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We Can't Stop -a cappella (Miley Cyrus)
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Miley Cyrus, with the help of Jimmy and The Roots perform an a cappella version of her hit "We Can't Stop". By the way, she is also promoting the consumption of cocaine and molly, another powerful drug which is killing mindless young people encouraged by songs like this. But I suppose Miley Cyrus doesn't give a damn about it as long as she gets lots of money from her songs.

 

It’s our party we can do what we want
It’s our party we can say what we want
It’s our party we can love who we want
We can kiss who we want
We can sing what we want
Go Miley!

Red cups and sweaty bodies everywhere
Hands in the air like we don’t care
Cause we came to have so much fun now
Bet somebody here might get some now

If you’re not ready to go home
Can I get a "Hell, no!" ?

Cause we gonna go all night
Till we see the sunlight alright

So la da di da di, we like to party
Dancing with Molly
Doing whatever we want
This is our house
This is our rules

We can’t stop
We won’t stop
Can’t you see it’s we who own the night
Can’t you see it's we who 'bout that life
We can’t stop
And we won’t stop
'Cause we run things, Things don’t run we
We don't take nothing from nobody, yea yea

It’s our party we can do what we want
It’s our party we can say what we want
It’s our party we can love who we want
We can kiss who we want
We can sing what we want

To my home girls here with the big butt
Shaking it like we at a strip club
Remember only God can judge ya
Forget your haters cause somebody loves ya

Everyone in line in the bathroom
Trying to get a line in the bathroom
We all so turned up here
Getting turned up, yeah, yeah

La da di da di, we like to party
Dancing with Molly
Doing whatever we want
This is our house
This is our rules

We can’t stop
And we won’t stop
Can’t you see it’s we who own the night
Can’t you see it's we who 'bout that life
And we can’t stop
And we won’t stop
'Cause we run things
Things don’t run we
We don't take nothing from nobody, yea yea



There are many colloquial words and constructions in this song, like dropping subjects and auxiliaries, using double negatives and ellisions, etc, so get ready for some surprises.

GO MILEY!= In songs with more than one singer, a common way to introduce someone who is going to sing next.

RED CUPS= Glasses with wine or some red exotic cocktail.

SWEATY BODIES= Bodies sweating (because they are dancing)

LIKE= (comparative conjunction) As if:
- She dances like an angel (comparative preposition)
- She dances like she's crazy (comparative conjunction = She dances as if she were crazy)

BET= I am sure that...

CAN I GET A "HELL, NO!" ?= We can use “hell” to emphasize the word that goes after it, so "hell, no!" is a very strong form of "No" (and a little bit rude too). Here, "hell, no!" is a reply, so the implied question here is:
question: Do you want to go home?
answer: Hell, no!

We use "Can I get a...?" When we ask for something (e.g. "Can I get a glass of water?" / get = have). Miley says, "if you're not ready to go home" (= if you don't want to go home) say "Hell No!". But she says that asking politely for an answer. You can see it better if we compare these two similar situations:
- If you want some water say please
= If you want some water, can I get a "please"?
same context:
- Do you want to leave? If you don't want, then say "Hell, no!"
= If you don't want to leave, can I get a "Hell, no!" from you?


GONNA= (coll.) Going to.

MOLLY= A colloquial name for the drug MDMA, a powerful variant of the drug known as "ecstasy" that can make you have lots of fun at the disco but can also kill you. It has become popular thanks to singers like Madonna or this song of Miley Cyrus, so I suppose they are partly responsible for the deaths of many young people who are now taking this drug at the disco just to have fun and "dance with Molly". Read this article by NBC News about the drug, its dangers and how despicable celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Madonna are promoting the use of this dangerous drug who is already killing people.

WHATEVER WE WANT= Anything we want.

WE WON'T STOP= The verb WILL often expresses volition (similar to "want"), so here WON'T means "refuse": We refuse to stop, we don't want to stop.

OWN= Posses.

IT’S WE WHO BOUT THAT LIFE= Wrong grammar, of course, but I suppose this means “That life is about us”. Does it?

THINGS DON'T RUN WE= (ungrammatical) Things don't control US.

WE DON’T TAKE NOTHING FROM NOBODY= (triple negative) Double negatives are not correct in standard English but they are not uncommon in very colloquial English.

'CAUSE= (coll.) Because.

TO MY HOME GIRLS= Dedicated to my friends (girl-friends)

BUTT= Bum, bottom.

WE AT...= We are at...

STRIP CLUB= A night club where you can see prostitutes and girls dancing and getting naked.

YA= (coll.) You.

EVERYONE IN LINE IN THE BATHROOM= Everybody's queuing waiting to enter the bathroom of the disco because they want to sniff some cocaine (next she says "trying to get a line", which is "a line of cocaine" (see picture). Yea, it's a long way from Hanna Montana to Miley Cyrus.

TURNED UP= Excited, full of energy.

Cyrus told E! News the song is dedicated to her fans, the people who have never stopped believing in her. She said: "I feel like this song really is for them and how I feel, that I can't stop and I'm going to be who I am and they should be who they are and that they can't stop and no one can stop us." Cyrus added: "It really is an inspiring song for my fans. We don't care, we can do what we want."

Yeah, definitely, this young lady is incredibly clever, you can see. Also, this song was written for Rihanna, not for Miley, so whatever she says, she just made up to fit her needs. But wait, talking in a different place she gave yet another explanation:

The song's vague references to drugs use and strip clubs raised some eyebrows but Miley maintained to Billboard magazine that it is her right to talk about issues she has experienced first-hand no matter how controversial the subject matter. 'I'm 20 years old and I want to talk to the people that are up all night with their friends,' she said. 'It's based on a true story of a crazy night I had: When I heard the song for the first time, it captured exactly what I was living."

Really, this girl is making huge huge efforts to leave her Hanna Montanna persona behind, the nice good girl, and become the slutty bad girl we all know now.

Oh well, whatever. Song's catchy though.


DANCING WITH MOLLY?!    What the hell?

Read this article by NBC News about the drug, its dangers and how despicable celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Madonna are promoting the use of this dangerous drug who is already killing people.

 

 
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© Angel Castaño 2008 Salamanca / Poole - free videos to learn real English online || InfoPrivacyTerms of useContactAbout
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