Song: Be Myself
Artist: Montana Tucker, featuring Todrick Hall
Year: 2021
Album: Single
Language Feature: Reduced Pronunciation
Episode Description
Welcome to Season 3, Episode 1 of the podcast! We’re so excited about starting a new season of English as a Singing Language. We’re starting off the new season with a confidence-building song.
It seems like everyone feels like they have to pretend that they are someone they’re not sometimes, but it is important to be yourself. That’s the message in Montana Tucker’s 2021 hit song, “Be Myself.” Check out the new season and practice reduced pronunciation with a catchy, fun song that has an extremely positive message!
Video Version of the Episode
Episode Transcript
<intro>
H: Hi! I’m Heather.
E: And I’m Ece.
H: Before we get started on today’s episode, we’d just like to say,
E + H: “Welcome to Season 3 of the podcast!”
E: I’m so excited to start a whole new season of “English as a Singing Language.”
H: Me too! The time has passed so quickly!
E: I know. It’s hard to believe that we’ve already created two seasons of the podcast.
H: So, what is the focus of this episode, Ece?
E: We’re going to, or “gonna,” talk about reductions in casual speech.
H: Ooooh! That sounds interesting. I want to, or “wanna” learn more about that.
E: Me too! I can’t wait!
H: Me neither! Let’s get started.
<end intro>
H: (humming “Be Myself” by Montana Tucker) Oh! Hi Ece! How’s it going?
E: Ok, I guess. I’ve spent all morning looking at job advertisements and working on my resume.
H: I’ve spent a lot of time recently applying for jobs and having job interviews, too.
E: It’s really stressful, and during a job interview I feel like I have to be so formal. It feels like I am trying to be someone I am not, and then I am being compared to all the other people who applied for the job.
H: Hmmmmm…I think you should listen to the song I was just listening to. It’s called, “Be Myself.”
E: The 2021 hit song by Montana Tucker featuring Toddrick Hall?
H: Yes! The whole song is about how you should “be yourself.”
E: That sounds great. We should all “be ourselves” and not try to change anything for someone or something else.
H: I agree. In fact, when Montana Tucker was asked about her inspiration for the song she said, “I actually wrote ‘Be Myself’ with my friend Justin Jesso during the pandemic. I have always wanted to write a song about staying true to who you are and being proud of who you are. Nowadays, it’s hard not to compare yourself to others, so I think a song/message like this is really important.”
E: That is a really important message. We all need to be proud of who we are.
H: And there’s also a useful language feature in this song. There are many examples of reduced pronunciation in this song.
E: You mean when we don’t pronounce each sound of each word carefully?H: Right. When we speak in casual, everyday conversation, we often combine words and some sounds get lost.
E: For example, let’s start with the refrain of the song, “I'm gonna, I'm gonna be myself
I don't wanna be nobody else.”
H: Yes! There are two great examples in those lines. The first one, “I’m gonna I’m gonna be myself. I don’t wanna be nobody else.”
E: First, she uses “gonna” instead of “am going to.”
H: In conversation, you will rarely hear a person say, “I am going to be myself.”
E: They would say, “I’m gonna be myself.”
H: And the other common reduction in that line is, “I don’t wanna be,” instead of “I do not want to be.”
E: And, it’s interesting that she also uses “nobody” instead of “anybody.”
H: What we would teach in grammar class is that because you have a negative in “don’t,” you can’t use a negative “nobody.”
E: But actually, you hear people say things like, “I don’t know nobody,” instead of “I don’t know anybody,” all the time.
H: It’s just not what we would use in grammar class.
E: Nope, but it works in this song.
H: There are other examples of “gonna” instead of “going to” in the refrain, like, “I’m gonna show you confidence.”
E: That’s a good line. It’s important to try to show your confidence, even if you don’t feel very confident, like in a job interview.
H: I agree. And the next line, “I'm gonna let my hair down when I do my dance,” is fun because it contains an idiom, “to let your hair down.”
E: If you “let your hair down,” it means that you are acting in a relaxed and comfortable way.
H: You could say, “After working all week, I can finally let my hair down with my friends on the weekend.”
E: And it means you’re just going to relax and have a good time.
H: After all the stress of applying for jobs, we should let our hair down this weekend.
E: Sounds good. And the last reduction in the refrain is the question, “Whatchu gonna do?”
H: Wait, “Whatchugonnado?” What does that mean?
E: It’s a reduction of, “What are you going to do?”H: Oh, ok. We use that all the time. Whatchu gonna do this weekend, Ece?
E: We’re gonna let our hair down and do something fun, right?
H: I hope so!
E: So, going back to the first verse it starts, “Don’t know which road to take.”
H: That’s how we’ve been feeling lately, right?
E: Yes. There are two or more choices we can make, or roads to take, and we don’t know which one is best.
H: That’s definitely how I’ve been feeling. We could use the next line, too. “It’s been one of those days.”
E: If you’ve had a long and difficult day, you can say, “It’s been one of those days.”
H: Like after a day of searching for jobs and sending out applications?
E: Exactly. And when she says, “I get in my own way. I’m my worst enemy.”
H: I think everybody does that sometimes. Meaning, it’s not somebody or something else that’s stopping me, I’m the one who is stopping myself, getting in my own way, being an enemy to myself.
E: Right. There’s an interesting description in the next verse, “So when you’re lost in the dark, and you forget who you are…”
H: “Baby you’ll find your spark, shining among the stars.” Wow. That’s how I’ve been feeling lately, like I’m lost in the dark.
