Shadowing Practice: Imagine Dragons - Believer (Lyrics) - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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First things first, I'ma say all the words inside my head I'm fired up
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and tired of the way that things have been Oh, ooh, ooh, ooh The way that things have been Oh,
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ooh, ooh, ooh Second thing, second, don't you tell me what you think that I can be I'm the one at the sail,
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I'm the master of my sea, oh The master of my sea,
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oh I was broken from a young age, taking my soak into the masses Writing my poems for the few that look at me,
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took to me, shook at me, feeling me Singing from heartache, from the pain, taking my message from the veins Speaking my lesson from the brain,
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seeing the beauty through the Hey, you break me up, you break me up,
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believer, believer Hey, you break me down, you build me up, believer,
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believer Hey, let the bullets fly or let them rain My life,
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my love, my time, it came from pain You burned me up, you burned me up, believer, believer
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Third things, third, send a prayer to the ones up above All the hate
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that you've hurt has turned your spirit to a dove Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Your spirit up above Oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh
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I was choking in the crowd Building my brain up in the cloud Falling like ashes to the ground Hoping my feelings, they would drown But they never did, ever lived Heaven and flowing,
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inhibited, limited Till it broke up when it rained down It rained down like Like You bent me up,
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you bent me up Believer Believer Hey!
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You break me down, you build me up Believer Believer Pain I let the borders fly,
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I let them rain My life, my love, my time, it came from Pain You made me up,
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you made me up, believer Believer
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Last is last by the grace of the fire and the flames You're the face of the future, the blood in my veins Oh,
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oooh The blood in my veins Oh, oooh But they never did, ever did Debonine flow uninhibited,
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limited Till it broke up when it rained down It rained down like Pain,
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you break me up, you break me up Believe it, believe it Pain, you break me down,
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you build me up Believe it, believe it Pain, let the bullets fly,
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let them rain My life, my love, my time, it came from Hey!
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You made me up, you made me a believer Believer
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I'm looking for a new car Looking at the earth from way up here Watching all the border states appear
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The stars are hanging like a silver thread
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Soft folk inspired delivery Natural and unfurled I shouted out your name into the breeze
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And watched it shake the leaves upon the tree The valley's deep and the shadows are long
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The only place I feel like I belong Warm, earthy tone, remnant
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 30 sentences and 494 words to shadow. The speech runs for 4:31. The speaker talks slowly, about 109 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 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
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| believer noun | /bɪˈlivɚ/ | A person who believes; especially regarding religion. |
| vein noun | /veɪn/ | A blood vessel that transports blood from the capillaries back to the heart. |
| shake verb | /ˈʃeɪk/ | To cause (something) to move rapidly in opposite directions alternatingly. |
| bullet noun | /ˈbʊlɪt/ | A projectile, usually of metal, shot from a gun at high speed. |
| bend verb | /bɛnd/ | To cause (something) to change its shape into a curve, by physical force, chemical action, or any other means. |
| tone noun | /ˈtəʊn/ | A specific pitch. |
| lesson noun | /ˈlɛs.ən/ | A section of learning or teaching into which a wider learning content is divided. |
| cloud noun | /ˈklaʊ̯d/ | A visible mass of water droplets suspended in the air. |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| thread noun | /ˈθɹɛd/ | A cord formed by spinning or twisting together textile fibers or filaments into one or more continuous strands, typically used in needlework. |
| prayer noun | /pɹɛɚ/ | A practice of communicating with one's God, or with some spiritual entity. |
| belong verb | /bɪˈlɒŋ/ | To have its proper place. |
| poem noun | /ˈpoʊ.əm/ | A literary piece written in verse. |
| folk noun | /foʊk/ | People, persons. |
| leaf noun | /lif/ | The usually green and flat organ that represents the most prominent feature of most vegetative plants. |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| break up verb | To break or separate into pieces. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | have been · you've hurt |
| Present continuous am/is/are + -ing — something happening right now or around now | I'm looking · are hanging |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, you're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: thread /ˈθɹɛd/, earthy /ˈɝθi/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shake /ˈʃeɪk/, shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, ash /ˈæʃ/, shout /ʃaʊt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like believer, vein, shake.
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.