امینم

If you had

One shot

Or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted

In one moment

Would you capture it

Or just let it slip?

Yo

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy

There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti

He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting

What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud

He opens his mouth, but the words won’t come out

He’s choking, how, everybody’s joking now

The clocks run out, time’s up, over, blaow!

Snap back to reality, oh there goes gravity

Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked

He’s so mad, but he won’t give up that easy? No.

He won’t have it, he knows his whole back to these ropes

It don’t matter, he’s dope, he knows that, but he’s broke

He’s so stacked that he knows, when he goes back to his mobile home, that’s when its

Back to the lab again yo, this whole rhapsody better go capture this moment and hope it don’t pass him

Lose yourself in the music, the moment you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetime.

Look

If you had

One shot

Or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted

In one moment

Would you capture it

Or just let it slip?

A shotis the same thing as an apportunity.

As a verb, we say to have a shot to do something.

Then, we often use the verb to seize, which means to grab, as a collection:

to seize an opportunity or to seize a chance.

Example: When she travelled to Europe, she seized the opportunity to practice her English.

As you’ll see in this example, Ross was never able to seize the opportunity to tell Rachel that he liked her.

She also says he never seizes the day, which means to enjoy and make the most out of a day (or life).

You know, you don’t ever, just sort of seize the day, you know.

You liked me for a year and you didn’t do anything about it.

I want to experience every moment.

I want to seize every opportunity.

I am seeing everything so clearly now.

This comes from the famous movie 8-Mile, which is a fictional portrayal of Eminem’s own struggles to become a successful rapper.

In the song, he is talking about seizing the opportunity to make your dreams come true, to get what you desire the most.

That’s why we seize the moment try to freeze it and own it, squeeze it and hold it.

‘Cause we consider these minutes golden

And maybe they’ll admit it when we’re gone

Just let our spirits live on, through our lyrics that you hear in our songs and we can.

Would you capture it

Or just let it slip?

An opposite of seizing or taking an opportunity is to let an opportunity slip.

This comes from the expression to let an opportunity slip through your fingers.

In figurative terms, this represents having something in your hands, an opportunity, but then for some reason you lose or give up the chance to do something with it: it slips through your fingers like sand for example.

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy

There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti

These first lines of this verse describe how B-rabbit, the character he plays in 8-Mile, felt in his first rap battle.

These words describe someone who’s extremely nervous.

When you’re nervous your palms sweat and your legs shake.

He says that he even vomited before getting up on stage, which even further paints the pictures of the extreme anxiety he felt.

A lot of people who like this song don’t know what the phrase “Mom’s Spaghetti” means.

This is just because he just threw up [vomited], you can see what he ate earlier that day.

He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgetting

What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud

The surface is the very top or most apparent part of something.

For example, the surface of a lake or sea is the part of the water that you can see.

What he means here is that by what you see on his face, you wouldn’t know that he feels so nervous inside.

To drop a bomb, in its figurative sense, means to do or say something that is very shocking and unexpected.

Example: She dropped a bomb with the news that she was pregnant.

However, in the context Eminem uses it here, it means to rap words that will destroy his opponent in the rap battle.

On the microphone, I drop bombs

Look at this car! Thanks a lot, mom!

Then, Eminem raps, “he keeps on forgetting what he wrote down.”

Although freestyle rappers will say that all the lyrics they rap in a rap battle are improvised in the moment, most battlers write down a few lines in case they run out of things to say.

Here, Rabbit is so nervous that he can’t even remember his pre-written lines.

Choke, choke, choke!

He opens his mouth, but the words won’t come out

He’s choking, how, everybody’s joking now

The clocks run out, time’s up, over, blaow!

To choke is the action that describes when a person can’t breathe, perhaps because their trachea is obstructed with food.

However, as slang, this word means to not have anything to say.

That’s what happens in this scene in 8-mile.

In rap battles, each opponent has a certain amount of time to perform his freestyle.

If your time is up, this means that the timer has hit zero.

When something is over, it means that it has finished.

Example: What time will the movie be over?

Run out is a phrasal verb.

We already said rappers sometimes might run out of things to say; but time also runs out.

This means it comes to an end.

The clocks run out, time’s up, over, blaow!

Snap back to reality, oh there goes gravity

Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked.

A snap represents something sudden, like a snap of your fingers.

