Reason With Me – English Lyrics

• By: Rudeboy

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the heartfelt narrative of Rudeboy's 'Reason With Me,' a compelling Afrobeat song that beautifully tells a universal story of love, patience, and financial struggles. This track, primarily sung in Nigerian Pidgin English, offers a unique opportunity to connect with West African culture and language through its emotional lyrics and relatable storyline. Its raw honesty and inspiring message make it a perfect song to explore the nuances of everyday Pidgin.

[English]

Lord sky on the beat

Abi you wan make I die

She turn my love down low

She talk say I dey po po

She wan know the ko ko

Yeh

But I want to give you some love

She talk say I dey po po

She still wan know the ko ko

Yeh

If money no dey na wetin she gain o

She tell me say she go runaway

She go run very faraway

As the raba don dey

The baby come dey mellow

See the baby don come again

You don forget back inna days

I bin dey beg you to try

Reason with me

If I no get today

I go get am tomorrow

Abi you want make I die

E no easy for me

If I no get today

I go get am tomorrow

Say one for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

You see this life

No be So

I remember, remember the month of December

No loving, no caring, no tender

You rejected my love cause I was broke

I bin dey enter okada

From Idumota straight to Alaba

Ewo

How I wish say

You believe me

Back then in gwagwalada

Those days in UniAbuja

You insist-ed

You don't need me

Girl I try everything to spend my life with you

I bin dey beg you to try

Reason with me

If I no get today

I go get am tomorrow

Abi you want make I die

E no easy for me

If I no get today

I go get am tomorrow

Say One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

If money no dey (If money no dey)

Na so she say she go runaway

As the raba don dey

The baby come dey mellow

See the baby don come again

You don forget back inna days

I bin dey beg you to try

Reason with me

If I no get today

I go get am tomorrow

Abi you want make I die

E no easy for me

If I no get today

I go get am tomorrow

Say one for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

One for the money

Two for the doe

Three for the shawty

Now I don blow

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
love /lʌv/ A1	noun - deep affection or strong feeling of attachment verb - to feel deep affection for someone
money /ˈmʌni/ A1	noun - currency used for buying goods and services
run /rʌn/ A1	verb - to move quickly on foot noun - an act or period of running
give /ɡɪv/ A1	verb - to transfer something to someone else
today /təˈdeɪ/ A1	noun - the present day
tomorrow /təˈmɒroʊ/ A1	noun - the day after today
baby /ˈbeɪbi/ A1	noun - a very young child
life /laɪf/ A1	noun - the existence of living beings
easy /ˈiːzi/ A1	adjective - not difficult
forget /fəˈɡet/ A2	verb - to fail to remember
remember /rɪˈmembər/ B1	verb - to bring to mind again
reason /ˈriːzən/ B2	noun - a cause or justification for an action or belief verb - to think, understand, and form judgments logically
die /daɪ/ A2	verb - to stop living
broken /ˈbroʊkən/ B1	adjective - having been fractured or damaged
spend /spɛnd/ B1	verb - to use money or time for a particular purpose
believe /bɪˈliːv/ B2	verb - to accept as true or real
runaway /ˈrʌnəweɪ/ B2	verb - to flee, escape from a place or situation
mellow /ˈmɛloʊ/ C1	adjective - soft, gentle, and pleasant in sound or character

Key Grammar Structures

• If I no get today, I go get am tomorrow

  ➔ First conditional with informal Nigerian English modal 'go' for future tense

  ➔ The phrase uses "If" to introduce a condition and "go" instead of 'will' to indicate the future, a common feature in Nigerian English.

• She reject my love cause I was broke

  ➔ Past simple tense to describe completed past actions

  ➔ The verbs "reject" and "was" indicate past events; "cause" is informal for 'because'.

• You don forget back inna days

  ➔ Present perfect tense with 'don' as contraction of 'done' in Nigerian English

  ➔ "Don" replaces 'have'/'has' + 'done' to indicate the present perfect, meaning 'You have forgotten'.

• Abi you wan make I die

  ➔ Use of Nigerian Pidgin interrogative particle 'Abi' and modal 'wan' for 'want to'

  ➔ "Abi" is a question tag meaning 'right?' and "wan" is an informal contraction of 'want to'.

• Say one for the money, two for the doe, three for the shawty

  ➔ Imperative mood and use of colloquial counting expressions

  ➔ "Say" here functions as a command to verbally count or declare loudly, common in speech and songs.

• E no easy for me

  ➔ Negation and omission common in Nigerian Pidgin English

  ➔ "E" replaces "It" and "no" expresses negation without auxiliary verbs, common features in pidgin.

• From Idumota straight to Alaba

  ➔ Use of prepositions and adverbs of direction/place

  ➔ "From" indicates starting point; "straight" modifies direction toward destination "Alaba".

• She tell me say she go runaway

  ➔ Reported speech with 'say' and future intention with 'go' as modal

  ➔ "Say" introduces reported speech, and "go" represents future action or intention, common in Nigerian English.