Activity Pack
Songs
1.
Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull
In the shuffling madness of the locomotive breath
Runs the all-time loser headlong to his death.
He feels the piston scraping, steam breaking on his brow,
Old Charlie stole the handle and the train it won’t stop going,
No way to slow down.
He sees his children jumping off at the stations one by one,
His woman and his best friend in bed and having fun,
He’s crawling down the corridor on his hands and knees,
Old Charlie stole the handle and the train it won’t stop going,
No way to slow down.
He hears the silence howling - catches angels as they fall,
And the all-time winner has got him by the balls.
He picks up Gideon’s Bible open at page one,
I thank God He stole the handle and the train it won’t stop going,
No way to slow down.
2.
Where Do The Children Play? by Cat Stevens
Well I think it’s fine, building jumbo planes,
Taking a ride on a cosmic train,
Switch on summer from a slot machine,
You get what you want to if you want, ‘cause you can get anything.
I know we’ve come a long way,
We’re changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?
Well, you roll on roads over fresh green grass,
For your lorry loads pumping petrol gas,
And you make them long, and you make them tough,
But they just go on and on, and it seems you can’t get off.
Oh, I know we’ve come a long way,
We’re changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?
Well you’ve cracked the sky, scrapers fill the air.
Will you keep on building higher
‘Til there’s no more room up there?
Will you make us laugh, will you make us cry?
Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die?
I know we’ve come a long way,
We’re changing day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?
3.
Southern Man by Neil Young
Southern man better keep your head,
Don’t forget what your good book said,
Southern change gonna come at last,
Now your crosses are burning fast.
Southern man.
Lulu Belle, your hair is golden brown.
I’ve seen your black man coming round.
I swear by God I’m gonna cut him down.
I heard screaming and bullwhips cracking,
How long? How long?
Southern man better keep your head,
Don’t forget what your good book said,
Southern change gonna come at last,
Now your crosses are burning fast.
Southern man.
I saw cotton and I saw black,
Tall white mansions and little shacks.
Southern man when will you pay them back?
I heard screaming and bullwhips cracking.
How long? How long?
4.
Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
So, so you think you can tell
Heaven from Hell,
Blue skies from pain.
Can you tell a green field
From a cold steel rail?
A smile from a veil?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to trade
Your heroes for ghosts?
Hot ashes for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A walk-on part in the war
For a lead role in a cage?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We’re just two lost souls
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old fears.
Wish you were here.
5.
Johhny B. Goode by Chuck Berry
Way down in Louisiana close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens,
There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,
Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever learned to read or write so well
But he could play the guitar just like he’s ringing a bell.
Go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Johnny B. Goode.
He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack,
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track,
The engineers would see him sitting in the shade,
Strumming to the rhythm that the drivers made,
People passing by you know they’d stop and say,
“Oh, my, that little country boy sure can play.”
Go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Johnny B. Goode.
His mother told him “Someday you will be a man,
And you will be the leader of a big old band.
People gonna come from miles around
To hear you play your guitar ‘til the sun goes down.
One day maybe your name gonna be in lights
Saying ‘Johnny B. Goode tonight.’ “
Go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Johnny B. Goode.
6.
Across The Universe by The Beatles
Words are flying out like
Endless rain into a paper cup,
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe.
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy
Are drifting thorough my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.
Jai guru deva om.
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.
Images of broken light which
Dance before me like a million eyes
That call me on and on across the universe,
Thoughts meander like a
Restless wind inside a letter box,
They tumble blindly as
They make their way across the universe.
Jai guru deva om.
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.
Sounds of laughter shades of life
Are ringing through my open ears,
Exciting and inviting me.
Limitless undying love which
Shines around me like a million suns,
It calls me on and on across the universe.
Jai guru deva om.
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world,
Nothing’s gonna change my world.
Jai guru deva,
Jai guru deva.
7.
(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
I can’t get no satisfaction,
I can’t get no satisfaction,
But I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can’t get no, I can’t get no.
When I’m drivin’ in my car
And that man comes on the radio
Tellin’ me more and more
About some useless information
Supposed to fire my imagination.
I can’t get no, no, no, no,
Hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say.
I can’t get no satisfaction,
I can’t get no satisfaction,
But I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can’t get no, I can’t get no.
When I’m watchin’ my TV
And that man comes on to tell me
How white my shirts can be,
But he can’t be a man ‘cause he doesn’t smoke
The same cigarettes as me.
I can’t get no, no, no, no,
Hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say.
I can’t get no satisfaction,
I can’t get no satisfaction,
But I try and I try and I try and I try.
I can’t get no, I can’t get no.
When I’m ridin’ round the world
And I’m doin’ this and I’m signing that
And I’m tryin’ to make some girl
Who tells me baby, baby, baby,
Come back maybe next week,
‘Cause you see I’m on losing streak.
I can’t get no, no, no, no.
Hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say.
I can’t get no, I can’t get no,
I can’t get no satisfaction,
No satisfaction, no
Satisfaction, no satisfaction.
Exercises
Exercise 1: Locomotive Breath by Jethro Tull
I) Look up the meaning of the following words in your dictionary:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
Crawl (v.)
Howl (v)
Breath (n.)
Shuffling (adj.)
Steam (n.)
Handle (n.)
Scraping (gerund, v. scrape)
Headlong (adv.)
I I ) Before you listen to the song, use the title of the song and the vocabulary in I) to try and predict what it will be about.
I I I ) Complete the song lyrics with the words in I) (Note that one of the words is used three times):
In the ............ madness of the locomotive ............
Runs the all-time loser ............ to his death.
He feels the piston ............, ............ breaking on his brow,
Old Charlie stole the ............ and the train it won’t stop going,
No way to slow down.
