بیلی آیلیش - No Time To Die

I should have known

I’d leave alone

Just goes to show

That the blood you bleed is just the blood you owe

We were a pair

But I saw you there

Too much to bear

You were my life, but life is far away from fair

Was I stupid to love you?

Was I reckless to help?

Was it obvious to everybody else?

LEARN WITH CLIP

I should have known

I’d leave alone

IF you say that you should have know a certain thing

You’re meaning that you should have anticipated the outcome of a situation and that you’re not feeling surprised by it.

So Billi is saying that although she did not anticipate she would end up alone, she silly have predicted it.

By the way, if you use this phrase to talk about a prediction like this, it will usually be followed by a conditional phrase (with WOULD ).

EXAMPLE: I should have know it would rain.

He should have known she would not want to go out with him.

Let’s check out some other examples of this very common phrase.

Don’t be mad at me Cause you’re pushing 30 And your old tricks no longer work

You should have known from the jump that you always get dumped

And I’ve tried and tried to say what’s on my mind

You should have known, oh

No, I’m done believing you, you don’t know what I’m feeling.

Just goes to show

That the blood you bleed is just the blood you owe

The expression it just goes to show means that there is evidence that something is true.

For example, if your friend gets burned at the beach because he didn’t want to wear any sunscreen, you could say: It just goes to show, you better wear sunscreen or you’ll pay the consequences.

Let’s look at another example:

It’s been so long, it just goes to show you that i still can’t seem to get you off my mind.

Just goes to show

That the blood you bleed is just the blood you owe

When you BLEED, blood runs out of your body.

For example, cutting your finger while you’re cooking can make you bleed.

People OWE things when they’re in debt to someone.

So, for example, you could owe money to a friend of you could owe a favour to someone.

You can also say that if someone owes you something, you have lend something to that person.

What if the opposite of LEND? A) Borrow ✓ B) Bring

C) Give

So by this line, Billie might be saying something like the expression WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND.

this means that you pay for past mistakes or wrongs that you have done to someone else, like karma.

WHAT GOES AROUND, goes around, goes around, comes all the way back around

What goes around, goes around, goes around, comes all the way back around, yeah

We were a pair

PAIR basically means a set of two things of the same type.

For example a pair of shoes or a pair of tennis players.

Here, it is another way of referring to a couple

But I saw you there

Too much to bear

TO MUCH TO BEAR is a phrase that means that you can no longer tolerate or handle something.

In this case, the word bear means to accept or endure an unpleasant situation.

I know you are not far, but i still can’t handle all the distance

You’re traveling with my heart

I hope this is a temporary feeling, Cause it’s to much to bear without you

You were my life, but life is far away from fair

Built is saying that life is not fair at all.

If you say that something is fair, you mean that that thing is marked by impartiality and honesty, while being free from self-interest or favouritism. EXAMPLE he had a fair trial.

She is a fair person to do visit with.

So by saying that he was her life and that life is not fair, Billie is also implying that her partner also wasn’t fair with her.

And as you can imagine, FAR FROM as used here does not refer to distance, but rather means that it was not fair at all.

EXAMPLE: Her solution was far from creative, but it worked.

It’s breaking me, I’m losing you, We were far from perfect, but we were worth it, To many fights, and we cried, but never said We’re sorry

Was I stupid to love you? Was I reckless to help? The word STUPID usually refers to someone foolish that gets easily tricked.

You must think that I’m stupid

You must think that I’m a fool

You must think that I’m new to this

But I have seen this all before

Was I stupid to love you? Was I reckless to help? If you’re reckless, you don’t think (or care) about the consequences of your words or actions.

EXAMPLE: He is such a reckless driver, he always speeds while texting.

Was it obvious to everybody else? Here the word else refers to any other person

Billie means that anybody but he could see that the relationship would not work.

ELSE can also mean different or instead, like in this example from Ariana Grande:

Spend more time with my friends

I ain’t worried ‘bout noting’

Plus, I met someone else We havin’ better discussion.

I let it burn

You’re no longer my concern, mmm

Faces from my past return

Another lesson yet to learn

That I’d fallen for a lie

You were never on my side

Fool me once, fool me twice

Are you death or paradise? Now you’ll never see me cry

There’s just no time to die

I let it burn

In this literal meaning, of you let something burn you see that thing on fire and do nothing to put it out.

However, here Billie probably means it in a metaphorical way to say that she won’t fight the pain she’ll just let it hurt.

I never know that love was blind

‘Till I was here, but she was never mind

Yeah, I was reckless

But I Let it burn. I Let it burn, yeah.

I saw the signs and I ignored it

Rose-coloured glasses all distorted

Set fire to my purpose

And I let it burn

You got off on the hurting

When it wasn’t yours.

Now let’s listen again to how she said this:

I let it burn

This is a great example of connected speech:

How native cut and connect their words.

