Mockingbird – English Lyrics

• By: Eminem

Lyrics & Translation

"Mockingbird" by Eminem offers a rare and intimate glimpse into the superstar rapper's vulnerability as a father. This conscious hip-hop track, delivered with a softer, storytelling flow, provides an excellent opportunity for users to learn English expressions related to family, unconditional love, and reassurance amidst life's challenges, making it a powerful and relatable song beyond its genre.

[English]

(film reel spinning)

- Hi, Papa.

(slow rap music)

- [Eminem] Yeah.

I know sometimes

things may not always make sense to you right now.

But hey

what'd Daddy always tell you?

Straighten up, little soldier.

Stiffen up that upper lip.

What you cryin' about?

You got me.

♪ Hailie I know you miss your mom ♪

♪ And I know you miss your dad when I'm gone ♪

♪ But I'm tryin' to give you the life that I never had ♪

♪ I can see you sad even when you smile ♪

♪ Even when you laugh I can see it in your eyes ♪

♪ Deep inside you wanna cry ♪

♪ 'cause you're scared I ain't there ♪

♪ Daddy's with you in your prayers ♪

♪ No more cryin' wipe them tears ♪

♪ Daddy's here no more nightmares ♪

♪ We gonna pull together through it ♪

♪ We gonna do it Laney Uncle's crazy ain't he ♪

♪ Ya but he loves you girl and you better know it ♪

♪ We're all we got in this world ♪

♪ When it spins when it swirls ♪

♪ When it whirls when it twirls ♪

♪ Two little beautiful girls ♪

♪ Lookin' puzzled in a daze ♪

♪ I know it's confusing you ♪

♪ Daddy's always on the move ♪

♪ Mama's always on the news ♪

♪ I try to keep you sheltered from it ♪

♪ But somehow it seems ♪

♪ The harder that I try to do that ♪

♪ The more it backfires on me ♪

♪ All the things growin' up ♪

♪ As daddy that he had to see ♪

♪ Daddy don't want you to see ♪

♪ But you see just as much as he did ♪

♪ We did not plan it to be this way ♪

♪ Your mother and me ♪

♪ But things have got so bad between us ♪

♪ I don't see us ever being ♪

♪ Together ever again ♪

♪ Like we used to be ♪

♪ When we was teenagers ♪

♪ But then of course everything always happens for a reason ♪

♪ I guess it was never meant to be ♪

♪ But it's just something we have no control over ♪

♪ And that's what destiny is ♪

♪ So no more worries ♪

♪ Rest your head and go to sleep ♪

♪ Maybe one day we'll wake up ♪

♪ And this'll all just be a dream ♪

♪ Now hush little baby don't you cry ♪

♪ Everything's gonna be all right ♪

♪ Stiffen that upper lip up little lady ♪

♪ I told ya Daddy's here to hold ya ♪

♪ Through the night ♪

♪ I know Mommy's not here right now ♪

♪ And we don't know why ♪

♪ We feel how we feel inside ♪

♪ It may seem a little crazy pretty baby ♪

♪ But I promise Mama's gonna be all right ♪

♪ It's funny ♪

♪ I remember back one year when Daddy had no money ♪

♪ Mommy wrapped the Christmas presents up ♪

♪ And stuck 'em under the tree ♪

♪ And said some of 'em were from me ♪

♪ 'Cause Daddy couldn't buy 'em ♪

♪ I'll never forget that Christmas ♪

♪ I sat up the whole night cryin' ♪

♪ 'Cause Daddy felt like a bum ♪

♪ See Daddy had a job ♪

♪ But his job was to keep the food on the table ♪

♪ for you and Mom ♪

♪ And at the time ♪

♪ Every house that we lived in ♪

♪ Either kept gettin' broken into and robbed ♪

♪ Or shot up on the block ♪

♪ And your Mom was savin' money for you in a jar ♪

♪ Tryin' to start a piggy bank for you ♪

♪ So you could go to college ♪

♪ Almost had a thousand dollars ♪

♪ Till someone broke in and stole it ♪

♪ And I know it hurt so bad it broke your Mama's heart ♪

♪ And it seemed like everything ♪

♪ Was just startin' to fall apart ♪

♪ Mom and Dad was arguing a lot ♪

♪ So Mama moved back on to Chalmers in a flat ♪

♪ One bedroom apartment ♪

♪ And Dad moved back to the other side ♪

♪ Of Eight Mile on Novarra ♪

♪ And that's when Daddy went to California with his CD ♪

♪ And met Dr. Dre ♪

♪ And flew you and Mama out to see me ♪

♪ But Daddy had to work ♪

♪ You and Mama had to leave me ♪

♪ Then you started seein' Daddy on the TV ♪

♪ And Mama didn't like it ♪

♪ And you and Laney were too young to understand ♪

♪ That Papa was a rollin' stone ♪

♪ Mama developed a habit ♪

♪ And it all happened too fast ♪

♪ For either one of us to grab it ♪

♪ I'm just sorry you were there ♪

♪ And had to witness it firsthand ♪

♪ 'Cause I ever wanted to do was just make you proud ♪

♪ Now I'm sittin' in this empty house ♪

♪ Just reminiscing looking at your baby pictures ♪

♪ It just trips me out ♪

♪ To see how much you both have grown ♪

♪ It's almost like you're sisters now ♪

♪ Wow guess you pretty much are ♪

♪ And Daddy's still here ♪

♪ Laney I'm talkin' to you too ♪

♪ Daddy's still here ♪

♪ I like the sound of that yeah ♪

♪ It's got a ring to it don't it ♪

♪ Shh Mama's only gone for the moment ♪

♪ Now hush little baby don't you cry ♪

♪ Everything's gonna be all right ♪

♪ Stiffen that upper lip up little lady ♪

