night's so long

  ➔ Contraction (night's = night is)

  ➔ The apostrophe shows the contraction of "night is" into "night's".

• 'Cause there is no guarantee

  ➔ Expletive construction ('there is')

  ➔ "There is" is used to introduce the existence of something (a guarantee). "There" is not the subject; "guarantee" is.

• That this life is easy

  ➔ Subordinate clause introduced by 'that'

  ➔ The word "that" introduces a clause acting as a complement. The complete sentence lacks a main clause, making it grammatically incomplete on its own and relying on context.

• When my world is falling apart

  ➔ Present Continuous Tense ('is falling') used to describe an ongoing action.

  ➔ The present continuous tense emphasizes that the world's disintegration is happening right now, not a completed action.

• When the waves are flooding the shore and I can't find my way home anymore

  ➔ Present continuous ('are flooding') to describe an ongoing action. 'Can't' as a contraction of 'cannot', expressing inability. 'Anymore' to indicate something no longer happening

  ➔ "are flooding" describes the waves' continuous action. "can't find" indicates inability. "anymore" emphasizes the loss of direction.

• You love me for who I am

  ➔ Preposition "for" used to indicate reason or cause. Relative clause "who I am".

  ➔ "For" explains why you love me, that is, because of my identity. "who I am" is a relative clause referring to the person's identity.

• Just like Kaleidoscope colors that Cover me, all I need

  ➔ Relative clause ('that Cover me') modifying 'Kaleidoscope colors'. Omission of the verb 'is' before 'all I need'.

  ➔ "'that Cover me'" describes the colors. The omitted "is" creates a more concise, poetic expression. The full sentence is "...colors that cover me, all I need is...".