I Can Tell – English Lyrics

• By: Travis Scott
• Album: Rodeo

Lyrics & Translation

Dive into the world of modern hip-hop with 'I Can Tell' by Travis Scott. This song is a perfect way to learn English slang, rhythmic phrasing, and the stylistic cadences used in contemporary trap music, making it a unique tool for understanding modern cultural expressions.

[English]

I can tell

I can tell, baby, I can tell

Ooh, I can tell, baby, I can tell

You ain't told no tales, you ain't told no tales

Yeah, gone out of your way, you know we can tell

Yeah, I can tell, baby, I can tell

I can tell, baby, I can tell

I can tell, baby, I can tell

I can tell

I can tell by the night tales and the dry spells

All the wrong ones and the right things to stay away from

And how we took off and how we on top

And how we won't fall, how we going up

Or how we came up, or how we came up

It all started in the basement

Was an attic, but we called that - the basement

Bass used to break all my mommas vases

Unc' shot my first 8 then - I probably wasn't eight then

Always had the gas like I broke wind

They said my way of making dollars never made sense

Come take a dive, a waterfall in the deep end

I can tell you 'bout the nights out in Fort Bend

I can tell, baby, I can tell

I can tell, baby, I can tell, yeah

You ain't got no tales, you don't-, mhm

I can tell, baby, I can tell

I can tell, baby, I can tell

I can tell, baby, I can tell

I can tell, baby, I can tell (yeah)

No, you don't tell, yeah-ah-ah (yeah)

Yeah, I can tell 'bout the night tales

And all the dry wells, and all the long roads

And all my ideas before the cornrows (straight up)

How we came up and how we came down

Going donuts, coffee couldn't help now (La Flame)

How we zoned out, made it out the wood now

And what it do when they wanna be your friend now (oh, no)

How to get it, how to live and get it in now

How to go from scraping pockets, making his demands now

I been impulsive, non-emotional, staying humble 'bout it (yeah)

Tilt the posture, sick, pass the bottle (yeah)

Five-o-four hot boys, minus the bad rap like Silkk the Shocker (yeah)

But I'ma pull up the silk, to shock her with the silk

- You know I been a rocker, dripping milk and knockers

Take it up another notcher, take it up another notcher

I top a, pop a pill, pop a seal to forget about you

I'll bumbaclot you, bumba-bumba blocka shot you

Bling and bang, a bang a rapper

Bangarang, I brought my money back

Orangutan diamonds hanging on my neng-a-lang

- Hanging on my dang-a-lang (straight up)

I can tell, baby, I can tell

I can tell, baby, I can tell, yeah

You got no tales, you ain't-, mhm

I can tell, baby, I can tell (hoo, hoo)

I can tell, baby, I can tell (how 'bout I come over there)

I can tell, baby, I can tell (all of them - can tell)

I can tell baby, I can tell (all of them - can tell)

No, you don't tell

...

Key Vocabulary

Vocabulary	Meanings
tales /teɪlz/ B2	noun - narratives or stories, often imaginary or fabricated
basement /ˈbeɪsmənt/ A2	noun - the floor of a building which is partly or entirely below ground level
attic /ˈætɪk/ B2	noun - a space or room just below the roof of a house
vases /ˈveɪzɪz/ B1	noun - containers for flowers
dollars /ˈdɒlərz/ A1	noun - a unit of money used in various countries
waterfall /ˈwɔːtəfɔːl/ A2	noun - a cascade of water falling from a height
ideas /aɪˈdɪəz/ A2	noun - thoughts or suggestions as to a possible course of action
cornrows /ˈkɔːnrəʊz/ C2	noun - a hairstyle where hair is braided close to the scalp
donuts /ˈdəʊnʌts/ A2	noun - small fried cakes of sweetened dough; in slang, driving in tight circles
impulsive /ɪmˈpʌlsɪv/ C1	adjective - acting or done without forethought
emotional /ɪˈməʊʃənl/ B1	adjective - relating to a person's emotions
humble /ˈhʌmbl/ B2	adjective - having or showing a modest estimate of one's own importance
posture /ˈpɒstʃə(r)/ B2	noun - the position in which someone holds their body
bottle /ˈbɒtl/ A1	noun - a container, typically made of glass or plastic
diamonds /ˈdaɪəməndz/ A2	noun - a precious stone consisting of a clear and colorless crystalline form of pure carbon

Key Grammar Structures

• You ain't told no tales

  ➔ Double negative / Present Perfect

  ➔ The use of "ain't" and "no" creates a double negative, common in AAVE, while "told" indicates the Present Perfect tense for past actions with present relevance.

• It all started in the basement

  ➔ Simple Past Tense

  ➔ The verb "started" is in the simple past tense, used to describe a completed action that took place at a specific time in the past.

• They said my way of making dollars never made sense

  ➔ Reported speech / Past tense

  ➔ The clause "They said" introduces reported speech, followed by the simple past "made" to describe a state that existed in the past.

• I been impulsive

  ➔ Present Perfect (contracted)

  ➔ The phrase "I been" is a colloquial or dialectal form of "I have been," using the present perfect to describe a state that has persisted up to the present.

• How to go from scraping pockets, making his demands now

  ➔ Gerunds / Prepositional phrase

  ➔ The "-ing" forms "scraping" and "making" function as gerunds, acting as nouns following the preposition "from" and describing a process.

• You know I been a rocker

  ➔ Main clause + Subordinate clause

  ➔ The sentence combines the main clause "You know" with the subordinate clause "I been a rocker," where the latter functions as the object of the verb "know."

• Take it up another notcher

  ➔ Imperative sentence

  ➔ The verb "Take" is in the imperative mood, used here to give a strong suggestion or command to elevate something to a higher level.

• I'll bumbaclot you

  ➔ Future Simple (contracted)

  ➔ The contraction "I'll" stands for "I will," indicating the simple future tense to express a prediction or a threat.