by Bon Jovi

an American rock band consisting of Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora, Hugh McDonald, David Bryan, and Tico Torres.  This song was written by Jon Bon Jovi, Richie Sambora and Max Martin for their album, “Crush,” released in 2000.

This ain’t a song for the broken hearted
A silent prayer for faith departed
And I ain’t gonna be just a face in the crowd
You’re gonna hear my voice when I shout it out loud

It’s my life
It’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frank, he said “I did it my way“
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life

This is for ones who stood their ground
For Tommy and Gina who never back down
Tomorrow’s getting harder make no mistake
Luck, it ain’t enough, you gotta make your own breaks

It’s my life
It’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frank, he said “I did it my way“
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life

Better stand tall when it’s calling you out
Don’t bend, don’t break baby, don’t back down

It’s my life
It’s now or never
‘Cause I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frank, he said “I did it my way“
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life
It’s now or never
I ain’t gonna live forever
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life
My heart is like an open highway
Like Frank, he said “I did it my way“
I just want to live while I’m alive
It’s my life

Vocabulary:

ain’t – isn’t
broken hearted – people whose hearts have been broken by a love affair that ended
prayer – a communication with God
faith – belief in someone
departed – gone
gonna – going to
shout – say very loudly
out loud – so other people can hear
want to live – want to have a good life full of experience
Frank – Frank Sinatra, who say sang a song called “I Did It My Way”
I did it my way – I lived my life the way I wanted
ones – people
stood their ground – didn’t let other people tell them what to do
Tommy and Gina – a fictional, working-class couple
back down – refuse to fight
gotta – have got to
make your own breaks – do what’s necessary to be successful
better stand tall – you’d better get ready for action
it’s calling you out – the time comes to do something

Notes:

As Jon Bon Jovi later wrote:
When I was writing “It’s My Life,” I thought I was writing very self-indulgently about my own life and where I was in it.  I didn’t realize that the phrase “It’s My Life” would be taken as being about everyone–by teenagers, by older guys, mechanics, whatever.  “It’s my life, and I’m taking control”.  Everyone kind of feels that way from time to time.

© 2015 Ambien Malecot for vocabulary lesson only