So here Billie did something that is prevalent in American English.

She made a T into a soft D sound.

This is called a trap T, and it happens when a T is between two vowel sounds.

Now, if those vowels are in two diffident words, we often connect those words. So she doesn’t say “Let it burn”. She says:

I Le-dit burn

This happens in a few other moments of the song.

“Bu-di saw you there” “Tha-dide fallen for a lie” “There’s just no time-duh-die” Now in that last example something interesting happend.

The preposition to reduced to just a “tuh”, which is something that native do all the time.

And because it was between two vowels, the T became a tap T.

So she doesn’t say “Time to” or “time-do,” She says, “Time-duh.” Listen to that line from Billie again and then repeat after her

There’s just no time to die

There’s just no Time-duh-die

There’s just no Time-duh-die

Let’s look at some more examples of the reduction of to from the series Friends:

Wait. Does he eat chalk? Just ‘cause I don’t want her to [duh] go through what I went through with Carl. Oh.

Okay, everybody relax. This is not even a date.

Come on, Daddy, listen to [duh] me! Oh, God, Monica! Hi! Thank God! I just went to [duh] your building

And you weren’t here and then this guy with a big hammer said that you might be here and you are, you are! You’re no longer my concern, mmm

If you’re someone’s concern it means that you’re important to that person and that he or she worries about you.

Example: I’m concerned about her, I haven’t seen her eating properly in days.

It’s common to hear this used in negative collocations , like the one that Billie used, or “not my concern”.

Faces from my past return

Another lesson yet to learn

Learners often confuse YET and STILL.

Still refers that something started in the past, and it is still true now.

I’ve been to Paris, but I still haven’t been to London.

It would be incorrect in this case to say:

“I yet haven’t been to London.” Yet refers to something that hasn’t happened in the past, but we believe that it may happen in the future.

So in this case we could say:

I haven’t been to London, yet. I hope to go next summer.

Yet can also come after the verb or between the auxiliary and main verb, as in this song.

This is not as common in everyday English, as it sounds more poetic or formal.

I haven’t yet been to London. The best is yet to come. A lesson yet to learn.

So, in brief, when we say: I still haven’t been to London. The focus is on that something did not happen in the past nor in the present moment.

When we say I haven’t been to London, yet. The focus is on the intention to go in the future.

In this case, we can change the order of the sentence and use either still or yet and give a slightly different meaning.

However, this is not always possible.

Sometime only using one or other is correct.

So, now that you know this, which of these would be correct? A) Justin moved to Brasil 3 years ago and still lives there.

B).

Let’s try another one:

A).

B)I’m not 31, yet.

That I’d fallen for a lie

If you fall for something you have been deceived by that thing.

Billie’s saying that he lied to her and she believed him.

You promised the world and I fell for it

I put you first and you adored it

Chew me and spit me out, I fell for this so many times it’s ridiculous, And still I stick with this, I’m such of this.

You were never on my side

If someone’s on your side, that person is supportive of your plans or ideas.

Example: I’m glad you’re on my side in this debate.

So, Billie is saying that he never really supported her.

Fool me once, fool me twice

Are you death of paradise.

To fool means to trick or devices someone.

Example: He had issued false documents to fool the police.

Billie’s been tricked at least two times [twice] And in this verse she references the idiom

“Fool me once, shame on you; Fool me twice, shame on me,” Which means that if someone is tricked once is not their fault, but it is their responsibility to avoid making similar mistake in the future.

Fool me once, fool me twice

Are you death of paradise.

The term paradise usually refers to a place of complete bliss, delight and peace.

By saying this, she is showing her confusion as to whether he is very good or very bad for her.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

I should have known

I’d leave alone

Just goes to show

That the blood you bleed is just the blood you owe

We were a pair

HERE, TO BE A PAIR MEANS:

A) TO BE A GOOD FRIENDS.

B) TO HAVE TWO THINGS.

C) TO BE A COUPLE. ✓

But I saw you there

Too much to bear

IF SOMETHING’S TOO MUCH TO BEAR, A) IT’S EASY TO SOLVE.

B) YOU CAN HANDLE IT.

C) YOU CAN NO LONGER TOLERATE IT. ✓

You were my life, but life is far away from fair

Was I stupid to love you? Was I reckless to help? Was it obvious to everybody else? I let it burn

You’re no longer my concern, mmm

Faces from my past return

Another lesson yet to learn

That I’d fallen for a lie

You were never on my side

IF SOMEONE’S ON YOUR SIDE, THAT PERSON:

A) IS AGAINST YOU.

B) IS SUPPORTIVE OF YOU. ✓ C) COMPETES WITH YOU.

Fool me once, fool me twice

Are you death of paradise.

Now you’ll never see me cry

There’s just no time to die.

NO TIME-DUH-DIE.

No time to die.