Shadowing Practice: Eminem - Mockingbird (Lyrics) - Learn English Speaking with Video

Yeah, I know sometimes things may not always make sense to you right now, but hey, what daddy always tell you,

straighten up little soldier, stiffen up that upper lip, what you crying about, you got me?

Haley, I know you miss your mom And I know you miss your dad

when I'm gone But I'm tryna 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 crying, wipe them tears Daddy's here, no more nightmares We gon' pull together through it, we gon' do it Laney uncle's crazy, ain't he?

Yeah, but he loves you girl and you better know it What are we got in this world?

When it spins, when it swirls, when it whirls, when it twirls Two little beautiful girls looking 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 Growing 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 But 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,

us little baby, don't you cry Everything's gonna be alright Stiffing at a bulletproof, 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 alright It's funny,

I remember back one year when daddy had no money Mommy wrapped the Christmas presents up

and stuck them under the tree And said some of them were from me, cause daddy couldn't buy them I'll never forget that Christmas, I sat up the whole night crying 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 getting broken into

and robbed You dropped a shot up on the block

and your mom was saving money for you in a jar Trying 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 starting to fall apart Mom

and dad was arguing a lot

so mama moved back on the traumas in a flat One bedroom apartment

and dad moved back to the other side of 8 Mile on Novara

And that's when daddy went to California with his CD

and met Dr. Dre And flew you and momma out to see me But daddy had to work, you and momma had to leave me Then you started seeing daddy on the TV

And momma didn't like it And you and Lainey were too young to understand it Papa was a rolling stone, momma 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 Press hand cause all I ever

wanted to do was just make you proud Now I'm sitting in this empty house Just reminiscing, looking at your baby pictures It just tricked me out to

see how much you go through grown it's almost like your sisters now wow i guess you pretty much are

and daddy's still here laney i'm talking to you too daddy's still here i like the sound of

that chair it's got a ring to a donut mama's only

gone for the moment now little baby don't you cry everything's gonna be all right slipping

that up all the bunk little lady i told you daddy's

here to hold you through the night I know mommy's not here right now, but 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 alright And if you ask me to,

daddy's gonna buy you a Markin' Bird 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 Markin' Bird don't sing and

that ring don't shine I'ma break that birdie's neck I go back to the Julo, sold it to ya And they can meet every carrot F* with that

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This B1 speaking lesson is built on the video “Eminem - Mockingbird”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: daddy, baby, momma, mom. This video has 42 sentences and 899 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:05. The speaker talks fast, about 220 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 83% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

The 15 most advanced words in the video, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
momma noun	/ˈmɑmə/	A betel nut plus other ingredients (like areca nut, betel leaves, slaked lime, and tobacco) to be chewed on.
backfire verb	/bækˈfaɪə(ɹ)/	Of a gun, cannon, Bunsen burner, etc., to fire in the opposite direction, for example due to an obstruction in the barrel.
bulletproof adjective	/ˈbʊlɪtpɹuf/	Capable of withstanding a direct shot by a bullet fired from a gun.
doughnut noun	/ˈdəʊnʌt/	A deep-fried piece of dough or batter, usually mixed with various sweeteners and flavors, often made in a toroidal or ellipsoidal shape flattened sphere shape…
reminisce verb	/ˌɹɛm.əˈnɪs/	To recall the past in a private moment, often fondly or nostalgically.
stiffen verb	/ˈstɪfən/	To make stiff.
straighten verb	/ˈstɹeɪtn̩/	To cause to become straight.
carrot noun	/ˈkæɹət/	A vegetable with a nutritious, juicy, sweet root that is often orange in colour, Daucus carota, family Apiaceae, especially the subspecies sativus.
confuse verb	/kənˈfjuːz/	to puzzle, perplex, baffle, bewilder (somebody); to afflict by being complicated, contradictory, or otherwise difficult to understand
puzzle noun	/ˈpʌzəl/	The state of feeling confused or mystified because one cannot understand a complicated matter, a problem, etc.; bewilderment, confusion; (countable) often in…
wipe verb	/waɪp/	To move an object over, maintaining contact, with the intention of removing some substance from the surface. (Compare rub.)
scare verb	/skɛɚ/	To frighten, terrify, startle, especially in a minor way.
teenager noun	/ˈtiːnˌeɪ̯d͡ʒə/	A person between thirteen and nineteen years old (inclusive).
trauma noun	/ˈtɹɔm.ə/	Any injury to the body of a living thing.
shine verb	/ʃaɪn/	To emit or reflect light so as to glow.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
fall apart verb		To disintegrate, to break into pieces.
go back to verb		To stem from; to originate in.
go through verb		To travel from one end of something to the other.
grow up verb		To mature and become an adult.
pull together verb		To unite for a common objective.
sit up verb		To assume a sitting position from a position lying down.
straighten up verb		To become straight, or straighter.
wake up verb	/ˌweɪk ˈʌp/	To stop sleeping; to awake.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past	was saving · was just starting · was arguing
Possibility with “might / may” might/may + verb — something that is possible but not certain	may not always make · may seem
Verb + -ing enjoy, keep, stop… + -ing — verbs that are followed by the -ing form	kept getting · started seeing
Future with “going to” be going to + verb — a plan or something you can see coming	gonna be · gonna buy

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 28 contractions and reduced forms, such as don't, gonna, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shine /ʃaɪn/, shelter /ˈʃɛltə/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like momma, backfire, bulletproof.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

Key vocabulary in this video

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Grammar in this video

Pronunciation to watch

How to practise with this video

What is the Shadowing Technique?

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