A song for collocations (all levels)

The activity for this song focuses on one aspect of a language that you should really pay attention to. You will not find any single-word gaps in this exercise, because we will be looking for collocations. In some cases, there will even be more than two words in a gap.

When you have finished the listening activity, the best way to record the vocabulary learnt is to write down the full collocation in a dictionary-like form (infinitive if it's a verb, etc.), and a contextualised example next to it. So, once you've finished, I'll be waiting for your list of collocations in the comments, where you will also find the full lyrics.

The song is by Supertramp, and it was released in 1979 in the album Breakfast in America.

Goodbye Stranger (1979)

IT WAS AN _______________ YESTERDAY
I WAS UP BEFORE THE DAWN
AND I REALLY HAVE ENJOYED MY STAY
BUT I MUST BE _______________

LIKE A KING WITHOUT A CASTLE
LIKE A QUEEN WITHOUT A THRONE
I´M AN EARLY MORNING LOVER
AND I MUST BE MOVING ON

NOW I BELIEVE IN WHAT YOU SAY
IT’S __________________________
BUT I HAVE TO ________________ OWN _______________
TO KEEP ME IN MY YOUTH

LIKE A SHIP WITHOUT AN ANCHOR
LIKE A SLAVE WITHOUT A CHAIN
JUST THE THOUGHT OF THOSE SWEET LADIES
SENDS A SHIVER THROUGH MY VEINS

AND I WILL GO ON SHINING
SHINING LIKE _______________
I´LL NEVER LOOK BEHIND ME
MY TROUBLES WILL BE FEW

GOODBYE STRANGER, IT´S BEEN NICE
HOPE YOU FIND YOUR PARADISE
TRIED TO SEE YOUR _______________
HOPE _______________ WILL ALL _______________
GOODBYE MARY, GOODBYE JANE
WILL WE EVER MEET AGAIN_______________, FEEL NO SHAME
COME TOMORROW , _______________

Sweet devotion
It's not for me
Just give me motion
And _______________
And the Land and the Ocean
_______________
It's the life I've chosen
Every Day
So Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane
Will we ever meet again (x2)

NOW SOME THEY DO AND SOME THEY DON´T
AND SOME YOU JUST _______________
AND SOME THEY WILL AND SOME THEY WON´T
WITH SOME IT´S JUST AS WELL

YOU CAN _______________ MY BEHAVIOUR
THAT´LL NEVER BOTHER ME
SAY THE DEVIL IS MY SAVIOR
BUT I _______________

AND I WILL GO ON SHINING
SHINING LIKE _______________
I´LL NEVER LOOK BEHIND ME
MY TROUBLES WILL BE FEW

GOODBYE STRANGER, IT´S BEEN NICE...

Sweet devotion
is not for me
Just give me motion
And _______________
And the Land and the Ocean
_______________
It's the life I've chosen
Every Day

So now I'm leaving, got to go, _______________
I'm saying once again
Oh yes I'm leaving, got to go, got to go
I'm sorry I must tell you
Goodbye Mary, Goodbye Jane
Will we ever meet again (x2)

I believe, Yes I've got to get away

GOODBYE STRANGER, IT´S BEEN NICE...

Movie song: connected speech

Hello everyone! Happy New Year!

The New Year brings a song by Bernie Taupin and Elton John, quite apt for the unit on cinema. The exercise focuses on connected speech, so each gap needs to be filled with two words. As you can imagine, that means a weak word is very likely to be in it, so pay a lot of attention and use your grammar knowledge before listening and between one listening and the next. To complete the gaps in the chorus, you shouldn't try to complete both gaps in one go. Remember the chorus is repeated quite a lot of times, so don't rush.

You will find the complete lyrics as a comment to this entry.

You may also want to read this review of Elton John's latest album. I suggest that you isolate those words or phrases that would lead you to buy (or not buy) the record, just as you did with the film reviews, and share them with the rest as a comment.

Above all, enjoy the song. I must confess it is one of my all-time favourites.