E: Me too, but I like the idea of finding a spark, a tiny fire, and being able to “be myself” again.
H: That’s what we all need sometimes, a small spark of inspiration.
E: Maybe my favorite part of the song is Todrick’s part. You’ll notice in his part he uses “Ima” instead of “I’m going to.”
H: So, this is even more reduced than, “I’m gonna.”
E: Exactly. He sings, “Ima be fabulous. Ima be glamorous.”
H: You might hear, “I am going to be fabulous,” or “I’m gonna be fabulous,” or “Ima be fabulous.”
E: Yes. He also sings, “Ima be posing when they show me where the camera is.”
H: When you “pose,” you stand and smile in a special way for a photo. Like when you say,
E + H: “Cheese!”
E: Right. And the next lines are, “Ima keep strutting my stuff, if I'm being myself that's more than enough.”
H: If you “strut your stuff” it means you’re walking with a lot of confidence.
E: And we should all remember that being ourselves is more than enough.
H: There’s another interesting line in that part. Toderick sings, “We eat sticks and stones for breakfast.” What is he talking about there?
E: There’s a popular saying for children, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.” It means that you shouldn’t pay attention to what other people say about you.
H: So, he and Montana Tucker are really doing whatever they want and not paying attention to what other people do or say.
E: Exactly. And the last part of Todrick’s lines are, “Don't let hate affect us. Love your scars and freckles. Love your body.”
H: “Freckles” are little brown spots that you might get from the sun, and “scars” are marks left from a cut or injury. I’ve got plenty of those.
E: We should just love our bodies and love ourselves the way we are.
H: Agree.
E: There’s one last part of the song we haven’t talked about yet.
H: Right. “You go left and you go down.”
E: “You stay in and you go out.”
H: “You don't care who's watching now”
E: “Stand proud.”
H: “Stand proud.”
E + H: “Stand proud.”
E: It sounds like it’s time to sing.
H: I think so! There’s a link to Montana Tucker’s 2021 hit song, “Be Myself” in the episode notes.
E: Be sure to sing out loud as you listen.
H: And pay attention to the reduced pronunciation while you sing.
E: If you practice while you’re singing, then you’ll be able to try it out when you’re speaking.
H: And that’s our goal, to use songs to improve our English.
E: To sing, and to have fun.
H: “I’m gonna, I’m gonna, be myself,”
H + E: “We don’t wanna be nobody else.”
<outro>
E: What a great song to start off Season Three of the podcast.
H: I agree. I’ve been feeling frustrated and anxious spending all this time on job applications and interviews.
E: Me too. It’s very stressful.
H: This song has made me feel a lot more confident.
E: We can just be ourselves. It will all work out.
H: That’s a good attitude. And we have a whole season of the podcast to look forward to.
E: Yes! So, listeners, be sure to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever you listen.
H: And check out our website for useful resources like episode transcripts.
E: You should also follow us on Instagram @singinglanguages.
H: You can send us comments, questions or suggestions at singinglanguages@gmail.com.
E: Most of all have fun and…
E + H: … just keep singing!
Euphoria. website:
Official YouTube Video
Complete Lyrics
Don't know which road to take
It's been one of those days
I get in my own way
I'm my worst enemy
I go left and I go down
I stay in and I go out
I don't care who's watching now
I'm proud
I'm proud
I'm proud
I go left and I go down
I stay in and I go out
I don't care who's watching now
I'm proud
I'm proud
I'm proud
I'm gonna, I'm gonna to be myself
I don't wanna be nobody else
I'm gonna, I'm gonna to be myself
What about you?
I'm gonna to show you confidence
I'm gonna let my hair down when I do my dance
I'm gonna I'm gonna be myself
So whatchu gonna (what are you going to) do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
I'm gonna I'm gonna be myself
What about you?
So when you're lost
In the dark
And you forget who you are
(Oh)
Baby you'll find your spark
Shining among the stars
You go left and you go down
You stay in and you go out
You don't care who's watching now
Stand proud
Stand proud
Stand proud
You go left and you go down
You stay in and you go out
You don't carе who's watching now
Stand proud
Stand proud
Stand proud
I'm gonna, I'm gonna to be myself
I don't wanna be nobody еlse
I'm gonna, I'm gonna to be myself
What about you?
I'm gonna show you confidence
I'm gonna let my hair down when I do my dance
I'm gonna, I'm gonna be myself
So whatchu gonna (what are you going to) do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
I'm gonna
I'm gonna be myself
What about you?
Me?
I'ma (I am going to) be fabulous
I'ma be glamorous
I'ma be posing
When they show me where the camera is
I'ma keep strutting my stuff
If I'm being myself that's more than enough
My girl’s form Florida
I'm from Texas
We eat sticks and stones for breakfast
Don't let hate affect us
Love your scars and freckles
Love your body
Look in the mirror and remember Montana and Toddy
Saying
I'm gonna, I'm gonna to be myself
I don't wanna be nobody еlse
I'm gonna, I'm gonna to be myself
What about you?
I'm gonna show you confidence
I'm gonna let my hair down when I do my dance
I'm gonna, I'm gonna be myself
So whatchu gonna (what are you going to) do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
Ah Ah Ah Ah
Oh Oh
What ya gonna do?
I'm gonna
I'm gonna be myself
What about you?
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