Silly but funny anyway….

I have a weakness for jokes about the Royal Family ….

PHRASAL VERBS and MUSIC. Let’s build a nice list of catchy songs

A different way of learning those ‘sometimes hated’ Phrasal Verbs (PV’s) is through MUSIC!

There are so many catchy songs you already know! and you probably hadn’t realized they have cool PV’s….

The idea is to collect some interesting songs here.

You don’t have to understand or learn the lyrics of the song, just the PV; it’s music will probably help you learn and recall those verbs (especially if you have an auditory memory 🙂

PLEASE post the songs you know/like by adding a comment below. I’ll do the same. We can all together update the list from time to time…

AND!!!  sing along!  why not karaoke singing to practise those newly leart verbs? Here (you’ll find the lyrics to some great songs!) Remember that the only way of learning new vocabulary is by repetition and looking for oportunities to use it!  Why not singing? Sounds fun to me….

Let’s get our own list started:

1. BOB MARLEY. GET UP, STAND UP

What is he singing?  Get up, Stand up for your …..?…, Don’t give up the ..?….

This song is about taking action to avoid oppression. Marley wrote it with Peter Tosh, and the song was influenced by their upbringing in Jamaica, where they had to fight for respect and acceptance for their Rastafarian religion.

If you’d like to know more about the inner meaning of songs, check this out “Songfacts.com”

2. RED HOT CHILLY PEPPERS. GIVE IT AWAY

In an interview the band explained that this song, which sounds like it has no meaning, is about the theory that “The more you give, the more you receive, so why not give it all away?

3. THE BEATLES: 1) DONT’T LET ME DOWN, 2) WE CAN WORK IT OUT

4. BEN E. KING. STAND BY ME

Careful with direct translations here. It doesn’t mean ‘Quédate a mi lado’, the right translation into Spanish is ‘Apóyame’

“Stand By Me” was the name of a Gospel hymn. It  became popular in churches throughout the American south and was recorded by various Gospel acts in the 1950s

5. Another STAND BY ME, this time by OASIS, a little bit of a different type of song….

Noel Gallagher explained that he was dealing with a bad bout of self-inflicted food poisoning when he wrote this song. To appease his mother, who called to make sure he was eating properly, he made himself a big dinner that got him sick. This is the inspiration for the opening lines: “Made a meal and threw it up on Sunday, I’ve got a lot of things to learn.”

Another way of saying to throw up????……… vomit

6. DAVID GUETTA. WHEN LOVE TAKES OVER

“Cuando el amor toma el control” Another example: a terrorist took over the airport.

7. GREEN DAY. WHEN I COME AROUND

“Cuando lo reconsidere, cuando cambie de opinión”. For example: At first he didn’t want to do it, but he came round (cambió de opinión)

8. KOOL AND THE GANG. JUNGLE BOOGIE

This ‘tune’ (another word for ‘song’ – comes from ‘to tune’ sintonizar) belongs to the soundtrack of one of my favourite films “Pulp Fiction”.

The funny thing is that they keep repeating “Get down, get down” all the time! which means ‘Baila, baila’.  Yeah! In fact, you can’t help but dance this song!

9.  The Beatles – With A Little Help From My Friends 

GET BY: “to get past an obstacle with difficulty”, “surviving a hard life”. Buscarse la vida, salir adelante, arreglárselas, apañárselas.Synonyms: cope, subsist, manage on, get along.

How can he get by on so little money? ¿Cómo puede arreglárselas con tan poco dinero?

NOW….

DON’T STOP IT HERE!!!!!   LET’S CONTINUE BUILDING THIS COOL LIST!!!  send your comments

ALSO…… Here you have some links to compilations of PV’s in songs. Sure you know many of them. Click 1, Click 2, Click 3, and more and more and more….

A statement about beauty ideas

Grammy Award-winning, singer-songwriter Colbie Caillat released her new EP, Gypsy Heart Side A. Her album’s lead single “Try” makes a powerful statement about beauty ideals.

Listen and leave your comments: Have you ever felt the preasure or put preasure on people to look physically attractive?

 

Learn English with The Beatles

Great site!  learning English with The Beatles is fun for sure!

Check this out! 

The Gypsy Prince covering ‘In the ghetto’

I’m sure you all know this  song recorded by Elvis P. and written by Mack Davis at the end of the 60’s.  Its narrative is about poverty and hunger in the US, not very funny, I know, but I just wanted you to listen to this version which, above all, sounds funny ’cause of the Spanish accent of the G.Prince, that’s all…. If you think that English pronunciation is difficult, the Gypsy Prince is gifted in it! ….

A nice cover of “Everything Counts” by Depeche Mode

“Everything Counts” is a famous song by Depeche Mode that I bet you’ve heard sometime. It was a hit, and now a clasic I would say, from the 80’s.

I’ve just found a nice cover (versión) of the song by a very sweet trio-family. However, I’m also attaching the video of original version, worth watching.

Now…. listening practice for learners of English:

– First, just listen and relax, enjoy the song and try to get the general meaning; What’s the song about?

– If you just got nothing…. or very little, do not feel fustrated! we want to learn, and this song may be a bit difficult for you. So, go ahead and take a look to the lyrics before listening again.  Check new vocabulary and pay attention to sentence formation/structure.

– When listening, try to get the correct pronunciation and rhythm. And… why not?: sing along.

– Now, what’s the idea behind the lyrics? It can be a topic for discussion… You can read my interpretation/opinion bellow and send me yours.

Enjoy the song!

Lyrics:

The handshake

Seals the contract

From the contract
There’s no turning back
The turning point
Of a career
In Korea, being insincere
The holiday
Was fun packed
The contract
Still intact

The grabbing hands
Grab all they can
All for themselves
After all

It’s a competitive world
Everything counts in large amounts

The graph
On the wall
Tells the story
Of it all
Picture it now
See just how
The lies and deceit
Gained a little more power
Confidence
Taken in
By a sun tan
And a grin

The grabbing hands
Grab all they can
All for themselves
After all

It’s a competitive world
Everything counts in large amounts

The grabbing hands
Grab all they can
Everything counts in large amounts 

• What’s this song about? In my opinion, a possible interpretation of the song could be that it’s about the back-stabbing and greedy nature of capitalism … Korea is just an example of mass-producing ecconomies. In the 80’s the yuppie ideals were at their peak (power, greed, indulgence, insincerity, stepping over people to get to the top, etc). Some people say that the song is about the music industry, equally greedy and insincere.

THE KINKS-LOLA LIVE

I’m sure you’eve heard this song before, but… what do know about the story behind it?

First, try to listen to and understand the song without reading the lyrics. If you can’t, try again and read them. Learn new vocabulary and pay attention to sentence structure.

Now you can answer to my question above. Imagine you are talking to me or to a friend … “Have you ever heard the song Lola, by the Kinks?  (here you can hum the tune – tararea la canción/melodía) Did you know that …..?

 

Listen and read the lyrics of your favourite songs

PRACTICE: Vocabulary, sentence structure, pronunciation. Why don’t you try to learn a few lines and sing them out in the shower?

What’s this song about?

Adele “Someone like you”

This is not only a beautiful song to listen to, but can also be a good listening exercise for you, learners of English.  Listen carefully, I think it is easy to understand the lyrics. Try to get the story or the reason why Adele wrote this song.  Later, compare against the lyrics.

I hope you like it.

 

 

Lyricstraining. Learn from your favourite songs

Check this out: learning from your favourite songs.

This site keeps and updates music videos with gap filling exercises at different levels of difficulty. You need to register, but it’s free.

Enjoy it!