Don't Happen Twice – English Lyrics

• By: Kenny Chesney
• Album: Greatest Hits

Lyrics & Translation

Explore the language of country music and heartfelt storytelling through Kenny Chesney's "Don't Happen Twice." This song captures the essence of reminiscing about a first love and understanding the uniqueness of certain moments in life, offering a glimpse into themes of nostalgia and the irreplaceable nature of special memories .

[English]

I haven't seen you in forever

Oh, you haven't changed a bit

You didn't think that I remembered

How could I forget?

We sang Bobby McGee on the hood of my car

Made a wish on every star

In that clear September sky

One bottle of wine and two Dixie cups

3 a.m, I fell in love

For the first time in my life

Oh, that's somethin' that just don't happen twice

...

To this day, I still taste that first kiss

How I prayed it wouldn't end

And in a way seeing you like this

I guess it never really did

We sang Bobby McGee on the hood of my car

Made a wish on every star

In that clear September sky

One bottle of wine and two Dixie cups

3 a.m, I fell in love

For the first time in my life

Oh, that's somethin' that just don't happen twice

...

One bottle of wine and two Dixie cups

3 a.m, I fell in love

For the first time in my life

Oh, that's somethin'

Baby, that's somethin'

Oh, that's somethin' that just don't happen twice

...

Oh, yeah

...

We sang Bobby McGee on the hood of my car

Made a wish on every star

One bottle of wine and two Dixie cups

Yeah, we fell in love

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
changed /tʃeɪndʒd/ B1	verb - to make or become different
remember /rɪˈmɛm.bər/ B1	verb - to recall or retain in memory
forget /fɔːrˈɡɛt/ B1	verb - to fail to remember
sing /sɪŋ/ B1	verb - to produce musical sounds with the voice
hood /hʊd/ B2	noun - the covering over a car’s engine compartment
car /kɑːr/ A1	noun - automobile
wish /wɪʃ/ B1	noun - a desire or hope for something verb - to hope for; to desire
star /stɑːr/ A1	noun - a luminous celestial body
clear /klɪə(r)/ A2	adjective - transparent, not cloudy or obscure
sky /skaɪ/ A1	noun - the expanse above the Earth
bottle /ˈbɒt.l̩/ A2	noun - a container, typically of glass or plastic, with a neck
wine /waɪn/ B1	noun - an alcoholic drink made from fermented grapes
cup /kʌp/ A1	noun - a small container for drinking
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - deep affection or strong liking verb - to feel deep affection for someone
first /fɜːst/ A1	adjective - preceding all others in time or order
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the existence of living beings; the period between birth and death
taste /teɪst/ B1	verb - to perceive or experience the flavor of something noun - the flavor perceived by the sense of taste
kiss /kɪs/ A1	noun - a touch with the lips as a form of affection verb - to touch with the lips as a sign of love or greeting
pray /preɪ/ B1	verb - to address a deity or higher power with a request or thanks

Key Grammar Structures

• I haven't seen you in forever

  ➔ Present perfect negative (have/has + not + past participle)

  ➔ The word "haven't" shows the present perfect negative, indicating an action that has not happened up to now.

• You haven't changed a bit

  ➔ Present perfect negative with verb "change"

  ➔ "haven't" forms the negative present perfect, emphasizing that the person’s state has remained the same.

• You didn't think that I remembered

  ➔ Past simple negative + that‑clause (reported thought)

  ➔ The word "didn't" marks the past simple negative, and the clause "that I remembered" functions as an object complement.

• How could I forget?

  ➔ Modal verb "could" in a question (past ability/interrogative)

  ➔ "could" expresses a hypothetical ability in the past, and the word order "How could I" forms a rhetorical question.

• We sang Bobby McGee on the hood of my car

  ➔ Simple past tense (regular verb) with prepositional phrase

  ➔ "sang" is the simple past form of "sing", indicating a completed action in the past.

• Made a wish on every star

  ➔ Past simple without explicit subject (zero‑subject or elliptical construction)

  ➔ "Made" appears without "I" or "we"; the subject is understood from the previous line, a common lyrical ellipsis.

• 3 a.m., I fell in love

  ➔ Simple past with time expression at the beginning

  ➔ "fell" is the past simple of "fall", and the time phrase "3 a.m." sets the temporal context.

• that's something that just don't happen twice

  ➔ Relative clause "that just don't happen twice" with present simple negative (don't) and adverb "just"

  ➔ The word "don't" forms the negative present simple, while "just" limits the frequency, and the relative pronoun "that" introduces the clause.