Song: Shake Artist: Victoria Justice Year: 2013 Album: B-side single to "Gold" Language Feature: Reductions and Sentence Intonation
Episode Description
For this episode, Ece and Heather are jumping ahead to the 2000’s. Heather is feeling self-conscious about her dancing skills and Ece decides to use the 2013 song “Shake,” sung by Victoria Justice. After listening to the encouraging and inspiring lyrics, Heather starts to feel more confident and she’s ready to shake what her mama gave her.
In addition to being great to dance to, this song is also fantastic for practicing reductions and sentence intonation. As always, make sure that you sing out loud with the song after you listen to the podcast!
Episode Transcript
<intro>
E: Hi! I’m Ece. H: And I’m Heather. Welcome to the podcast, “English as a Singing Language.” E: Last week we were still in the 1970’s. When is this episode from, Heather? H: We are jumping ahead to the 21st century this week. E: Ok! That sounds great. Are we ready to jump ahead in time? H: I think we are! Let’s do it! <end intro> E: (Humming Victoria Justice, “Shake”) - Oh my gosh, Heather! What are you doing? H: Ah! Ece! I’m...dancing. Well, I’m tryin’ to dance. I’m going to a party next weekend, and I know everybody is going to be dancing. I haven’t danced in years, and I’m afraid of looking foolish. E: That doesn’t make sense. I know how much you like music and singing, why are you nervous about dancing? H: I’m not really nervous, I just don’t want people to see me while I’m dancing. E: That’s totally understandable, and I have the perfect song for you. H: Really? I definitely need to hear that! What song is it? E: It’s the 2013 pop song “Shake,” by Victoria Justice. It is a great song to dance to. H: Victoria Justice? I know I’ve heard of her. How do I know that name? E: She was a popular actor on the TV Channel, Nickelodeon from 2005 through 2013. H: Oh! That’s right. One of the characters she played was Lola Martinez on the show Zoey 101. E: Yep. So, she is a talented actress and singer. And in a 17 Magazine article she said, “Recently, I started realizing that not everything about my body, or my face, or my hair has to be perfect. I should just wake up and be grateful every single day." I think this is a good quote for you to think about. H: <sigh> I agree. It’s good advice for everyone. I shouldn’t worry so much about things like that. E: As Victoria Justice sings, “Shake, shake what your mama gave you.” H: Uh, Ece, what did my mama give me? E: She gave you your body! And you should use it for dancing! She also sings, “Sometimes, you gotta get down, down at the supermarket, Even if there's people watchin', Just because you like the song.” You have to just focus on how much you like the song and how much fun you are having dancing. H: That’s great advice and there is a great example of a pronunciation reduction in there. “Even if there’s people watchin’.” I feel like that happens a lot with words that end in “–ing.” Instead of “watching,” people say, “watchin’.” Is that true? E: It sure is. In everyday conversation, we often reduce the “-ing” to “-in.” There are other examples of this in the song like, “You know it's easy to forget that feelin'.” H: “When the kid in your heart stops screamin'.” You have to keep that youthful feelin’, right Ece? E: That’s right. And, “Who cares if you’re lookin’ foolish?” H: Not me! I don’t care if I’m lookin’ foolish anymore! E: Another thing about this song is how it really imitates the rhythm of spoken English. “Lately everybody’s so self-conscious.” H: “People talk about each other so heartless.” E: “But I don’t want to hear those conversations.” H: “I just want to feel the good vibrations.” This is the rhythm of lots of sentences in English. Da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da. E: Like, “I need to buy some grapes and apples.” H: Or, “She has to study for a test tomorrow.” E: “She’s gonna buy a movie ticket.” Oh! That’s really useful. H: It is. You can really feel the rhythm of these sentences. It’s almost like