As Eminem says here, if you snap back to reality, there’s a sudden moment of realization where you stop fantasizing or living in a dream and are confronted with your reality.

What he precisely means in the context of the song is that if the humiliation of losing a battle the way he did wasn’t bad enough, he still has to deal with the fact that he’s broke [has no money] and has many other issues in his life.

He’s so mad, but he won’t give up that easy? No.

Despite the harsh [difficult] reality of his life, he won’t give up.

That’s to say, he won’t stop trying to win in the rap battles or make better life for himself.

Cause everything that bothers me, I got it bottled up

I think I’m bottomin’ out

But I’m not about to give up, I gotta get up

Thank God, I got a little girl

Ah what the fuck, that hurt wai!

Ah what the fuck, I just got struck by lightening

Alright then I quite, good I give up

Call it evil that men do, Lord forgive me for what my pen do.

He won’t have it, he knows his whole back to these ropes

Eminem is using a variation of the expression

to have your back against the ropes or simply to be on the ropes.

This means to be close to defeat or ruin.

This comes from the sport of boxing.

If a boxer is against the ropes It shows he’s in a very vulnerable position.

Example : They have their backs against the ropes.

If they don’t win today, they won’t qualify for the Olympic games.

Back to the lab again yo, this whole rhapsody better go capture this moment and hope it don’t pass him.

Lab is short for laboratory, a place where scientific experiments are performed.

Figuratively, it is used to describe a place you go in order to be creative so by back to the lab Eminem means that he’ll return home to come up with new ideas and rethink his strategy to win.

He’s thinking of a way to make a come back.

A more common expression we might use to express this meaning is back to the drawing board, which means to start again on a new design or plan after the failure of an earlier attempt.

Example : That ad campaign was not as successful as we had hoped. Back to the drawing board.

We’re now going to get some practice on connected speech with the lyrics of this verse by Eminem.

There are three aspects of connected speech that this song is particularly rich on.

First, Eminem links his words a lot.

You’ll see this represented in blue.

Second, this song has many instances of he and his.

As we’ve seen many times in previous lessons, these words often drop the h sound, so they sound like [ee] and [iz.]

Lastly, look out for occurrences of the American T.

For example, with a regular T you say spaghe tt i, but with an American T, It’s spaghe tt i [spa-geh-dee.]

We’re going to identify the American T’s in green.

Now, not how he combines all these three aspects of connected speech in but he

First, he drops the H, but he

Then he converts the T into a “d” (American T)

And then he links the two words, which results in “buh-dee.”

No connected speech: but he

With connected speech: “buh-dee.”

We’re going to break down the connected speech of each line of this verse.

If you start practicing this a lot, you will be able to sing along with Eminem, and greatly improve your pronunciation along the way.

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy = his palm-suh sweaty knees weak arm-zar heavy.

There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti = There’s vomit oniz sweater already mom’s spaghetti.

He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready = he’s nervous bu-don the surface he looks calm an ready.

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin’ = tuh drop bombs, buh-dee keep-san forgettin’

His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy

There’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti

He’s nervous, but on the surface he looks calm and ready

To drop bombs, but he keeps on forgettin’

What he wrote down, the whole crowd goes so loud = wha-dee wro-down the whole crowd go-sso loud.

He opens his mouth, but the words won’t come out, He’s chokin’, how, everybody’s jokin’ now = he open-ziz mouth buh-the words won’t come out, he’s chokin’, how, everybody’s jokin’ now.

The clocks run out, time’s up, over, blaow = the clocks run out time-zup over blaow!

wha-dee wro-down the whole crowd go-sso loud.

he open-ziz mouth buh-the words won’t come out.

He’s chokin’, how, everybody’s jokin’ now.

the clocks run out time-zup over blaow!

Snape back to reality, oh there goes gravity

Oh, there goes Rabbit, he choked = Snap back to reality oh there goes gravity Oh, there goes rabbi-dee choked.

He’s so mad, but he won’t give up that easy? No

He won’t have it, he knows his whole back to these ropes = He’s so made buh - dee won’t give up tha-deeasy no

He won’t have-ih-dee knows his whole back to these ropes.

It don’t matter, he’s dope, he knows that, but he’s broke = It don’t matter he’s dope he knows that buh-deez broke.

He’s so stacked that he knows, when he goes back to his mobile home, that’s when its= He’s so stacked tha-dee knows whe-nee goes back to his mobile home, that’s whe-nits.

