MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
Shackles (Praise You) (Mary Mary)
click image to open video page
3:29
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/music/shackles-praise-you-mary-mary-2719
Description

This  gospel music duo are often credited along with Kirk Franklin for broadening the fan base of urban contemporary gospel in the 2000s by introducing elements of soul music, hip hop, funk and jazz. Mary Mary broke onto the music scene with their popular song "Shackles (Praise You)" which is considered one of the pioneering songs of urban contemporary gospel music.

This song became a crossover hit, being popular with gospel, R&B, and pop audiences. It was a Top 10 R&B and Top 40 pop hit, and peaked at #28 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It became the first gospel song in five years to crack the R&B top ten and gained wide exposure on the MTV video cable channel. It was also a worldwide hit and reached Number 5 in the United Kingdom and Number 17 in Ireland.

Transcript

Whoo!
It sure is hot out here
Ya know?
I don't mind though
Just glad to be free
Know what I'm saying, uh!

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
(What'cha wanna do?)
I just wanna praise You
(Yeah, yeah)
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
(Uh feel me?)
And I'm gonna praise You
(What'cha gon do?)
I'm gonna praise You

In the corners of mind
I just can't seem to find a reason to believe
That I can break free
Cause you see I have been down for so long
Feel like the hope is gone
But as I lift my hands, I understand
That I should praise You through my circumstance

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise You

Everything that could go wrong
All went wrong at one time
So much pressure fell on me
I thought I was gon lose my mind
But I know you wanna see
If I will hold on through these trials
But I need you to lift this load
Cause I can't take it no more

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise You

Been through the fire and the rain
Bound in every kind of way
But God has broken every chain
So let me go right now

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise You

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise You

Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance
I just wanna praise You
I just wanna praise You
You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You
I'm gonna praise You

Take them off, take them off
What'cha gonna do, yeah

You broke the chains now I can lift my hands
And I'm gonna praise You...

Explanations

IT SURE IS HOT= (coll. esp. AmE) We can put SURE before the verb for emphasis.
You sure look good = You look really good, you look good indeed.

YA= (coll.) You (the auxiliary for questions, DO, is also missing)

I DON'T MIND THOUGH= We use THOUGH at the end of a sentence with the same meaning as "Nevertheless", "although", "but".
- She's strange but I like her = She's strange. Nevertheless, I like her = She's strange. I like her though.

SHACKLES= An old device (still used in many countries) to keep people imprisoned (see picture) They can be used over your hands or your feet.

SO I CAN DANCE= (coll.) So that I can dance.
We often use SO instead of SO THAT to express purpose.
same subject (+ to):
- I open the window to see the street (I open, I see)
- You need money to buy food (You need, you buy)
different subjects (so that + new subject + can/will/may):
- I open the window so that you can see the street (I open, you see)
- She explained to me so that I could understand (she explained, I understand)
But in conversation we often drop the THAT and use only SO:
- Take the shackles off my feet so I can dance (please, take them off / I want to dance)

PRAISE= Worship; give thanks to God; express your love for God (in this case, dancing)

WHAT'CHA WANNA DO?= (coll.) What do you want to do?
What d'you want to do = what'ya wanna do = T+Y=CH (assimilation rule number 1).

LIFT= Elevate, raise, put up. (Some Christians typically lift their hands up in the air when praying)

WHAT'CHA GON DO?= (coll.) What are you going to do?
What you gonna do = what'ya gon' do = T+Y=CH (assimilation rule number 1). GONNA= going to.

THAT I CAN BREAK FREE= (coll.) So that I can break free (break free = get free, be free)
We saw above in the expression "so I can dance" that the purpose connector for two subjects, SO THAT, can often be shortened to simply SO. In this case we see another less common variation, SO THAT is shortened to simply THAT.
But there's more, here we see the SO THAT + can/etc construction used not for two different subjects, but for the same subject (I can'f find a reason / I can break free). This is not too common but it is perfectly possible:
- I went to your house to visit your mother = I went to your house so that I could visit your mother
colloquial variations:
- ... so I could visit your mother
- ... that I could visit your mother

I HAVE BEEN DOWN= I've been depressed.

GON'= (coll. black AmE) going to.
Going to = gonna = gon'

HOLD ON THROUGH...= Resist, don't give up.

TRIALS= Big difficulties, hard times.

I CAN'T TAKE IT NO MORE= I can't resist any more (notice the double negative, which is not correct but it is easy to hear in colloquial English, especially black AmE)

BEEN THROUGH THE FIRE AND THE RAIN= I've experienced all sorts of terrible situations.

BOUND= (bind-bound-bound = tie) Limited, prisoner.

Meaning

This is a song about how God's love sets you free. You feel like you were chained and limited, you couldn't untangle your life, but now you feel like the chains were broken, your feet unshackled... and you were finally liberated.


This is basically a worship song, a song to praise God and thank Him for what He has done for you.