We Had It All – English Lyrics

• By: Billy Gillies

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the emotional world of Billy Gillies with 'We Had It All.' This song is a perfect tool for learners to practice English vocabulary related to emotions, regret, and past tenses, all while experiencing a powerful modern pop melody.

[English]

Looking back on our childhood in the '90s

We didn't have much

But bloody hell, we had everything

We had proper childhoods

We'd be out on our bikes till the street lights came on

No phones, no tracking apps

There was none of this messaging your mates to arrange going out

You'd just turn up at their door and hope for the best

Or go searching for the house that had the most bikes outside

Probably spend half your day just finding your mates

Parents never had a clue or had to worry

As long as you was back for tea or the street lights coming on

We were the last generation to truly live like this

You hardly see kids playing anymore, it's sad really

We had it all

And we didn't even realize

...

We had it all

And we didn't even realize

...

Looking back on our childhood in the '90s

We didn't have much

But bloody hell, we had everything

We had proper childhoods

We'd be out on our bikes till the street lights came on

No phones, no tracking apps

We'd build a den out of whatever we could nick from the shed

They were rubbish, fell down in 5 minutes

But in our heads, proper fortresses, proper fortresses

A quid from your Nan felt like winning the lottery

Straight down the corner shop

10p penny mix with 50p worth in really

A bottle of Panda Pop that stained your mouth for 3 days

And some Space Raiders if you was feeling fancy

We had it all

And we didn't even realize

...

We had it all

And we didn't even realize

...

We had it all

And we didn't even realize

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
childhood /ˈtʃaɪld.hʊd/ B1	noun - the state or period of being a child
bloody /ˈblʌd.i/ B2	adjective - used for emphasis, typically expressing anger or frustration
proper /ˈprɒp.ər/ B1	adjective - real, satisfactory, or suitable
tracking /ˈtræk.ɪŋ/ B2	noun - the act of following the position of someone or something
messaging /ˈmes.ɪ.dʒɪŋ/ A2	noun - the act of sending electronic messages
generation /ˌdʒen.əˈreɪ.ʃən/ B1	noun - all the people born and living at about the same time
realize /ˈrɪə.laɪz/ B1	verb - to become fully aware of something
rubbish /ˈrʌb.ɪʃ/ A2	adjective - of very poor quality
fortress /ˈfɔː.trəs/ C1	noun - a fortified place or building
lottery /ˈlɒt.ər.i/ B2	noun - a game of chance used to win money
stained /steɪnd/ B2	verb - to leave a mark on something that is difficult to remove
fancy /ˈfæn.si/ B1	adjective - elaborate in structure or decoration
nick /nɪk/ C1	verb - to steal something
shed /ʃed/ B2	noun - a simple roofed structure used for storage
worry /ˈwʌr.i/ A2	verb - to feel troubled or anxious

Key Grammar Structures

• We'd be out on our bikes till the street lights came on

  ➔ Past Habit (Would)

  ➔ "Would" is used here to describe repeated actions or habits that happened regularly in the past.

• As long as you was back for tea or the street lights coming on

  ➔ Conditional Clause (As long as)

  ➔ "As long as" introduces a condition that must be met for the main situation to be acceptable.

• We had it all / And we didn't even realize

  ➔ Past Simple Negative (Didn't + verb)

  ➔ The auxiliary "didn't" followed by the base form is used to negate actions in the past.

• We'd build a den out of whatever we could nick

  ➔ Relative Clause (Whatever)

  ➔ "Whatever" acts as a pronoun meaning 'anything that', introducing an indefinite object.

• If you was feeling fancy

  ➔ Conditional - First/Zero-like structure

  ➔ The "if" clause sets a hypothetical condition based on a state ('feeling fancy'). Note: "you was" is colloquial/dialect grammar.

• A quid from your Nan felt like winning the lottery

  ➔ Simile (Felt like)

  ➔ "Felt like" is used to draw a comparison between two different situations or sensations.

• We didn't have much

  ➔ Quantifiers (Much)

  ➔ "Much" is used here as a quantifier for uncountable nouns, emphasizing the lack of material wealth.

• You hardly see kids playing anymore

  ➔ Adverb of Frequency/Degree (Hardly)

  ➔ "Hardly" is a negative adverb meaning 'almost not' or 'scarcely'.