♪ I told ya Daddy'd here to hold ya ♪

♪ Through the night ♪

♪ I know Mommy's not here right now ♪

♪ And we don't know why ♪

♪ We feel how we feel inside ♪

♪ It may seem a little crazy pretty baby ♪

♪ But I promise Mama's gonna be all right ♪

♪ And if you ask me to ♪

♪ Daddy's gonna buy you a mockingbird ♪

♪ I'ma give you the world ♪

♪ I'ma buy a diamond ring for you ♪

♪ I'ma sing for you ♪

♪ I'll do anything for you to see you smile ♪

♪ And if that mockingbird don't sing ♪

♪ And that ring don't shine ♪

♪ I'ma break that birdie's neck ♪

♪ I'll go back to the jeweler who sold it to ya ♪

♪ And make him eat every carat ♪

♪ Don't f-- with Dad ♪

Ha ha.

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
cry /kraɪ/ A1	verb - to shed tears noun - an instance of crying
smile /smaɪl/ A1	verb - to express happiness with a smile noun - an expression of happiness
miss /mɪs/ A2	verb - to feel sadness at the absence of someone
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the condition that distinguishes organisms from inorganic matter
tears /tɪərz/ A2	noun - drops of clear salty liquid secreted from glands in the eye
nightmares /ˈnaɪtˌmɛərz/ B1	noun - a frightening or unpleasant dream
crazy /ˈkreɪzi/ B1	adjective - mentally deranged
world /wɜːrld/ A1	noun - the earth, together with all of its countries, peoples, and natural features.
puzzled /ˈpʌzəld/ B2	adjective - unable to understand something; perplexed
move /muːv/ A1	verb - to go in a specified direction or manner
news /njuːz/ A2	noun - newly received or noteworthy information, especially about recent events
dream /driːm/ A2	noun - a series of thoughts, images, and sensations occurring in a person's mind during sleep verb - to experience a dream
money /ˈmʌni/ A1	noun - a current medium of exchange in the form of coins and banknotes
job /dʒɒb/ A1	noun - a paid position of regular employment
heart /hɑːrt/ A2	noun - a hollow muscular organ that pumps the blood through the circulatory system
proud /praʊd/ B1	adjective - feeling deep pleasure or satisfaction as a result of one's own achievements

Key Grammar Structures

• I know sometimes things **may** not always make sense to you right now.

  ➔ Modal verb 'may' expressing possibility.

  ➔ Here, 'may' suggests that the situation isn't clear or understandable *at this moment*. It's a soft way to acknowledge that things are confusing.

• I'm **tryin' to** give you the life that I never had.

  ➔ Reduced form 'tryin' to' (trying to) + infinitive. Expressing an intention or effort.

  ➔ 'Tryin' to' is a colloquial contraction of 'trying to'. The structure 'trying to + verb' expresses the effort being made.

• Even when you laugh I **can** see it in your eyes.

  ➔ Modal verb 'can' expressing ability or possibility.

  ➔ Here, 'can' expresses Eminem's *ability* to perceive sadness even when his daughter is laughing.

• Daddy's with you **in** your prayers.

  ➔ Preposition 'in' indicating location or inclusion (figuratively).

  ➔ 'In your prayers' is a common idiom. It means that Daddy is a part of Hailie's thoughts and hopes when she prays.

• We **gonna** pull together through it.

  ➔ Colloquial 'gonna' (going to) + verb. Expressing future intention or prediction.

  ➔ 'Gonna' is a casual contraction of 'going to'. Here it expresses a strong intention to overcome the difficulties together.

• I try to keep you sheltered from it, but somehow it **seems** the harder that I try to do that, the more it backfires on me.

  ➔ The structure 'the + comparative, the + comparative' expressing a proportional relationship. 'Seems' as a linking verb expressing appearance or impression.

  ➔ This is a complex sentence. 'The harder that I try to do that, the more it backfires on me' shows that his efforts to protect his children ironically lead to more negative consequences. 'Seems' suggests that this is his perception of the situation.

• And if you ask me to, Daddy's **gonna** buy you a mockingbird.

  ➔ Conditional sentence (implied 'if'). 'Gonna' (going to) expressing future intention. Use of the apostrophe to indicate omission (Daddy's = Daddy is or Daddy has).

  ➔ The 'if' clause is implied here: 'If you ask me to, Daddy is going to buy you a mockingbird'. 'Gonna' is the shortened, informal version of 'going to.' 'Daddy's' is either 'Daddy is' or 'Daddy has', and in this case 'Daddy is'.

• And if that mockingbird **don't** sing, and that ring don't shine, I'ma break that birdie's neck

  ➔ Conditional sentence. Use of 'don't' (instead of 'doesn't') in the conditional clause for emphasis or colloquial style. 'I'ma' (I'm going to) expressing a future intention.

  ➔ The sentence sets up a condition and a consequence. 'Don't' is grammatically incorrect ('doesn't' is correct for the third person singular), but it's used for emphasis. 'I'ma' is a very informal contraction of 'I'm going to,' indicating what he plans to do.