Live Like You Were Dying – English Lyrics

• By: Tim McGraw

Lyrics & Translation

Discover the inspiring story behind Tim McGraw's hit song, "Live Like You Were Dying." Learn how this powerful ballad encourages listeners to appreciate every moment and live life to the fullest, offering a poignant lesson in resilience and the importance of cherishing relationships and pursuing dreams. Explore the depths of this country anthem and its lasting impact on listeners worldwide.

[English]

He said "I was in my early 40's

With a lot of life before me

When a moment came that stopped me on a dime

I spent most of the next days

Looking at the x-rays

Talkin' 'bout the options

And talkin' 'bout sweet times"

I asked him when it sank in

That this might really be the real end

How's it hit ya

When you get that kind of news?

Man whatcha do?

And he said

"I went skydiving

I went Rocky Mountain climbing

I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu

And I loved deeper

And I spoke sweeter

And I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin' "

And he said, "Some day I hope you get the chance

To live like you were dyin' "

He said, "I was finally the husband

That most the time I wasn't

And I became a friend a friend would like to have

And all of a sudden goin' fishin'

Wasn't such an imposition

And I went three times that year I lost my dad

Well I, I finally read the good book

And I took a good long hard look

At what I'd do if I could do it all again

And then"

"I went skydiving

I went Rocky Mountain climbing

I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu

And I loved deeper

And I spoke sweeter

And I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin' "

And he said "Some day I hope you get the chance

To live like you were dyin' "

"Like tomorrow was a gift

And ya got eternity to think about what to do with it

What did do with it?

What did I do with it?

What would I do with it?"

"Skydiving

I went Rocky Mountain climbing

I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu

Then I loved deeper

And I spoke sweeter

And I watched an eagle as it was flyin'"

And he said "Some day I hope you get the chance

To live like you were dyin'

To live like you were dyin'

To live like you were dyin'

To live like you were dyin'

To live like you were dyin'"

Woo

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter, including the capacity for growth, reproduction, functional activity, and continual change preceding death.
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.
love /lʌv/ A1	verb - have a strong feeling of affection for (someone). noun - an intense feeling of deep affection.
die /daɪ/ A2	verb - stop living.
friend /frɛnd/ A1	noun - a person whom one knows and with whom one has a bond of mutual affection.
day /deɪ/ A1	noun - each of the twenty-four-hour periods, especially from sunrise to sunset, that constitute a year, month, week, etc.
hope /hoʊp/ A2	verb - want something to happen or be the case. noun - a feeling of expectation and desire for a certain thing to happen.
mountain /ˈmaʊntən/ A2	noun - a large natural elevation of the earth's surface rising abruptly from the surrounding level; a large steep hill.
husband /ˈhʌzbənd/ A2	noun - a married man.
chance /tʃæns/ B1	noun - a possibility of something happening.
news /njuːz/ B1	noun - newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events.
gift /ɡɪft/ B1	noun - a thing given willingly to someone without payment; a present.
bull /bʊl/ B1	noun - an uncastrated adult male of domestic cattle.
skydiving /ˈskaɪdaɪvɪŋ/ B2	noun - the sport of jumping from an aircraft and performing acrobatic maneuvers in the air before landing by parachute.
eternity /ɪˈtɜːrnəti/ B2	noun - infinite or unending time.
forgiveness /fərˈɡɪvnəs/ B2	noun - the action or process of forgiving or being forgiven.

Key Grammar Structures

• I spent most of the next days looking at the x-rays

  ➔ Gerunds after prepositions ('of')

  ➔ The word "looking" is a gerund (verb ending in -ing used as a noun) and it functions as the object of the preposition "of". This shows an activity happening during the time spent.

• I asked him when it sank in That this might really be the real end

  ➔ Indirect question with "when" + subordinate clause with "that" + modal verb "might"

  ➔ The sentence uses an indirect question introduced by "when". The clause "that this might really be the real end" is a subordinate clause introduced by "that" explaining the content of what he asked. "Might" expresses possibility.

• I gave forgiveness I'd been denyin'

  ➔ Relative clause with omitted relative pronoun ('that' or 'which')

  ➔ The relative pronoun "that" or "which" is omitted between "forgiveness" and "I'd". The full sentence would be "I gave forgiveness that/which I had been denying". This omission is common in spoken and informal English.

• That most the time I wasn't

  ➔ Ellipsis (omission of words) in a relative clause

  ➔ This is a shortened form of "That I wasn't most of the time". The words "the husband" are implied from the previous line and omitted here for brevity.

• Wasn't such an imposition

  ➔ Negative construction with "such a/an"

  ➔ The phrase "wasn't such an imposition" uses "such" to emphasize the degree to which something is *not* an imposition. It means that going fishing became more appealing and less of a burden.

• What I'd do if I could do it all again

  ➔ Second conditional (hypothetical situation in the present/future)

  ➔ This uses the second conditional to talk about a hypothetical situation in the present or future. "If I could do it all again" (past simple) expresses the condition, and "what I'd do" (would + infinitive) expresses the result.

• Like tomorrow was a gift

  ➔ Subjunctive mood after 'as if' / 'as though' / 'like' (expressing unreal or hypothetical situations)

  ➔ The phrase "Like tomorrow was a gift" uses the subjunctive mood (were instead of was) to indicate that tomorrow being a gift is not a factual statement, but rather a feeling or perspective. 'Like' in this context means 'as if'. While "was" is increasingly accepted in informal usage, "were" is grammatically more correct in formal settings.