Lose Yourself – English Lyrics

• By: Eminem

Lyrics & Translation

"Lose Yourself" is a raw and urgent anthem that invites listeners to delve into its powerful lyrics, which chronicle Eminem's personal struggles and the universal theme of seizing a singular opportunity. Its vivid imagery and intense narrative make it a compelling piece for understanding authentic storytelling in music, particularly within the context of hip-hop's emotional depth and lyrical craftsmanship. As the first hip-hop song to win an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and Eminem's first Billboard Hot 100 number-one single, it holds a unique place in music history.

[English]

♪ 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? ♪

♪ 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 clock's run out, time's up, over—blaow! ♪

♪ Snap back to reality, ope there goes gravity, ope ♪

♪ 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's to these ropes ♪

♪ It don't matter, he's dope ♪

♪ He knows that but he's broke ♪

♪ He's so stagnant, he knows ♪

♪ When he goes back to this mobile home ♪

♪ That's when it's ♪

♪ Back to the lab again yo ♪

♪ This old rap city ♪

♪ Better go capture this moment ♪

♪ And hope it don't pass him ♪

♪ You better 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, yo ♪

♪ You better 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, yo ♪

♪ His soul's escaping through this hole that is gaping ♪

♪ This world is mine for the taking ♪

♪ Make me king ♪

♪ As we move toward a New World Order ♪

♪ A normal life is boring; but superstardom's ♪

♪ Close to post-mortem, it only grows harder ♪

♪ Homie grows hotter, he blows, it's all over ♪

♪ These hoes is all on him, coast-to-coast shows ♪

♪ He's known as the Globetrotter, lonely roads ♪

♪ God only knows ♪

♪ He's grown farther from home, he's no father ♪

♪ He goes home and barely knows his own daughter ♪

♪ But hold your nose, 'cause here goes the cold water ♪

♪ These hoes don't want him no mo', he's cold product ♪

♪ They moved on to the next schmoe who flows ♪

♪ He nose-dove and sold nada ♪

♪ And so the soap opera ♪

♪ Is told, it unfolds, I suppose it's old, partner ♪

♪ But the beat goes on ♪

♪ Da-da-dom, da-dom, dah-dah, dah-dah ♪

♪ You better 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, yo ♪

♪ You better 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, yo ♪

♪ You better ♪

♪ No more games, I'ma change what you call rage ♪

♪ Tear this motherfuckin' roof off like two dogs caged ♪

♪ I was playin' in the beginning, the mood all changed ♪

♪ I've been chewed up and spit out ♪

♪ And booed off stage ♪

♪ But I kept rhymin' ♪

♪ And stepped right in the next cypher ♪

♪ Best believe somebody's payin' the Pied Piper ♪

♪ All the pain inside amplified by the ♪

♪ Fact that I can't get by with my nine-to-five ♪

♪ And I can't provide the right type of life for my family ♪

♪ 'Cause man, these goddamn food stamps ♪

♪ Don't buy diapers ♪

♪ And there's no movie ♪

♪ There's no Mekhi Phifer ♪

♪ This is my life ♪

♪ And these times are so hard ♪

♪ And it's gettin' even harder ♪

♪ Tryna feed and water my seed, plus ♪

♪ Teeter-totter ♪

♪ Caught up between bein' a father and a prima donna ♪

♪ Baby mama drama, screamin' on her ♪

♪ Too much for me to wanna ♪

♪ Stay in one spot ♪

♪ Another day of monotony's ♪

♪ Gotten me to the point I'm like a snail, I've got ♪

♪ To formulate a plot or end up in jail or shot ♪

♪ Success is my only motherfuckin' option ♪

♪ Failure's not ♪

♪ Mom, I love you ♪

♪ But this trailer's got to go ♪

♪ I cannot grow old in Salem's Lot ♪

♪ So here I go, it's my shot: feet, fail me not ♪

♪ This may be the only opportunity that I got ♪

♪ You better 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, yo ♪

♪ You better 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, yo ♪

♪ You better ♪

♪ You can do anything you set your mind to, man ♪

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
seize /siːz/ B2	verb - to take hold of suddenly and forcibly
opportunity /ˌɒp.əˈtjuː.nɪ.ti/ B2	noun - a chance to do something or an occasion for making progress
capture /ˈkæp.tʃər/ B2	verb - to catch or take possession of something
slip /slɪp/ B1	verb - to slide accidentally
nervous /ˈnɜː.vəs/ B1	adjective - feeling worried or anxious
drop /drɒp/ A2	verb - to let something fall
bombs /bɒmz/ B2	noun - explosive devices
crowd /kraʊd/ B1	noun - a large group of people
rhyme /raɪm/ B2	noun - a word that sounds similar to another
failure /ˈfeɪ.ljər/ B2	noun - lack of success
success /səkˈsɛs/ B2	noun - the achievement of an aim or purpose
dream /driːm/ B1	noun - a series of images or thoughts while sleeping
world /wɜːld/ B1	noun - the planet or the universe

Key Grammar Structures

• If you had one shot or one opportunity...

  ➔ Conditional sentences (Type 2)

  ➔ This sentence uses the structure 'If + past simple, would + base form' to express a hypothetical situation.

• You better lose yourself in the music...

  ➔ Imperative mood

  ➔ The imperative mood is used to give commands or advice.

• This opportunity comes once in a lifetime...

  ➔ Present simple tense

  ➔ The present simple tense is used to express general truths or facts.

• He's so mad but he won't give up that easy...

  ➔ Future simple tense with 'will'

  ➔ The future simple tense is used to express actions that will happen in the future.

• Success is my only motherfuckin' option...

  ➔ Noun phrase

  ➔ A noun phrase consists of a noun and its modifiers, serving as the subject or object in a sentence.

• I've been chewed up and spit out...

  ➔ Present perfect passive voice

  ➔ The present perfect passive voice is used to emphasize the action done to the subject rather than who performed the action.

• This may be the only opportunity that I got...

  ➔ Modal verb 'may'

  ➔ The modal verb 'may' is used to express possibility.