Recovery
Won't Back Down
Eminem
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
35
End
237
Internal
50
Multi
224
Slant
7
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Chorus: P!nk]
You can sound the alarm,✦ you can call out your guards
You can fence in your yard, you can hold all the cards
But I won't back down
Oh no, I won't back down, oh no
[Verse 2: Eminem]
Girl, shake that ass like a donkey✦ with Parkinson's
Make like Michael J. Fox is in your drawers✦
Playin' with an etch-a-sketch
Bet you that you'll never✦ guess
Who's knockin' at your door, people hit the floors
Yeah, tonight, ladies,✦ you gon' get divorced
Girl, forget✦ remorse, I'ma✦ hit you broads
With Chris's force like you pissed✦ him off
Talented with the tongue, ma'fucker
You ain't got a lick in yours
Hittin'✦ licks like I'm robbin'✦ liquor✦ stores✦
Makin'✦ cash registers shit their drawers✦
Think you spit the rawest?
I'm an uncooked slab of beef layin' on your kitchen floor
Other✦ words, I'm off the meat rack
Bring the beat back, bring in two extension cords
I'ma✦ measure my dick—shit, I need six inches✦ more
Fuck, my dick's big, bitch
Need I remind✦ you
That I don't need the fuckin'✦ swine flu to be a sick pig?
You're addicted, I'm dope
I'm the longest needle around✦ here—need a fix, ock?
I'm the big shot—get it, dick-snots?
You're just small pokes,✦ little pricks
Girl, you think that other✦ prick's hot?
I'll drink gasoline and eat a lit match
'Fore I sit back and let him get hotter✦
Better✦ call the cops on him quick, fast
Shady's right back on your bitch-ass
White trash with a half a six-pack
In his hatchback, trailer hitch attached
To the back (Dispatch)
[Chorus: P!nk]
You can sound the alarm,✦ you can call out your guards
You can fence in your yard, you can hold all the cards
But I won't back down
Oh no, I won't back down, oh no
[Verse 3: Eminem]
Bitch, am I the reason✦ that your boyfriend stopped rappin'?✦
Does a bird chirp?
Does Lil Wayne slurp 'zurp
'Til he burps and smoke purp? Does a word search
Get circles wrapped around✦ it like you do when I come through?
I'd like you to remind✦ yourself of what the fuck I can do
When I'm on the mic
Oh, you're the kind of girl that I could take a likin'✦ to
Psych, I'm spikin'✦ you like a football
Been this way since I stood a foot tall
You're a good catch with a shitty✦ spouse
Got a pretty✦ mouth and a good jaw
Give me good brain, watch the wood-grain
Don't want no cum stain—bitch, you listenin'?
Tryin' to turn me down, slut, I'm talkin'✦ to you
Turn me back up, are you insane?✦
Tryin' to talk over✦ me in the car
Shut the fuck up while my shit's playin'
I'm a shit stain on the underwear of life
What's the saying? Where there's✦ thunder, there is light-
Ning, and they say that it never✦ strikes twice in the same place
Then, how the fuck have I been hit six times✦
In three different locations✦
On four separate occasions?✦
And you can bet your stankin' ass
That I've come to smash everything in my path
Fork was in the road, took the psycho✦ path
Poison✦ Ivy✦ wouldn't have me thinkin' rash
So hit the dance-floor, cutie
While I do my duty✦ on this microphone
Shake your booty,✦ shorty,✦ I'm the shit
Why you think Proof used✦ to call me "Doody"?✦
[Chorus: P!nk]
You can sound the alarm,✦ you can call out your guards
You can fence in your yard, you can hold all the cards
But I won't back down
Oh no, I won't back down, oh no
Technical Breakdown
7.6
Multisyllabic Rhymes7.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes9.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres5.0
Clever language, metaphors, punchlines
Cadence / Rhythm8.0
Flow variation and timing (data-driven)
Vocabulary Complexity7.0
Range and depth of words used (data-driven)
Delivery / Breath Control7.5
Performance and control
Computed Score7.57
Production
— DJ KhalilBe the first to rate the production
Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
The verse relies on shock value and rhythmic density rather than lyrical sophistication, utilizing a frantic, aggressive delivery to compensate for structurally simple wordplay.
B+
7.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
8
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
5
Wordplay
7.5
Delivery
Multisyllabic internal rhyme chainsOff-beat syncopationVocal agitationShock-value hyperbole
Rhyme Architecture: Dense, multi-syllabic clusters focused on vowel-matching (e.g., 'Parkinson's/drawers/etch-a-sketch/guess'), transitioning into rapid-fire assonant strings with intermittent end-rhymes.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"Hittin' licks"
① The act of committing a robbery/theft.② A sexual euphemism for oral stimulation, playing on the word 'lick'.
"Talented with the tongue... You ain't got a lick in yours"
① A colloquialism meaning to possess no skill or sense.② A direct reference to oral sex capabilities, connecting to the previous 'tongue' mention.
High-energy, frantic delivery that matches the intensity of the track
Strong rhythmic pocket maintenance
Effective use of multis to drive momentum
Reliance on offensive shock-value as a proxy for lyrical depth
Lack of complex metaphors or narrative cohesion
Punchlines feel forced rather than earned by the internal logic of the verse