Breaking the Rules with Miley Cyrus' 'Flowers'
2024-03-01
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1Every year, the Recording Academy in the United States gives awards to the performers and songwriters with the most outstanding achievements from the year before.
2The Academy calls those awards "the Grammys."
3At the 2024 Grammy awards, the Song of the Year award went to Miley Cyrus for her song Flowers.
4In today's lesson, we will look at some grammar rules Cyrus follows in the song and one rule she breaks.
5The song begins with the story of a break-up:
6We were good, we were gold
7Kinda dream that can't be sold
8We were right 'til we weren't
9Built a home and watched it burn
10Mm, I didn't wanna leave you
11I didn't wanna lie
12Started to cry, but then remembered I...
13In this first part, Cyrus uses an informal adverb, "kinda," to describe the dream she and her partner had.
14In formal language, she would say, "It was the kind of dream that can't be sold."
15We expect to hear informal language in songs, so this is not really breaking any rules.
16She follows with another informal word, the verb form "wanna," in "I didn't wanna leave you, I didn't wanna lie."
17It is very common to hear this pronunciation in spoken English of the words "want to."
18Next, we get to where Cyrus follows and breaks the same rule.
19She describes the expressive actions of a romantic partner that she can do for herself.
20Her song tells us about the kinds of things a romantic partner might do, but Cyrus says she, as an independent woman, can do those things without the partner.
21Listen for the reflexive pronoun "myself" in these lines:
22I can buy myself flowers
23Write my name in the sand
24Talk to myself for hours
25Say things you don't understand
26I can take myself dancing
27And I can hold my own hand
28Yeah, I can love me better than you can
29Did you catch the place where she broke the rule about when to use a reflexive pronoun?
30The rule is: when the object and the subject of the verb are the same, use the reflexive pronoun to describe the object.
31Cyrus follows this rule when she sings, "I can buy myself flowers," "talk to myself for hours" and "I can take myself dancing."
32But she breaks it when she sings, "I can love me better than you can."
33Let's take a moment for a little quiz here.
34Can you say or sing the same line with the reflexive pronoun? Take a moment so you can think.
35Following the rule, this should be "I can love myself better than you can."
36Cyrus probably uses "me" to match the beat of the music.
37Often, that is more important to singers than following grammar rules!
38In one line of the song, Cyrus uses the adjective "own" to refer to things belonging to herself.
39Let's listen to that line:
40And I can hold my own hand
41Here, "own" is correct because it makes the action clear.
42If she had not used "own," we might not understand.
43She could be singing about holding her hand up, for example.
44"Hold my own hand" makes it clear to us that she is using one hand to hold another.
45What do you think of Miley Cyrus' song? Are there any singers in your country who sing about their independence in this way?
46Write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com and tell us about them.
47And that's Everyday Grammar!
48I'm Jill Robbins.
1Every year, the Recording Academy in the United States gives awards to the performers and songwriters with the most outstanding achievements from the year before. The Academy calls those awards "the Grammys." 2At the 2024 Grammy awards, the Song of the Year award went to Miley Cyrus for her song Flowers. In today's lesson, we will look at some grammar rules Cyrus follows in the song and one rule she breaks. The song begins with the story of a break-up: 3We were good, we were gold 4Kinda dream that can't be sold 5We were right 'til we weren't 6Built a home and watched it burn 7Mm, I didn't wanna leave you 8I didn't wanna lie 9Started to cry, but then remembered I... 10In this first part, Cyrus uses an informal adverb, "kinda," to describe the dream she and her partner had. In formal language, she would say, "It was the kind of dream that can't be sold." We expect to hear informal language in songs, so this is not really breaking any rules. 11She follows with another informal word, the verb form "wanna," in "I didn't wanna leave you, I didn't wanna lie." It is very common to hear this pronunciation in spoken English of the words "want to." 12Reflexive pronoun rule 13Next, we get to where Cyrus follows and breaks the same rule. She describes the expressive actions of a romantic partner that she can do for herself. Her song tells us about the kinds of things a romantic partner might do, but Cyrus says she, as an independent woman, can do those things without the partner. 14Listen for the reflexive pronoun "myself" in these lines: 15I can buy myself flowers 16Write my name in the sand 17Talk to myself for hours 18Say things you don't understand 19I can take myself dancing 20And I can hold my own hand 21Yeah, I can love me better than you can 22Did you catch the place where she broke the rule about when to use a reflexive pronoun? The rule is: when the object and the subject of the verb are the same, use the reflexive pronoun to describe the object. 23Cyrus follows this rule when she sings, "I can buy myself flowers," "talk to myself for hours" and "I can take myself dancing." But she breaks it when she sings, "I can love me better than you can." 24Let's take a moment for a little quiz here. Can you say or sing the same line with the reflexive pronoun? Take a moment so you can think. 25Following the rule, this should be "I can love myself better than you can." Cyrus probably uses "me" to match the beat of the music. Often, that is more important to singers than following grammar rules! 26Adjective "own" 27In one line of the song, Cyrus uses the adjective "own" to refer to things belonging to herself. Let's listen to that line: 28And I can hold my own hand 29Here, "own" is correct because it makes the action clear. If she had not used "own," we might not understand. She could be singing about holding her hand up, for example. "Hold my own hand" makes it clear to us that she is using one hand to hold another. 30What do you think of Miley Cyrus' song? Are there any singers in your country who sing about their independence in this way? 31Write to us at learningenglish@voanews.com and tell us about them. 32And that's Everyday Grammar! 33I'm Jill Robbins. 34Jill Robbins wrote this lesson for Learning English. 35______________________________________________ 36Words in This Story 37achievement - n. something accomplished, especially by superior ability, special effort, or great courage 38reflexive (pronoun) - adj. a class of pronouns that refer back to the subject of a sentence or clause 39What do you think of Miley Cyrus' Song of the Year award? We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section. 40If you'd like to sing along with the video, here are the words: 41We were good, we were gold 42Kinda dream that can't be sold 43We were right 'til we weren't 44Built a home and watched it burn 45Mm, I didn't wanna leave you 46I didn't wanna lie 47Started to cry, but then remembered I 48I can buy myself flowers 49Write my name in the sand 50Talk to myself for hours 51Say things you don't understand 52I can take myself dancing 53And I can hold my own hand 54Yeah, I can love me better than you can 55Can love me better 56I can love me better, baby 57Can love me better 58I can love me better, baby 59Paint my nails cherry red 60Match the roses that you left 61No remorse, no regret 62I forgive every word you said 63Ooh, I didn't wanna leave you, baby 64I didn't wanna fight 65Started to cry, but then remembered I 66I can buy myself flowers 67Write my name in the sand 68Talk to myself for hours, yeah 69Say things you don't understand 70I can take myself dancing, yeah 71I can hold my own hand 72Yeah, I can love me better than you can 73Can love me better 74I can love me better, baby 75Can love me better 76I can love me better, baby 77Can love me better 78I can love me better, baby 79Can love me better 80Oh, I 81I didn't wanna leave you 82I didn't wanna fight 83Started to cry, but then remembered I 84I can buy myself flowers (oh) 85Write my name in the sand (mm) 86Talk to myself for hours (yeah) 87Say things you don't understand (you never will) 88I can take myself dancing, yeah 89I can hold my own hand 90Yeah, I can love me better than 91Yeah, I can love me better than you can 92Can love me better 93I can love me better, baby (oh) 94Can love me better 95I can love me better (than you can), baby 96Can love me better 97I can love me better, baby 98Can love me better