Live Like We’re Dying

by Kris Allen

an American musician who won season 8 of American Idol. This song was released on November 17, 2009.

Sometimes we fall down, can’t get back up
We’re hiding behind skin that’s too tough
How come we don’t say I love you enough? ‘
Till it’s to late, it’s not too late

Our hearts are hungry for a food that won’t come
And we could make a feast from these crumbs
And we’re all staring down the barrel of a gun
So if your life flashed before you, what would you wish you would’ve done?

Yeah, we gotta start looking at the hands of the time we’ve been given
If this is all we got, then we gotta start thinking
If every second counts on a clock that’s ticking
Gotta live like we’re dying
We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
We gotta tell ’em that we love ’em while we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

And if your plane fell out of the skies
Who would you call with your last goodbye?
Should be so careful who we left out of our lives
And when we long for absolution, there will be no one on the line

We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell ’em that we love ’em while we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying

You never know a good thing till it’s gone
You never see a crash till it’s head on
Why do we think we’re right when we’re dead wrong?
You never know a good thing till it’s gone

Yeah, gotta start looking at the hands of the time we’ve been given
If this is all we got, then we gotta start thinking
If every second counts on a clock that’s ticking
Gotta live like we’re dying
We only got 86,400 seconds in a day to
Turn it all around or to throw it all away
Gotta tell ’em that we love ’em while we got the chance to say
Gotta live like we’re dying, oh, like we’re dying, oh, like we’re dying
Like we’re dying, oh, like we’re dying

Vocabulary:

get back up: stand up again
skin that’s too tough: strong protection against our feelings getting hurt
feast: large meal for many people
crumbs: small pieces of food that are not eaten
staring down: looking into with fear
barrel: the longest part where the bullet comes out
life flashed before you: you saw your whole life in a second
gotta: have got to / have to
hands: the things that point to the numbers of a clock
counts: is important
ticking: making a noise every second
turn it all around: make it all better
’em: them
left out: didn’t include
long for absolution: want forgiveness
on the line: on the telephone
crash: when a vehicle hits something
head on: coming right at you from the front
dead wrong: absolutely wrong