Lady Gaga, Are you Ready?

And The Oscar Goes to...

Lady Gaga, Mark Ronson...

So she just won the Oscar for best original song, and she was, in fact nominated for a few other ones.

I recommend that you check out the speech that she made the other night at the Oscars as it was super motivating.

I'll link that down in the description, and the movie is fantastic.

It was a little bit long for me, but I would still recommend that you watch it.

So she and Bradley Cooper did a really amazing performance of the song Shallow Live at the Oscars, And I definitely recommend that you look that up after this lesson if you haven't seen it yet.

But today we will be using the original music video to teach you with this song.

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Now let's jump in today's lesson with Shallow from Lady Gaga.

Shallow.

As an adjective, this is the opposite of deep, for example, shallow water.

As a noun, as used in this song, is an area of water that is not deep.

This song, as we will see, has a lot of references to water, so we could just take this literally.

However, much like Deep has both a literal and figurative meaning, so does shallow.

If a subject is deep, it can mean that is full of complexity, there's more than meets the eye.

Shallow would mean the opposite of this.

You'll probably find it useful knowing both of these definitions in order to interpret the song.

♪ Is there something else you're searching for? ♪

Else.

Adverb meaning in addition, besides or different.

Example: Would you like to order anything else? Dessert maybe?

I want to go somewhere else.

Searching for.

To look for something.

Here may be used in a more profound way; such as trying to find one's purpose.

Example: I've been searching the Internet for hours, but I can't find a good explanation.

She decided to travel across Europe to search for herself.

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♪ Is there something else you're searching for? ♪

♪ In all the good times I find myself longing... ♪

♪ In all the good times I find myself longing for change. ♪

♪ And in the bad times I fear myself. ♪

Good time, bad times.

Here, times refers to a period of time, an epoch.

Example: We had some crazy times when I lived in Rio de Janeiro.

Maria went through some rough times when she was unemployed.

Can you give me an example with times—you could talk about any period of your life, good times, the bad times, the crazy times that dark times, just get creative.

Do that down in the comments below, and I'll be correcting many of your examples.

Long for.

To have a strong wish or desire.

It's also commonly used to say that we miss something a lot.

Example: She has a longing for the good old days.

We're longing to see each other again.

Fear (something).

To be scared of something.

Example: I fear I will never be able to move out of this dull town.

Here, he uses it reflexively—he fears himself.

This most likely means that he is in a bad mental state, he is scared that he might do something drastic.

♪ And in the bad times I fear myself ♪

♪ Tell me something, boy ♪

♪ Aren't you tired trying to fill that void? ♪

To fill a void.

A void is a completely empty space, for example, the black void of space.

Figuratively as it is used in this song, it means an emptiness caused by the loss of something.

Example: Since he passed away, she has felt a void.

To fill a void is to try to do something to correct that empty feeling.

Although this also has the connotation of being something destructive and counterproductive.

For example, drinking, doing drugs, having sex.

Example: His girlfriend left him for another man, and he's been trying to fill the void by having meaningless relationships with different women, but I don't think it's helping him.

♪ Or do you need more ♪

♪ Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore ♪

Ain't.

Colloquial slang for the first or third person singular of the verb to be, am not/is not or isn't.

While this is not considered grammatically correct, natives say it all the time.

As a learner, I would recommend you say the correct I'm not or isn't.

But it is good to know that natives sometimes use this alternative.

Example: I ain't gonna be able to come to your party, but I'll see you Monday.

He ain't the smartest guy you'll meet.

Keeping it so hardcore.

Hardcore is an adjective that can be used in a few different ways, but that is normally related to how extreme something is.

For example, if you have an extreme dedication to a certain activity such as gaming, you may call yourself a hardcore gamer.

We can also use it more informally (as the song does), to describe someone that is particularly intense, thrillingly dangerous or erratic, desirably violent in appearance; pleasing or "cool" due to intensity or danger.

In the movie of A Star is Born, Bradley Cooper's character is a hardcore rockstar.

To keep here means to remain, to continue or to be a certain way.

So, in other words, she's saying, "isn't it difficult, always being so risky and intense?"

Example: Keep calm and carry on.

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♪ Ain't it hard keeping it so hardcore? ♪

♪ I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in ♪

♪ I'll never meet the ground ♪

Off the deep end.

To be off the deep end, or more commonly to go off the deep end, is to become so angry, nervous, or excited that you lose control of yourself and start to behave in a crazy or irrational way.

Example: The man went off the deep end when he found out that his son got arrested.

This could also go along with theme of water.

For example, the deep end of the pool is a part where if you were to touch the ground, the water would be above your head.

To dive in.

Literally, to dive is to jump in the water, especially with your head and arms going in first or to move down under the water.

Example: They ran to the pool dived in and swam to the other side.

To dive in is often used figuratively, meaning to start doing something in a very enthusiastic, energetic way.

In the song, Gaga probably means that she is committing herself completely.

Example: I need to study for tomorrow's test, so today I'll just dive in and only stop to eat or go to the bathroom.

You could also say dive into something for the same meaning.

Example: The analysts dived into the data and came up with the same result.

♪ I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in ♪

♪ I'll never meet the ground ♪

♪ I'm off the deep end, watch as I dive in ♪

♪ I'll never meet the ground ♪

To meet the ground.

Here we see a less common use of the verb to meet, which normally means to see and talk to someone for the first time or to come together with them.

However, to meet can also be the same as to join or touch when talking about objects.

So if our feet meet the ground, that means we're touching ground.

This could also refer to a sensation of elation, which in English we often relate to a feeling of flying.

She's so happy or emotionally high that she feels like she will never come down (to the ground).

If you like learning English with music, then you should totally check out this a playlist of lessons that we have teaching you English with music after you finish this lesson.

You'll find that clicking right up here.

♪ Crash through the surface, where they can't hurt us ♪

♪ We're far from the shallow now ♪

Crash through the surface.

To crash through something is to physically break through something such as a barrier, often in a dramatic or violent way.

Example: She came crashing through the window.

We also called the top of a body of water the surface.

So crashing through the surface could refer to jumping into water.

Example: The swimmers crashed through the surface of the pool with a big splash!

♪ In the sha-ha-sha-ha-low ♪

♪ In the sha-ha-sha-la-la-la-low ♪

Oh yeah, I hope you have an awesome time learning English with Lady Gaga today.

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Also, check out that mini-course I told you about earlier.

You might like this playlist of lessons that we teach you English with the Ellen Show or check out this other lesson, I think you'll really enjoy.

Now it's time to go outside the classroom, and live you English, oh yeah!