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….