Mockingbird

• By: Eminem

Lyrics:

Vocabulary in this song:

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

Grammar:

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

  ➔ Relative clause with "that"

  ➔ The word "that" introduces a relative clause describing the type of life that the speaker never had. It is used to provide additional information to specify the noun "life."

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

  ➔ Adverbial clause of time with "when", inversion with "I can see it"

  ➔ The word "when" introduces an adverbial clause of time, explaining when the speaker can see something in the listener's eyes. Slight inversion: "I can see it" instead of a more standard "I can see *it*."

• Daddy's with you in your prayers

  ➔ Possessive (Daddy's) and prepositional phrase (in your prayers)

  ➔ "Daddy's" shows possession, meaning belonging to Daddy. "In your prayers" is a prepositional phrase indicating where Daddy is.

• We're all we got in this world

  ➔ Reduced relative clause: "We're all [that] we got"

  ➔ The sentence means "We are all *that* we have got in this world". The relative pronoun "that" is often omitted in informal speech.

• I try to keep you sheltered from it

  ➔ Infinitive of purpose: "to keep"

  ➔ The infinitive phrase "to keep you sheltered from it" indicates the purpose of the action "I try". It explains why the speaker is trying.

• The harder that I try to do that, the more it backfires on me

  ➔ The...the comparative structure

  ➔ This structure shows a direct correlation between two things. "The harder I try" leads to "the more it backfires".

• It's almost like you're sisters now

  ➔ Subjunctive mood (you were/are)

  ➔ Using "were" (or simple present are) after "like" to show hypothetical situations or something contrary to fact. Here implies they may not literally be sisters, but the bond is strong.

• And if that mockingbird don't sing, And that ring don't shine

  ➔ Non-standard negative concord ("don't sing", "don't shine")

  ➔ In standard English, it would be "doesn't sing" and "doesn't shine". This is an example of dialect or colloquial speech.