218. English With Lizzo: 'About Damn Time' Pronunciation Tutorial

Welcome to the Influency Podcast. I'm Hadar, and this is episode number 218. And today we are going to analyze and practice a song by Lizzo called About Damn Time. Hey. Hey, everyone. Welcome to the Influency Podcast. Very happy to have you here today with me. I'm doing something different today and fun. I definitely enjoyed recording today's episode and preparing for it, even though I think I had to try quite a few takes until I got this one right. And the reason why it was somewhat challenging is because I tried to follow Lizzo, the singer, the creator, on her new song, About Damn Time. And the first time I got acquainted to this song was on Instagram because it started trending. And I follow Lizzo on Instagram. I'm gonna post the links below. And I love her songs. I love her personality. I love everything she represents. I love her style. Style. And when I started seeing her post about this song, I was like, I'm gonna pay attention to what's happening here. And what ended up happening is that a part of one of her recent songs became viral on TikTok and then later on Instagram, and people kept uploading more and more videos of them singing a small part of the song. So I listened to it, and I loved the groove, and I loved the energy and the vibe and the beat, and I got addicted to it. So I watched everything she shared about it, and then I was like, okay, let me listen to the song. Because first of all, it's a song because before it became a trending audio on TikTok and Instagram, and then I listened to the song, and I really loved what it represents, and it's very groovy and fun. So I decided to break it down like I love doing and to turn it into a pronunciation tutorial that not only talks about pronunciation, but also about rhythm. Because the rhythm of the words is definitely aligned and integrated into the rhythm of the song, right? So it wasn't like, oh, let's write words, and then create a melody for it. But it's something that was working together because the words had their own melody and their own rhythm, the choice of words. And then that kind of, like, created the song, which is really interesting. And you'll see because I talk about stressed and unstressed syllables, and it really is just like, stressed or an emphasized beat, an unstressed beat in a song and in music. And there's definitely a lot of music in a language when we listen to it. And if we choose to not like Just think of the words and the grammar and the vocabulary and all of that, and we just pay attention to it and listen to it differently. Just like music, we can reveal a whole new layer of the language that maybe was not available to us before because the brain filters out a lot of information, definitely everything related to rhythm, stress. Right. Because we're sometimes in this survival mode where we just. We just need to understand it so we know what to say and how to respond properly. But at the same time, like, there are all these other elements and nuances to the language, that hearing it makes it so much more interesting. And definitely later on using it, that creates more versatility, an impact when we speak. And at least the awareness is something that is worthy even if you don't implement it right away. Right. It's not a must to do it, but I think it's so interesting to be able to recognize it and to notice it. And also, you know, sometimes when we listen to colloquial English or to songs or to dialects that we're not familiar with, we feel like, oh, our English is not good enough. Our listening is not good enough. I. I have to do more work. I have to improve my English. And a lot of times, it's just we don't know how to listen. Right. And this is another reason why I wanted to make this tutorial to show you. Okay, if this is what you're hearing, here's what you need to be looking for, and here are the reductions that make it so hard to understand. And then when you hear it once and twice and three times, all of a sudden it's like, oh, now I'm noticing it. And then the next time you hear it, you would know it, and then you'd be able to understand it better. So, again, awareness is key. All right, Are you ready to sing along? I hope so. Let's go. It's about damn time.

I got a feeling I'm gonna be okay okay, okay all.

About damn time the song About Damn Time by Lizzo has been trending on TikTok and Instagram recently. The first time I heard it, I was like, oh, I love the groove, and I love Lizzo. But it took me a hot second to understand the meaning of the words or even to recognize the words and the phrases that she uses. So I wanted to take this time to talk about that part that is trending on TikTok and. And to offer you a pronunciation tutorial and even to explain some of the words and phrases that she uses in the song. In general, the Song About Damn Time is a song about transformation and about leaving stress behind and stepping into joy and fun and starting to love yourself and to enjoy you and your body and your English. If English is your second language. I mean, she didn't say that specifically, but hey, it's art. We can interpret it the way we want. All right, let's check out Lizzo's recent Instagram post where she shares some of the tiktoks that use her song.

It's about damn time In a minute I' ma need a sentimental man or woman to pump me up Feeling fussy walking in my balessiuses Trying to bring out the fat bills.

Okay, let's start. All right, so let's listen.

In a minute. In a minute.

In a minute.

In a minute.

So notice the sounds Here we have the as in sit and in the word in. And then we also have it in minute.

In a minute.

So the only vowel that is different here is the, which is a schwab.

In a minute. In a minute. In a minute.

It's a really fun phrase to say. Let's say it quickly a few times.

In a minute. In a minute. In a minute.

Now notice the rhythm. Ta da ta da In a minute. Because in is stressed is not stressed. Me is stressed, is unstressed.

In a minute.

So we feel it in the beat. So back to the song.

In a minute I'm a need a.

Okay, Amanita. What does that mean? Amanita. If English is not your first language, it might be like a phrase that is a little unclear because amanita is basically a reduction of I'm going to need a. I'm going to need a. So going to often reduces to gonna. But when it's said really quickly or informally, you'll hear a lot of times people saying amma, ama, ama just like that. And then need a connects together. That's connected speech. The D becomes really light at the end. Listen. It almost sounds like a sound, like an R sound in some languages like Spanish or Arabic or Russian. Amanita, amanira, amanita. So let's do it together.

In a minute.

I'm Anita. Notice the rhythm, right? That is very similar in the first phrase and the second phrase.

In a minute.

Amanita. Da da da da da da da da. Right? That's the rhythm of the song. And the words have their own rhythm and they fit right into the rhythm.

