What Am I Gonna Do – English Lyrics

• By: Chris Stapleton
• Album: Higher

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the raw emotions of Chris Stapleton's "What Am I Gonna Do"—a powerful country ballad that perfectly captures the heartache and uncertainty of moving on. Through its evocative lyrics and soulful delivery, you can explore authentic English expressions of grief, longing, and introspection, making it an ideal song to understand nuanced emotional vocabulary and storytelling in the language. Its straightforward yet deeply resonant narrative makes learning English through music a truly moving experience.

[English]

What am I gonna do

When I get over you?

What am I gonna be

When you're just a memory?

What am I gonna drink

When I don't have to think

About what I'm gonna do

Without you?

Been drinkin' everything on that shelf

Feels like I'm killin' myself

You're gone, and it hurts like hell

Wishin' I was anybody else

What am I gonna do

When I get over you?

What am I gonna be

When you're just a memory?

What am I gonna drink

When I don't have to think

About what I'm gonna do

Without you?

...

Jukebox with a neon glow

Keeps playin' "That's The Way Love Goes"

Time keeps tickin' on by so slow

They say it'll heal you, but I hope it don't though

What am I gonna do

When I get over you?

What am I gonna be

When you're just a memory?

What am I gonna drink

When I don't have to think

About what I'm gonna do

Without you?

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
memory /ˈmɛməri/ A2	noun - the faculty by which the mind stores and remembers information; something remembered from the past.
drink /drɪŋk/ A1	verb - to take (a liquid) into the mouth and swallow.
think /θɪŋk/ A1	verb - to have a particular idea or opinion; to consider or reason about something.
shelf /ʃɛlf/ A2	noun - a long, flat piece of wood or other rigid material attached to a wall or forming part of a unit, used for holding objects.
kill /kɪl/ B1	verb - to cause the death of (a person, animal, or other living thing); to put an end to or destroy.
gone /ɡɒn/ A2	adjective - no longer present; departed.
hurt /hɜːt/ A2	verb - to cause pain or injury to (oneself or another); to suffer pain or injury.
hell /hɛl/ B1	noun - a place regarded in various religions as a spiritual realm of evil and suffering, often for the punishment of the wicked after death; (informal) a situation or experience that is extremely difficult or unpleasant.
wish /wɪʃ/ A2	verb - to want something that cannot or probably will not happen; to express a desire or hope for something.
jukebox /ˈdʒuːkbɒks/ B1	noun - a machine that automatically plays a selected musical recording when a coin is inserted.
neon /ˈniːɒn/ B1	adjective - (of a light or sign) using or made of neon gas, typically emitting a bright, glowing light.
glow /ɡləʊ/ B1	noun - a steady, even light without flames. verb - to emit a steady, even light without flames.
time /taɪm/ A1	noun - the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole; a point or period when something happens.
tick /tɪk/ B2	verb - (of a clock or watch) make a regular, soft, sharp sound.
slow /sləʊ/ A1	adjective - moving or operating, or designed to move or operate, at a low speed; not quick or fast.
heal /hiːl/ B1	verb - (of a person or treatment) cause (a wound or injury) to become healthy and normal again; to become sound or healthy again.
hope /həʊp/ A2	verb - to want something to happen or be true and usually have a good reason to think that it might.

Key Grammar Structures

• What am I gonna do When I get over you?

  ➔ Future construction with 'gonna'

  ➔ The phrase 'gonna' is a colloquial contraction of 'going to,' used to express future actions in an informal way. Here, it highlights the speaker's uncertainty about the future.

• What am I gonna be When you're just a memory?

  ➔ Future state with 'gonna be'

  ➔ 'Gonna be' is used to describe a future state of being. It reflects the speaker's contemplation about their identity after the relationship ends.

• Been drinkin' everything on that shelf

  ➔ Present perfect continuous

  ➔ The present perfect continuous tense ('been drinkin'') is used to describe an action that started in the past and continues up to the present, emphasizing the duration of the action.

• Feels like I'm killin' myself

  ➔ Present continuous for ongoing feeling

  ➔ The present continuous tense ('I'm killin'') is used here to express an ongoing feeling or action, emphasizing the speaker's current emotional state.

• They say it'll heal you, but I hope it don't though

  ➔ Future contraction with 'it'll' and negation with 'don't'

  ➔ 'It'll' is a contraction of 'it will,' used to express a future action. 'Don't' is a negation of 'do not,' emphasizing the speaker's hope against healing.