Switchfoot- Thrive(Learn English with Songs)

Lyrics

Been fighting things that I can't see
Like voices coming from the inside of me and
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

I've been awake for an hour or so
Checking for a pulse but I just don't know
Am I a man when I feel like a ghost?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive

I come alive when I hear you singing
But lately I haven't been hearing a thing and
I get the feeling that I'm in between
A machine and a man who only looks like me

I try and hide it and not let it show
But deep down inside me I just don't know
Am I a man when I feel like a hoax?
The stranger in the mirror is wearing my clothes

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive

I'm always close, but I'm never enough
I'm always in line, but I'm never in love
I get so down, but I won't give up
I get so down, but I won't give up
I get so down, but I won’t give up

Been fighting things that I can't see
Like voices coming from the inside of me and
Like doing things I find hard to believe in
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

Am I myself or am I dreaming?
Am I myself or am I dreaming?

Thrive, thrive, thrive, yeaah, thrive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
A steering wheel don't mean you can drive
A warm body don't mean I'm alive

No, I'm not alright
I know that I'm not right
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive
I wanna thrive not just survive

Yeah yeah
Feel like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive
I wanna thrive not just survive
I wanna thrive not just survive

Feels like I travel but I never arrive
I wanna thrive not just survive

Difficult Phrases and Words

1. pulse

   1. Context: Checking for a pulse but I just don't know

   2. Definition: rhythmic beating of blood that can be checked on the neck and wrist.

   3. Additional sentence:

2. ghost

   1. Context: Am I a man when I feel like a ghost?

   2. Definition: a disembodied soul

   3. Additional sentence: Do you believe that ghosts are real?

3. steering wheel

   1. Context: A steering wheel don't mean you can drive

   2. Definition: used to drive a car

   3. Additional sentence: My father drives with both of his hands on the steering wheel.

4. body

   1. Context: A warm body don't mean I'm alive

   2. Definition: The material nature of a human.

   3. Additional sentence: We buried the dead body in the ground.

5. hoax

   1. Context: Am I a man when I feel like a hoax?

   2. Definition: a fraud

   3. Additional sentence: The video in which a pig saves a baby goat is a hoax.

Discussion Questions

1. What do you think this song is about?

2. Can you relate to anything in this song? Do you have a desire to thrive and not just survive? How do you think you can thrive and not just survive?

3. Have you ever had to check someone’s pulse to see if they were alive? Have you ever saved someone’s life?

4. Do you have any ghost stories? Have you ever experienced a ghost? What do you think of ghosts?

5. The singer says “A steering wheel don't mean you can drive.” Similarly, “A warm body don't mean I'm alive.” What do you think are some ways to tell that you or someone else is alive figuratively?

6. What kind of advice would you give to someone who feels like a hoax? Has there been a time when you felt like a hoax?