Back to the lab again yo, this whole rhapsody

He better go capture this moment

and hope it don’t pass him.

please stand up, please stand up, please stand up.

‘Cause I’m Slim Shady, yes I’m the real Shady

All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating

So won’t the real Slim Shady please stand up

Please stand up, please stand up?

I’m like a head trip to listen to, ‘Cause I’m only givin’ you things you joke about with your friends inside your livin’ room

The only difference is I got the balls to say it

In front of y’all and I don’t gotta be false or sugarcoat it at all

I just get on the mic and spit it

And whether you like to admit it, I just shit it

Better than 90% of you rappers out can

Then you wonder: “How can kids eat up these albums like Valiums?”

It’s funny, ‘cause at the rate I’m going, when I’m 30

I’ll be the only person in the nursing home flirting

Pinching nurse’s asses when I’m jacking off with Jergens

And I’m jerking, but this whole bag of Viagra isn’t working

And every single person is a Slim Shady lurking

He could be working at Burger King, spittin’ on your onion rings

Or in the parking lot, circling, screaming, “I don’t give a fuck!”

With his windows down and his system up

So will the real Shady please stand up

And put one of those fingers on each hand up?

And be proud to be outta your mind and outta control

And one more time, loud as you can, how does it go?

I’m like a head trip to listen to, ‘Cause I’m only givin’ you things you joke about with your friends inside your livin’ room.

Here he’s describing his songs as a trip to listen to.

If something like a song is a trip to listen to, it means it’s strange or entertaining and exciting.

It gives you a sense of adventure.

More precisely, Eminem’s songs are a head trip ; this means they’re mentally stimulating.

Example : This movie was such a trip to watch!

‘Cause I’m only givin’ you things you joke about with your friends inside your livin’ room

The only difference is I got the balls to say it

In front of y’all and I don’t gotta be false or sugarcoat it at all.

Y’all is a shortened version of you all.

Because in English the pronoun “you” is used both for the singular and plural forms, sometimes we say “you all” or “you guys” to make it clear we’re referring not to one person, but to a group of people.

We talked more about “Y’all” in this lesson with Ellen, which you might want to check out after.

Literally, we say this when talking about food.

Suger coating is a thin layer of suger we use to cover certain foods to give it a sweeter taste.

As slang though, if you sugarcoat som you say, you make something seem more positive or pleasant than it really is.

Example : He didn’t try to sugarcoat it. He wasn’t happy with bronze, he wanted to win gold.

I’m not gonna sugarcoat it, Richard.

I don’t think he likes you.

I mean, he literally rolled his eyes at you.

I just get on the mic and spit it

And whether you like to admit it, I just shit it

Better than 90% of you rappers out can.

Literally, to spit is to eject your saliva.

The slang version of this word is often used in the context of rap music, and it means to recite your lyrics rapping.

Then you wonder: “How can kids eat up these albums like Valiums?”

It’s funny.

When people eat something up, they like it so much that they want to get more of it.

Example : In the early and mid 2000’s people were eating up Eminem’s music.

It’s funny, ‘cause at the rate I’m going, when I’m 30

I’ll be the only person in the nursing home flirting .

Rate is the speed at which something happens over a particular period of time.

Example : At the rate We’re moving, we won’t get there on time.

To flirt means to behave in a way that shows a Sexual attraction for someone.

At the time  of this song, Eminem had already seen incredible success as well as controversy and been involved with drugs.

At the rate or speed at which his life was going, he thought that when he was 30, he would feel a lot older.

Old enough to be in a nursing home.

And every single person is a Slim Shady lurking .

To lurk is to wait somewhere quality and secretly, usually because you are going to do something wrong.

Slim Shady is Eminem’s alter ego he often impersonates in his old songs, this one in particular.

Slim Shady’s characteristic is not caring what other people though about the things he had to say.

He’s saying that every person has a Slim Shady lurking inside of them.

That is, hiding and getting ready to come out.

Always, you can see him lurking in the hallways

Carcasses of Caucasian females in his crawls space

How the hell did he fit ‘em all into such a small place

He could be working at Burger King, spittin’ on your onion rings

Or in the parking lot, circling, screaming, “I don’t give a fuck!”

With his windows down and his system up.

You could say that Eminem’s Slim Shady motto is I don’t give a fuck.

