You Can Have It All – English Lyrics

• By: Florence + The Machine
• Album: Everybody Scream

Lyrics & Translation

Learning a language through music is a deeply personal journey, and Florence + The Machine's “You Can Have It All” offers a rich and emotive text for English learners. The song's use of vivid, metaphorical language—like burying a scream that grows into a tree—provides a unique opportunity to explore themes of pain, transformation, and resilience. Its powerful, clear vocals and dynamic emotional range make it not just a compelling song, but a memorable lesson in the poetic power of the English language.

[English]

I sit in the salt water, call in a vision of my daughter

Light a candle, place my grief upon the altar

Bird in my hands, a flower, a song

I used to think I knew what sadness was

I was wrong

A piece of flesh, a million pounds

Am I a woman now?

A crescent moon, an apple sliced

Thick in the sky

The air smells of fruit and smoke

The season is ripe

I stay in the house, move the furniture about

Try and control what I can

And feel the world slip through my hand

You can have it all

You can have it all

Dug a hole in the garden and buried a scream

And from it grew a bright red tree

Shining with jagged leaves

And when the wind blows, you can hear it

Dug a hole in the garden and buried a scream

And from it grew a bright red tree

Shining with jagged leaves

And when the wind blows, you can hear it

You can have it all

You can have it all

(You can have it all) a piece of flesh, a million pounds

Am I a woman now?

(You can have it all) tree grows tall, can't cut me down

Am I a woman now?

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
sit /sɪt/ A1	verb - to rest your body on your knees or on a seat
vision /ˈvɪʒən/ B1	noun - something seen in the mind or in a dream
daughter /ˈdɔːtər/ A1	noun - a female child
grief /ɡriːf/ B2	noun - deep sadness
altar /ˈɔːltər/ B2	noun - a table used in religious ceremonies
bird /bɜːrd/ A1	noun - an animal with feathers that flies
flower /ˈflaʊər/ A1	noun - the part of a plant that produces seeds
song /sɔːŋ/ A1	noun - a musical composition with words
sadness /ˈsædnəs/ A2	noun - a feeling of being sad
flesh /flɛʃ/ B2	noun - soft tissue of the body
woman /ˈwʊmən/ A1	noun - an adult human female
moon /muːn/ A1	noun - the natural satellite of the earth
apple /ˈæpəl/ A1	noun - a round fruit with red or green skin
sky /skaɪ/ A2	noun - the part of the atmosphere above the earth
fruit /fruːt/ A1	noun - the edible part of a plant that contains seeds
season /ˈsiːzən/ A2	noun - one of the four main divisions of the year
have /hæv/ A1	verb - to possess or own
hole /hoʊl/ A2	noun - an empty space in something solid
garden /ˈɡɑːrdən/ A1	noun - an area of land where plants are grown
scream /skriːm/ A2	verb - to make a loud, shrill cry
tree /triː/ A1	noun - a large plant with a trunk and branches

Key Grammar Structures

• I sit in the salt water, call in a vision of my daughter

  ➔ Present continuous tense

  ➔ The phrase uses present continuous to describe actions "I sit" and "I call" happening in the present moment with poetic imagery. "Sit" and "call" are verb forms with -ing ending.

• I used to think I knew what sadness was

  ➔ Used to + infinitive

  ➔ This expresses a past habit or state. "Used to" indicates something that was true in the past ("think"), contrasted with present understanding.

• Am I a woman now?

  ➔ Yes/no question structure

  ➔ This is a yes/no question. "Am" is the auxiliary verb (from "be") inverted with the subject "I" for a rhetorical or introspective query.

• The air smells of fruit and smoke

  ➔ Present simple tense for general truths

  ➔ Uses present simple to state a sensory perception as a timeless fact. "Smells" describes an ongoing quality of "the air" without time markers.

• I stay in the house, move the furniture about

  ➔ Present continuous for ongoing actions

  ➔ Describes habitual or temporary actions in progress. "Stay" and "move" use -ing to convey restlessness or ritual; comma connects parallel actions.

• Dug a hole in the garden and buried a scream

  ➔ Past simple for completed actions

  ➔ Uses past simple to narrate sequential events with vivid metaphor. "Dug" and "buried" are past tense; "and" links two actions as a compound predicate.

• And from it grew a bright red tree

  ➔ Past simple with narrative progression

  ➔ Continues the story with past simple, implying consequence. "Grew" is in past tense, linked by "and" for flow in metaphorical growth sequence.

• You can have it all

  ➔ Modal verb 'can' for possibility

  ➔ Employs modal "can" to offer or grant permission/authority. The phrase is imperative-like, asserting control or release over "it all" possesively.

• Shining with jagged leaves

  ➔ Present participle in description

  ➔ Uses present participle "shining" as adjective for vivid imagery. Modifies "tree", emphasizing continuous quality like active light reflection.