H and E: music! E: Exactly. That’s what makes using music to practice English so great! It’s also the same sentence pattern in, “Doesn’t matter if you’re 6 or 60.” H: So, it’s not important how old you are. I definitely think that’s true! E: And, “It doesn't matter if you're rich or thrifty.” H: So, whether or not you have money isn’t important, either. Being “thrifty” meaning you use money carefully and not wastefully. That seems like a useful word. E: It sure is. I think both of us are pretty thrifty people. I don’t buy anything that isn’t on sale. H: I love to get a good deal too. E: How about, “But I don't want to think about the ending, 'cause every moment is a new beginning,”? Using ‘cause instead of “because” is pretty common in everyday conversation, right? H: Definitely, and I think that’s ‘cause it’s easier to say than “because.” E: That’s ‘cause it’s shorter than “because.” And I think that’s a really positive way to look at things. We shouldn’t focus on something ending and feel sad about it. We should think about the new possibilities that are available to us. H: I really like the catchy beat and the positive lyrics of this song. I’m feelin’ pretty confident about my dance moves right now. E: Does that mean you feel like you’re ready to dance? Even if there’s people watchin’? Just because you like the song? H: You bet! “I just want to feel the good vibrations.” E: Me too! Well, I think it’s time for us to sing - H: -and dance! E: Yes. We have to sing and dance to this one! It’s time to take a listen to Victoria Justice’s 2013 song, “Shake.” H: It’s time to get down! You’ll find a link to the song in the episode notes. Don’t forget to sing out loud as you listen and try to match the sentence intonation. E: And try out some of those reductions. <ending> E: I’m havin’ a great time singing these songs and practicing English together with everyone. H: I am too. If you know anybody who might like to listen to the podcast, make sure to introduce them to “English as a Singing Language,” ‘cause we love listenin’ to songs and singin’ together. E: We sure do. You can also check out our website by using the link in the episode notes. You’ll find a transcript of each episode, the lyrics to each song, and an activity for you to complete for extra practice. H: Let us know what songs you like to listen to. We’re always looking for new songs for a future episode. Finally, you can follow us on Instagram. E: Until our next episode, have fun and... just keep singing. H and E: just keep singing.
Official YouTube Video
Activity/Song Lyrics
Pay attention to the reductions and sentence intonation as you sing along.
Uh, lately everybody's so self-conscious, People talk about each other so heartless, But I don't want to hear those conversations, I just want to feel the good vibrations, Whatever happened to the simple pleasures, It's hard to live when there's so much pressure, But I don't want to think about the ending, 'Cause every moment is a new beginning, Ohhhhh ohhh You know life's too short to be complicated, Ohhhhh ohhh Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes you gotta, Shake, shake what your momma gave you, Pull out your Michael J. moves, And dance with the record on, Sometimes, you gotta get down, down at the supermarket, Even if there's people watchin', Just because you like the song, Sometimes, you gotta just shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Sometimes, you gotta just shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Yeah, do we really even know what matters, When we're stuck inside the same old patterns, You know it's easy to forget that feelin', When the kid in your heart stops screamin', Doesn't matter if you're 6 or 60, It doesn't matter if you're rich or thrifty, If the moment feels right just do it, Who cares if you're lookin' foolish? Ohhhhh ohhh, You know life's too short to be complicated, Ohhhhh ohhh, Sometimes, sometimes, sometimes you gotta Shake, shake what your momma gave you, Pull out your Michael J. moves, And dance with the record on, Sometimes, you gotta get down, down at the supermarket, Even if there's people watchin', Just because you like the song, Sometimes, you gotta just shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. Sometimes, you gotta just shake, shake, shake, shake, shake, shake. (Ohhhhh ohhhhh) Tell me, is it wrong if it makes you feel right? You'll never know if you don't even try, Let it go, you might find that you like to... Shake, shake what your momma gave you, Pull out your Michael J. moves, And dance with the record on, Sometimes, you gotta get down, down at the supermarket, Even if there's people watchin', Just because you like the song, Sometimes you gotta just Shake, shake what your momma gave you, Pull out your Michael J. moves, And dance with the record on, Sometimes, you gotta get down, down at the supermarket, Even if there's people watchin', (hey) Just because you like the song, (just because you like the song) Sometimes you gotta just shake, shake a little shake a little now, Shake, shake a little, shake a little now, (Sometimes you gotta shake) Shake, shake a little, shake a little now, Woooaaah, Shake, shake a little, shake a little now, Sometimes, you gotta just... shake.
Songwriters: Tony Nasri, Adam Messinger, Joseph Nolan, Victoria Justice, Gene Hayley Shake lyrics © Sony/atv Songs Llc, Messy Music, Peace Baby Music, The Messengers Joint
Comments