A very intense sad wonderful song, worth listening. Released in 2007, it's already one of the most successful songs of all times and the biggest radio airplay hit in the history of "Top 40" radio in North America, number one in many countries and 25 weeks in the top ten. "Apologize" is now the most legally downloaded song in US digital history.

The original song is by Colorado's band OneRepublic. This version was produced by Timbaland (who only does the Eh Eh Eh echoes, like in "Say it Right", but figures everywhere as the singer of this song !?). Anyway, this is the official video of the song so, mm? Well, enjoy it.

You can also sing to this karaoke version: Apologize - karaoke.

Eh,Eh,Eh,   Eh,Eh

I'm holding on your rope,
Got me ten feet off the ground
And I'm hearing what you say but I just can't make a sound
You tell me that you need me
Then you go and cut me down, but wait
You tell me that you're sorry
Didn't think I'd turn around, and say...

That it's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late

I'd take another chance, take a fall
Take a shot for you
And I need you like a heart needs a beat
But it's nothing new - yeah yeah

I loved you with the fire red
Now it's turning blue, and you say...
"Sorry" like the angel heaven let me think was you
But I'm afraid...

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late
Whoa.....

It's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, it's too late
I said it's too late to apologize, yeah
I said it's too late to apologize, yeah
I'm holding on your rope, got me ten feet off the ground...

APOLOGIZE= To say you’re sorry.

ROPE= A flexible heavy cord of tightly intertwined hemp or other fibre. (see picture)

GOT ME TEN FEET OFF THE GROUND= It (the rope) got me (=I was) at a distance of 10 feet from the ground. The verb particle OFF indicates separation.

I CAN’T MAKE A SOUND= I can’t speak.

THEN YOU GO AND CUT ME DOWN= I’m holding your rope, you cut me down, I fall down and I get hurt. It’s a metaphor of how she hurts him. She apologizes but then she does something terrible again and she hurts him again. So we know that it’s not just something she did wrong once, it’s the way she behaves, she hurts him, apologizes, hurts him again, apologizes, hurts him again...

DIDN’T THINK I’D TURN AROUND AND SAY THAT IT’S TOO LATE TO APOLOGIZE= The missing subject is YOU. When you came to apologize you didn’t think I’d tell you that it’s too late. Every time you apologized I accepted you back, so you didn’t expect my answer this time.

TO APOLOGIZE= When you listen to the song it sounds like "to pologize". The word TO is pronounced /tə/ (with a schwa), and the word APOLOGIZE is pronounced /əpɒlədʒaɪz/. TO ends in a schwa and APOLOGIZE begins with a schwa, so what happens is that the singer is simplifying the two schwas and pronouncing just one, that’s why it sounds like he skipped one syllable.

CHANCE= Opportunity.
I’D TAKE A FALL= I would take a risk.
I’D TAKE A SHOT FOR YOU= I would have a go. I’ll give you a chance.
In this stanza (from "I’d take another chance" till "but it’s nothing new) he says that he could forgive her once again, but "it’s nothing new", she keeps hurting him and she’s going to hurt him again if he forgives her, so now he has decided not to suffer anymore and break up (stop the relationship).

I NEED YOU LIKE A HEART NEEDS A BEAT= A "hearbeat", or a "heart beat" is every pulse a heart makes to pump blood in and out. When the heart its working, it's beating, and if we put your hand on our chest we can feel the beats of our heart. Careful with the pronunciation of "heart" /hɑ:*t/.

I LOVED YOU WITH THE FIRE RED= I loved you passionately. He says "fire red", so the noun is "red" and the adjective is "fire". A "fire red" is a very intense red colour.

NOW IT’S TURNING BLUE= My love is turning blue. Red is the colour of passion, blue is the colour of coldness, so this means that my love is disappearing.

YOU SAY "SORRY" LIKE THE ANGEL (that) HEAVEN LET ME THINK WAS YOU= The verb LET here is in the past (let-let-let), because we have WAS in the same sentence. Heaven (=God) let me think you were an angel. I thought you were an angel because God permitted it (He didn’t stop me from thinking that). So when you apologize, you look like an angel, which makes the situation much more difficult for me.

The girl has obviously made him suffer many times. Every time, she comes back and says she’s sorry, and he takes her back. But now he couldn’t take it anymore, he can’t forgive her again, so he simply says it’s too late, he wants to move on.

Many people consider it a suicide but if you look at the lyrics carefully, nothing fits. He's not hanging from the rope, he's holding on the rope, which is completely different, and now he has decided to jump.

" I'm hearing what you say but I just can't make a sound", because he’s dead? No, he’s just too sad to reply.

" I need you like a heart needs a beat but it's nothing new"= I love you so much, but you keep hurting me all the time, nothing changes, I can’t continue like this.

"I loved you with a fire red, now its turning blue"= I loved you passionately, but now my love is dying away.

"I'd take another chance... but... I said it's too late"= a dead person can't take another chance (=opportunity). Besides, "I said it's too late", if he "said" that, he can't be dead.