I've Seen That Movie Too

Album: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

Music: Elton John

Lyrics: Bernie Taupin

I can see by your eyes you must _________________

When you think I don't have _________________

Baby _________________ crazy

If you think that you can _________________

Because I've seen that movie too

The one where the players _________________ surprised

_________________'s just a four letter word

Between forcing smiles, with the knives in _________________

Well their actions become _________________

So keep _________________ for somebody

Who hasn't got so much _________________

'Cause you _________________ by _________________ I'm reciting

That I've seen that movie too

(repeat chorus)

It's a habit I have, I _________________ pushed around

Stop twinkling your star like you do

I'm not the _________________ for all of your _________________

Because I've seen that movie too

The one where the players _________________ surprised

_________________'s just a four letter word

Between forcing smiles, with the knives in _________________

Well their actions become _________________

So keep _________________ for somebody

Who hasn't got so much _________________

'Cause you _________________ by _________________ I'm reciting

That I've seen that movie too

(repeat chorus)

Harry Potter review

So, a very simple activity for this one: preferably after listening to the review once (you can skip the sound clips from the film to make it shorter and avoid spoilers, although I think there aren't any), you are invited to write down any adjectives and/or (better still) adverb-adjective collocations.

If you've liked this review, feel free to browse Kermode's blog here.

Enjoy!

Who Wants to Watch this Guy Win

This is the video of the first winner on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in the US. Pay attention to how cool the man looks (and acts!)

It's quite easy to understand, so go and enjoy it without subtitles!

Intermediate: What is a hung Parliament

Here you can see the video with subtitles.

Regrets: I Will Survive

A video to work on conditionals and well, tenses in general.

The chorus comes up several times, so take advantage of that! there are some tricky contractions...

Don't miss the choreography!

The Tense Challenge: American Pie

Here's The Tense Challenge! Try to complete all the gaps before listening. If you'd rather have a printed version, well, just copy and paste the lyrics below.

Good luck!





Transcript

A long, long time ago...
I can still remember
How that music _________________ me smile.
And I _________if I had my chance
That I _________make those people dance
And, maybe, they’d be happy for a while.

But February ________ me shiver
With every paper I’d deliver.
Bad news on the doorstep;
I couldn’t take one more step.

I can’t remember if I _______
When I _______ about his widowed bride,
But something ________me deep inside
The day the music ________.

So bye-bye, miss american pie.
_______ my chevy to the levee,
But the levee ______ dry.
And them good old boys ______________ whiskey and rye
Singin’, "this’ll be the day that I die.
"this’ll be the day that I die."

_______________ the book of love,
And do you have faith in God above,
If the Bible tells you so?
Do you believe in rock ’n roll,
Can music save your mortal soul,
And can you teach me how to dance real slow?

Well, I know that you’re in love with him
`cause I ______you dancin’ in the gym.
You both kicked off your shoes.
Man, I dig those rhythm and blues.

I _____a lonely teenage broncin’ buck
With a pink carnation and a pickup truck,
But I ________ I was out of luck
The day the music _______.

I _________ singin’,
"bye-bye, miss american pie…

Now for ten years we___________ on our own
And moss grows fat on a rollin’ stone,
But that’s not how it ___________.
When the jester _________ for the king and queen,
In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me,

Oh, and while the king ___________ down,
The jester ___________ his thorny crown.
The courtroom _____________;
No verdict _________________.
And while Lennon ________ a book of marx,
The quartet ____________ in the park,
And we ____________ dirges in the dark
The day the music ______________.

We _______________,
"bye-bye, miss american pie…

Helter skelter in a summer swelter.
The birds _________ off with a fallout shelter,
Eight miles high and falling fast.
It ___________ foul on the grass.
The players _________for a forward pass,
With the jester on the sidelines in a cast.

Now the half-time air ________ sweet perfume
While the sergeants __________a marching tune.
We all _________ to dance,
Oh, but we never _________the chance!
`cause the players __________to take the field;
The marching band __________to yield.
Do you recall what _________________
The day the music ____________?

We _________ singing,
"bye-bye, miss american pie…

Oh, and there we __________ all in one place,
A generation ___________ in space
With no time left to start again.
So come on: jack be nimble, jack be quick!
Jack flash ____________ on a candlestick
Cause fire is the devil’s only friend.

Oh, and as I ________________ him on the stage
My hands were _______________ in fists of rage.
No angel born in hell
_____________ break that satan’s spell.
And as the flames _____________ high into the night
To light the sacrificial rite,
I _____________ satan laughing with delight
The day the music __________

He __________________,
"bye-bye, miss american pie…

I __________ a girl who ____________ the blues
And I ______________ her for some happy news,
But she just ______________ and _____________ away.
I _____________ down to the sacred store
Where I’d heard the music years before,
But the man there ____________ the music wouldn’t play.

And in the streets: the children ____________,
The lovers ___________, and the poets __________.
But not a word _________________;
The church bells all __________________.
And the three men I admire most:
The father, son, and the holy ghost,
They _______________ the last train for the coast
The day the music ________________.

And they __________________,
"bye-bye, miss american pie… (bis)