Okay, In a minute I'm a need.

A sentimental man or woman Sentimental men. A woman so sentimental. Notice that we're Dropping the T's because they appear right after an N. And when the T appears after an N, it can be dropped in American English. So instead of sentimental, which is maybe how you perceive the word because of the spelling, we're actually hearing sentimental, sentimental, Sentimental. Now, sentimental is someone that shows tenderness and compassion. So basically, she's asking for sentiment, someone sensitive around her. Men or woman. Now, even the word or is reduced to a men or woman. Now, you might say, yeah, it's a song. That's how you say it. But it's not just in a song. This is how people speak, right? Men, a woman. When you speak really quickly, the R drops, which is good news for those of you who struggle with the R. Man, a woman. Man or woman. Sentimental Men or woman. So it really follows the rhythm.

In a minute.

I'm Anita. Sentimental.

Right?

Stressed, unstressed. Stressed, unstressed. Man, oh, woman. Right. Stressed, unstressed. Stressed unstressed. And then we have to pump me up. To pump up something is to put air into something that is inflated in a way. It's just like to energize me. To lift me up. To pump me up. Great. Now notice the T, because you don't hear a T sound. You don't hear to pump me up. You hear, duh, duh, pump me up. Let's listen in a minute. I'm a need a sentimental man or woman. Duh, pump me up. Right. So pump me up. Think about it like inflating air into a balloon that has nowhere. All right, let's continue.

Feeling fussy Walking in my balessiuses Trying.

To bring out the fabulous Feeling fussy Feeling fussy well, fussy has several meanings. So fussy can mean, you know, like paying attention to details, unsatisfied with something. But fussy also means unnecessary detail or decoration or accessories, especially when it comes to clothing. And if you watch the video clip, you'll see that she's wearing this awesome sequin jumpsuit. So I think that is what she means by fussy, But I think it's, like, also feeling, like, unhappy or unsettled or, you know, kind of like something's troubling her. Because, again, like, this song is about transformation. Moving from stress to freedom.

Feeling fussy Walking in my balenciasis Trying.

To bring out the fabulous so feeling fussy. We talked about that. Walking in my balenciassis she talks about her balenciaga shoes, and then she says, tryna bring out tryna. What's tryna? Trying to tryna, Tryna, tryna. So it Reduces. And again, it's not just for the song. This is how people speak. Trying to bring out. Now, I'm not necessarily saying that you need to start using that when speaking English, but it's really important to know that this is what happens within those phrases. Trying to bring out, bring out is to expose something that was hidden, right? So trying to bring out the fabulous, right? The fabulous. The internal beauty. Trying to bring out the fabulous. Let's listen to that part again.

Feeling fussy Walking in my balessiuses Trying to bring out the fabulous. Cause I give a fuck way too much.

Okay, so because I give a fuck way too much, that means I care too much about what people think, right? Because I give a fuck. To not give a fuck is to not care usually what people think, right? And she says she needs to transform, she needs to change. Because she cares too much about what other people are thinking about her. Cause. Because. Because I give a fuck way too much. Okay, let's say it together. Because I give a fuck way too much. Next up.

I' ma need like two shots in my cup.

I'mma need like two shots in my cup. So imma I'm a is I'm going to same thing. You remember that. I'm a need like two shots in my cup. So it could be two shots of espresso to get her energized, or it could be two shots of vodka or whiskey to help her let go of her inhibitions, right? Because she talks about how she gives a fuck too much and sometimes alcohol. For people who drink alcohol, not too much, I hope it helps them let go of inhibitions. So because I give a fuck way too much, I'mma need like, right? I know I'm ruining this by saying it slowly, but hey, that's how you learn. I'm a need like I'm going to need like a filler word. Two shots in my cup. Two tense oo shots long. Ah as in father. Two shots in my cup. Want to get up, want to get down, right? Want to get up, right? I want to get up physically. Like I want to wake up or I want to get up out of this depression or a feeling of stress and anxiety. Get down is not the opposite. Phrasal verbs, I mean, go figure. So get up, right? Get energized or get up from feeling asleep to get down. Get down is actually start dancing.

All right?

Get down on the dance floor. Want to get up, want to get down. And wanna is of course. Want to wanna, wanna, wanna get up, wanna get down. Last line for this tutorial.

That's how I feel right now.

How I feel right now. That's how I feel right now. That's how I feel right now. So notice that when she says that we hear thus, that's how I feel right now. We don't really hear the T. And that happens in conversational English or in songs, right? And sometimes you expect to hear the T. And if you don't hear it, you might be looking for a different word, or you might be doubting yourself saying, wait, but I don't hear the T. It must be a different word. And I want you to know that the English that you hear is often very different from the English that you expect to hear or the English that you visualize in your head or than the English that you read. All right, are you ready to dance a little? Let's play it from the beginning and pay attention to the lyrics and the pronunciation of the song.

Are you ready?

It's about damn time. In a minute I' ma need a sentimental man or woman to pump me up. You if I see you walking in my balesses Trying to bring out the.

Fabulous I give a fuck way too much. I'mma need like two shots in my cup. Want to get up, want to get.

Down that's how I feel right now.

All right, I hope you enjoyed it. If you liked it, please let me know in the comments. And if you have a TikTok with this song, link it in the comments as well.

If you.

And I promise to check it out. Thank you so much for being here. If you want to get more resources on how to improve your pronunciation, your fluency, flow, confidence in English and reach a real transformation just like Lizzo, check out hadarshemish.com or come follow me on Instagram Hadar Accentsway. Thank you so, so much and have a beautiful rest of the day. Feel good and I'll see you next week in the next video.