Guilt Trip – English Lyrics

• By: Kanye West
• Album: Yeezus

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into Kanye West's experimental soundscape with 'Guilt Trip' from *Yeezus*. This track, blending hip hop with electronica and raw emotion, showcases West's signature Auto-Tune vocal style reminiscent of *808s & Heartbreak*, offering a unique window into the complexities of modern relationships through its melodic sorrow and layered production.

[English]

I need to call it off

I need to, I need to make it known

'Nother one, something gone, Capricorn

Dancing out on the lawn

Fancy like the things she likes

I'm losing my, I'm living mine

All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan

Dem a gwaan, gwaan, gwa-gwa-gwaan, soft-soft-soft, soft-soft

All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan, gwaan, gwaan, gwa-gwaan softer than clay

Maybe it's 'cause

She into Leos and I was into trios

Plus all the trips to Rio couldn't have helped

It's getting cold, better bring your ski clothes

Peekin' through the keyhole, the door locked by myself

And I'm feelin' it right now

'Cause it's the time when my heart got shot down

Blocka, blocka, blocka-blocka, blocka

Pour a little champagne, cranberry vodka

Feelin' lied to like parents never said you adopted

Your feelings like Zulu, then nothing is a Shaka

I hit her with Jamaican dick, I'm the new Shabba

She lookin' for her daddy, call me Big Poppa

On to the next saga

Focus on the future and let the crew knock her

Star Wars fur, yeah, I'm rockin' Chewbacca

The one Chief Rocka, number one Chief Rocka, oh

All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan

Dem a gwaan, gwaan, gwa-gwa-gwaan, soft-soft-soft, soft-soft

All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan, gwaan, gwaan, gwa-gwaan softer than clay

All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan

Dem a gwaan, gwaan, gwa-gwa-gwaan, soft-soft-soft, soft-soft

Nun a dem have di guts to rise it and spray

Nun a dem have di guts to bust the SK

...

Oh, oh, oh

If you love me so much, then why'd you let me go?

If you love me so much, then why'd you let me go?

...

If you love me so much, then why'd you let me go, who-whoa?

Let me go, who-whoa

Let me go, who-whoa

Let me go, who-whoa, who-whoa, hmmm

If you love me so much, then why'd you let me go, who-whoa?

Let me go, who-whoa, who-whoa, hmmm

All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan

Dem a gwaan, gwaan, gwa-gwa-gwaan, soft-soft-soft, soft-soft

All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan, gwaan, gwaan, gwa-gwaan softer than clay

All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan

Dem a gwaan, gwaan, gwa-gwa-gwaan, soft-soft-soft, soft-soft

Nun a dem have di guts to rise it and spray

Nun a dem have di guts to bust the SK

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
Capricorn ˈkæp.rɪ.kɔːrn B2	noun - the tenth sign of the zodiac, represented by a goat‑fished hybrid
trios ˈtriː.oʊz A2	noun - groups of three people or things
champagne ʃæmˈpeɪn B1	noun - a sparkling wine from the Champagne region of France
cranberry ˈkrænˌbɛri A2	noun - a small, tart red fruit often used in juices and sauces
vodka ˈvɒd.kə A2	noun - a clear distilled alcoholic spirit originating from Eastern Europe
Shaka ˈʃɑːkə B2	noun - the Zulu king who united many groups in southern Africa (c. 1787‑1828)
Jamaican dʒəˈmeɪkən B1	adjective - relating to Jamaica or its people, language, or culture
Chewbacca tʃuːˈbæk.ə B2	noun - a tall, furry alien character from the Star Wars franchise
blocka ˈblɒk.ə B2	verb (slang) - to prevent or stop someone from proceeding, often used in urban slang
rise raɪz A2	verb - to move upward; to get up from a lower position
spray spreɪ A2	verb - to disperse liquid in a fine mist
soft sɒft A1	adjective - not hard; gentle or mild
saga ˈsɑːɡə B2	noun - a long story, especially a heroic narrative or a series of events
future ˈfjuː.tʃər A2	noun - the time that will come after the present
crew kruː A2	noun - a group of people who work together, especially on a ship, plane or in a project
heart hɑːrt A1	noun - the organ that pumps blood; also used metaphorically for emotion
gwaan ɡwɑːn C1	verb (Jamaican Creole) - to go; to happen or be in progress (Jamaican patois)

Key Grammar Structures

• I need to call it off

  ➔ Modal verb + infinitive

  ➔ The verb **need** is followed by the infinitive **to call**, expressing an obligation.

• I'm losing my, I'm living mine

  ➔ Present continuous (progressive) tense

  ➔ The forms **I'm losing** and **I'm living** use the auxiliary **am** + **-ing** to describe actions happening now.

• It's getting cold, better bring your ski clothes

  ➔ Present progressive + comparative imperative (better + verb)

  ➔ The clause **It's getting** uses the present progressive to show a change, while **better bring** is a short imperative meaning “you should bring”.

• If you love me so much, then why'd you let me go?

  ➔ First conditional + rhetorical question; contraction "why'd" = "why did"

  ➔ The clause **If you love me so much** sets a realistic condition, and the question **why'd you let me go?** uses the contracted form **why'd** (= **why did**) for emphasis.

• She into Leos and I was into trios

  ➔ Colloquial use of "into" as a verb-like predicate + past simple

  ➔ In informal speech **into** functions like a verb: **She into Leos** means “She is interested in Leos”. The verb **was** shows past time for the speaker.

• Peekin' through the keyhole, the door locked by myself

  ➔ Present participle phrase + passive voice

  ➔ **Peekin'** (a reduced **peeking**) is a present participle that describes an ongoing action; **the door locked by myself** uses the passive structure **locked by** to show who performed the action.

• All dem a gwaan, dem a, dem a, dem a gwaan

  ➔ Jamaican Patois progressive marker "a" + verb (a gwaan = are going)

  ➔ **a** functions as a progressive particle in Jamaican Patois; **a gwaan** means “are going/are happening”.

• Let me go, who-whoa

  ➔ Imperative sentence with object pronoun + infinitive

  ➔ **Let** is the imperative verb, **me** is the object pronoun, and **go** is the infinitive, forming a request “allow me to leave”.

• I'm feelin' it right now

  ➔ Present continuous with colloquial contraction (feelin' = feeling)

  ➔ **I'm** (I am) + **feelin'** (colloquial for **feeling**) + **it** + **right now** forms a present continuous sentence expressing a current sensation.