You know it's crazy, 'cause nights like this

Would start out with a little private party

You sneak me in your mom's house

I know I mighta spilled my drink, but

Really wasn't tryin' to spill my heart out

I mean it started as a conversation

I was really tryin' to get my thoughts out

But then we make moves and we make plans

Had the whole thing mapped out

See, you were gonna go to college

And to pay for bills I'd figure the job out

And you knew I had to say it, but them day's gone

Now I moved on and you switched phones

Hopefully reincarnation will bring us back to the place we belong

Summer after high school when we first met

We make out in your Mustang to Radiohead

And on my 18th birthday we got matching tattoos

Used to steal your parents' liquor and climb to the roof

Talk about our future like we had a clue

Never planned that one day, I'd be losing you

In another life

I would be your girl

We keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say

You were the one that got away

The one that got away

I was June and you were my Johnny Cash

Never one without the other we made a pact

Sometimes when I miss you

I put those records on

Someone said you had your tattoo removed

Saw you downtown singing the blues

Its time to face the music

I'm no longer your muse

In another lifeI would be your girl

We keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another lifeI would make you stay

So I don't have to say

You were the one that got away

The one that got away

The o-o-o-o-o-one

The o-o-o-o-o-one

The o-o-o-o-o-one

The one that got away

I'm falling for you like dominoes

From the top of the hundredth floor

Look out below Geronimo

Tryin' to get behind the closed doors to your soul

Why'd you have to end the show

We had such a beautiful plot

There was still more story to go

Now look, I'm not insinuating that

You're some type of fair weather player

But even if the whole world falls over

I wouldn't be aware of a glacier

I just wanna see you wake up

Doing your hair in the mirror with your makeup

Then, maybe in the next lifetime we could make up

In another life

I would be your girl

We keep all our promises

Be us against the world

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say

You were the one that got away

The one that got away

The o-o-o-o-o-one

The o-o-o-o-o-one

The o-o-o-o-o-one

In another life

I would make you stay

So I don't have to say

You were the one that got away

The one that got away

"The One That Got Away" mengekspresikan rasa sesal karena hubungan yang berakhir sebelum waktunya, di mana sang tokoh utama sadar bahwa ia telah membiarkan orang yang tepat pergi. Liriknya bernostalgia tentang momen-momen indah, seperti berkendara bersama atau tato yang serasi.

Frasa ini menegaskan harapan untuk bisa memperbaiki kesalahan dan mempertahankan hubungan jika takdir memberi kesempatan kedua. Lagu ini memadukan melodi yang easy listening dengan tema kesedihan dan kerinduan, menunjukkan bahwa kekayaan atau kesuksesan tidak dapat menggantikan kehilangan orang yang dicintai.