This is a way of saying in an extremely emphatic way that you don’t care about what people think about you.

Be careful though to not use this unless you’re in a place where you’re sure you can say swear words.

So will the real Shady please stand up

And put one of those fingers on each hand up?

And be proud to be outta your mind and outta control

And one more time, loud as you can, how does it go?

His rap here describes how you should feel proud (happy or pleased) to be out of your mind [crazy].

Here he’s saying we are all crazy in some way or another.

Then, he says “how does it go?”

Here he’s just asking what the rest of the lyrics are.

You’re trying to save me stop holding your breath

And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy

I wanted the fame but not the cover of Newsweek

Oh well, guess beggars can’t be choosey

Wanted to receive attention for my music

Wanted to be left alone in public, excuse me

For wantin’ my cake, and eat it too, and wantin’ it both ways

Fame made me a balloon ‘cause my ego inflated

When I blew, see, but it was confusing

‘Cause all I wanted to do’s be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf

Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam

Ooh! Hit the lottery, ooh-wee!

But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet

It like winnin’ a used mink

Ironic ‘cause I think I’m gettin’ so huge I need a shrink

I’m beginnin’ to lose sleep:

One sheep, two sheep

Going coo-coo and kooky as kool keith

But I’m actually weirder than you think, ‘cause I’m

I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed

Get along with the voices inside of my head

You’re tryin’ to save me, stop holdin’ your breath

And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy

Well, that’s not fair!

You think I’m crazy.

I wanted the fame but not the cover of the Newsweek

Oh well, guess beggars can’t be choosey .

A beggar is a person who lives by begging for money, food, etc.

Choosey means very careful in choosing: showing preference for certain things.

This is an idiom that we use to say that you must accept that which is given to you, especially if you can’t pay for it yourself.

Example : When I was young, I would take any job, however bad it was because, you know, beggars can’t be choosers.

I was broke and needed money.

Wanted to receive attention for my music

Wanted to be left alone in public, excuse me.

If you ask someone to leave you alone,you don’t want their company or want them to go away because they’re being annoying.

Eminem is talking about wanting all the benefits of fame, but not the issues that come with it, like constantly being harassed [bothered] by fans and paparazzi.

He addresses wanting to be left alone in this song.

But at least have the decency in you

To leave me alone, When you freaks see me out

In the streets when I’m eating or feeding my daughter

Do not come and speak to me (speak to me).

Wanted to be left alone in public, excuse me

For wantin’ my cake, and eat it too, and wantin’ it both ways.

He keeps reflecting on this issue with this idiom:

have your cake and eat it too.

This means to have or do two good things at the same time that are impossible to have or do at the same time.

For example, if you enjoy food to the point that you eat tons of calories very day, you can’t complain when you get out of shape.

You can’t obsessively satisfy your food cravings and have a good figure at the same time.

Fame made me a balloon ‘cause my ego inflated

When I blew, see, but it was confusing.

One of the things fame does to people is it inflates their ego.

This means it makes them think they’re superior to others.

A person’s ego that gets inflated could be represented with a balloon.

Like a balloon, his ego, he says, blew up and left him confused.

Here he’s referring to the period in the late 2000’s where he didn’t produce any music and dealt with drug addiction and weight gain.

This was, according to him, due to the pressures of fame.

‘Cause all I wanted to do’s be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf .

He’s saying he wanted to be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf.

As you might know, Bruce Lee was a skillful martial artist.

A loose leaf is a piece of paper that’s separated from a notepad.

This is where Eminem used to famously write his rap songs.

You would express a similar idea in saying, for example, that you want to be the Messi of speaking English.

He wanted to be as good at writing rap (on loose leaves) as Bruce Lee was at fighting.

‘Cause all I wanted to do’s be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf .

Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam

Ooh! Hit the lottery, ooh-wee! He’s making an allusion to his drug abusing habits in the past, but here it’s just ink.

He’s saying he was committed to improving his lyrics.

His lyrics were a tool to blow steam.

This means to do or say something that helps you to get rid of strong feelings or energy. We often say this as to blow off some steam.

Example : I’m going to go for a run tonight to blow off some steam.

Eminem gives us yet another idiom in hit the lottery.

This means that he got something out of extreme luck.

Many say that Eminem hit the lottery when he signed with Dr.Dre’s record company.

But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet .

He achieved worldwide success, but in exchange he had to give up his privacy.

If you give something up, you’re forced to lose that.

Example : In order to be the best student at school he had to give up social life.

He often regrets what he gave up, so that’s why he says his success was bittersweet.

If something is bittersweet it makes you happy and sad at the same time.

I gave up my life for you, totally devoted to you while I’ve stayed

Faithfull all the way this is how I funking get repaid.

Ironic ‘cause I think I’m gettin’ so huge I need a shrink .

Eminem’s lyrical ability shines through in every one of his lines. Take this one for example with word play.

He’s talking about getting so big,

that he needs to shrink.

That’s to say, become smaller.

On the other end of the wordplay, he’s saying he needs a shrink, which is a common way to refer to a psychologist.

Know why I say these things?

 ’Cause ladies’ screams

Keep creepin’ in Shady’s dreams

And the way things seem

I shouldn’t have to pay these shrinks

These 80 G’s a week to say the same things tweece

Twice, whatever, I hate these things.

If you had

one shot

Or one opportunity

To seize everything you ever wanted

in one moment

Would you capture it

Or just let it slip?

Yo

His palm-suh sweaty knees weak arm - zar heavy.

There’s vomit oniz sweater already mom’s spaghetti.

He’s nervous bu - don the surface he looks calm and ready

tuh drop bombs, buh - dee keep - san forgettin’

Wha - dee wro - down the whole crowd go - sso loud

he open - ziz mouth buh - the words won’t come out

He’s chokin,how, everybody’s jokin’ now

the clocks run out time - sup over blaow!

Snape back to reality oh there goes gravity Oh there goes rabbi - dee choked.

He’s so mad buh - dee won’t give up tha - deeasy no

He won’t have - ih - dee knows his whole back to these ropes.

It don’t matter he’s dope he knows that buh - deez broke

He’s so stacked tha - dee knows

whe-nee goes back to his mobile home, that’s whe-nits.

Back to the lab again yo, this whole rhapsody

He better go capture this moment and hope it don’t pass him.

Lose yourself in the music, the moment you own it, you better never let it go

You only get one shot, do not miss your chance to blow

This opportunity comes once in a lifetim.

Please stand up, please stand up?

‘Cause I’m Slim Shady, yes I’m the real Shady

All you other Slim Shadys are just imitating

So won’t the real Slim Shady please stand up

Please stand up, please stand up?

I’m like a head trip to listen to, ‘Cause I’m only givin’ you things you joke about with your friends inside your livin’ roome.

The only difference is I got the balls to say it

In front of y’all and I don’t gotta be false or sugarcoat it at all

I just get on the mic and spit it

And whether you like to admit it, I just shit it

Better than 90% of you rappers out can

Then you wonder: “How can kids eat up these albums like Valiums?”

It’s funny, ‘cause at the rate I’m going, when I’m 30

I’ll be the only person in the nursing home flirting

Pinching nurse’s asses when I’m jacking off with Jergens

And I’m jerking, but this whole bag of Viagra isn’t working

And every single person is a Slim Shady lurking

He could be working at Burger King, spittin’ on your onion rings

Or in the parking lot, circling, screaming, “I don’t give a fuck!”

With his windows down and his system up

So will the real Shady please stand up

And put one of those fingers on each hand up?

And be proud to be outta your mind and outta control

And one more time, loud as you can, how does it go?

You’re trying to save me stop holding your breath

And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy

I wanted the fame but not the cover of Newsweek

Oh well, guess beggars can’t be choosey

Wanted to receive attention for my music

Wanted to be left alone in public, excuse me

For wantin’ my cake, and eat it too, and wantin’ it both ways

Fame made me a balloon ‘cause my ego inflated

When I blew, see, but it was confusing

‘Cause all I wanted to do’s be the Bruce Lee of loose leaf

Abused ink, used it as a tool when I blew steam

Ooh! Hit the lottery, ooh-wee!

But with what I gave up to get it was bittersweet

It like winnin’ a used mink

Ironic ‘cause I think I’m gettin’ so huge I need a shrink

I’m beginnin’ to lose sleep:

One sheep, two sheep

Going coo-coo and kooky as kool keith

But I’m actually weirder than you think, ‘cause I’m

I’m friends with the monster that’s under my bed

Get along with the voices inside of my head

You’re tryin’ to save me, stop holdin’ your breath

And you think I’m crazy, yeah, you think I’m crazy

Well, that’s not fair!