He sees his children jumping off at the stations one by one,
His woman and his best friend in bed and having fun,
He’s ............ing down the corridor on his hands and knees,
Old Charlie stole the ............ and the train it won’t stop going,
No way to slow down.
He hears the silence ............ing - catches angels as they fall,
And the all-time winner has got him by the balls
He picks up Gideon’s Bible open at page one,
I thank God He stole the ............ and the train it won’t stop going,
No way to slow down.
IV) Check your answers to I I I) with the complete lyrics and then discuss as a class your interpretations of the song.
Exercise 2: Where Do The Children Play? by Cat Stevens
I ) The second song you are going to hear is called “Where Do The Children Play?” In groups of about four, discuss the following:
•
What do you think the song is going to be about?
•
When do you imagine it was written? (eg. the early 20th Century, the 1950’s, the 1970’s, since 2000)
•
What would the answer be today to the question, “Where do the children play?”
I I ) Unscramble the following anagrams to find words from the song’s lyrics:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
Ojbum
Gumpinp
Yathning
Aslod
Gouth
Smocci
Glibudin
Glahu
Sherfr
Cackerd
Chinema
I I I) Complete the song lyrics with the words in I I) (Note that one of the words is used three times and another twice):
Well I think it’s fine, ............ ............ planes,
Taking a ride on a ............ train,
Switch on summer from a slot ............,
You get what you want to if you want, ‘cause you can get .............
I know we’ve come a long way,
We’re ............. day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?
Well, you roll on roads over ............. green grass,
For your lorry ............. ............. petrol gas,
And you make them long, and you make them .............,
But they just go on and on, and it seems you can’t get off.
Oh, I know we’ve come a long way,
We’re ............. day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?
Well you’ve ............. the sky, scrapers fill the air.
Will you keep on ............. higher
‘Til there’s no more room up there?
Will you make us ............., will you make us cry?
Will you tell us when to live, will you tell us when to die?
I know we’ve come a long way,
We’re ............. day to day,
But tell me, where do the children play?
IV) Check your answers to I I I) with the complete lyrics and then discuss as a class your ideas in I) and if they have changed
since seeing the completed song lyrics.
Exercise 3: Southern Man by Neil Young
I) Add one letter to each of the following words to make complete words:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
He_d
B_own
Bl_ck
L_st
Sa_d
Do_n
Fas_
Ba_k
I I) Make four rhyming pairs from the words in I)
I I I) Complete the song lyrics with the words in I) (Note that four of the words are repeated twice as the chorus is sung twice):
Southern man better keep your .............,
Don’t forget what your good book .............,
Southern change gonna come at .............,
Now your crosses are burning ..............
Southern man.
Lulu Belle, your hair is golden brown.
I’ve seen your black man coming round.
I swear by God I’m gonna cut him down.
I heard screaming and bullwhips cracking.
How long? How long?
Southern man better keep your ..............,
Don’t forget what your good book ..............,
Southern change gonna come at ..............,
Now your crosses are burning ...............
Southern man.
I saw cotton and I saw ..............,
Tall white mansions and little shacks.
Southern man when will you pay them ..............?
I heard screaming and bullwhips cracking,
How long? How long?
IV) Check your answers to I I I) with the complete lyrics, look up any words you don’t recognise and then discuss as a class what
the song might be about.
Exercise 4: Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd
I) Find the English translation of the following words. To help you, the first letter of each word is provided as sometimes the translation is not the most obvious one:
1)
2)
3)
4)
5)
6)
7)
8)
9)
10)
11)
12)
13)
Cambiar (v. algo por algo) – t_ _ _ _
Papel principal (n.) – l_ _ _ _ r_ _ _ _
Papel de figurante (n.) – w_ _ _ _-_ _ p_ _ _ _
Alma (n.) – s_ _ _ _
Dolor (n.) – p_ _ _ _
Cielo (n.) – H_ _ _ _ _
Velo (n.) – V_ _ _
Temores (n. pl) - f_ _ _ _
Jaula (n.) – c_ _ _
Cenizas (n. pl) – a_ _ _ _
Acero (n.) – s_ _ _ _
Barandilla (n.) - r_ _ _
Fantasma (n.) – g_ _ _ _
I I) Complete the song lyrics with the words in I):
So, so you think you can tell
.............. from Hell,
Blue skies from ..............
Can you tell a green field
From a cold .............. ..............?
A smile from a ..............?
Do you think you can tell?
And did they get you to ..............
Your heroes for ..............s?
Hot .............. for trees?
Hot air for a cool breeze?
Cold comfort for change?
And did you exchange
A ..........-.... .............. in the war
For a .............. .............. in a ..............?
How I wish, how I wish you were here.
We’re just two lost ..............s
Swimming in a fish bowl,
Year after year,
Running over the same old ground.
What have we found?
The same old ...............
Wish you were here.
I I I ) Check your answers to I I) with the complete lyrics, look up any words you don’t know and then discuss the following as a
class: who do you think the song might be about? Does it
Exercise 5: Johhny B. Goode by Chuck Berry
I) Add one letter to each of the following words to make complete words:
I) Change the following verbs into the forms in brackets:
1) Learn (past simple)
2) Ring (3rd person singular, present continuous)
3) Make (past participle)
4) Carry (‘used to’ past)
5) Stand (past simple)
6) Live (past simple)
7) Can (past simple)
8) Tell (past simple)
9) Be (future simple)
10) See (conditional, with ‘would’)
11) Go (3rd person singular, present simple)
I I) Complete the song lyrics with the correct forms of the verbs in I):
Way down in Louisiana close to New Orleans,
Way back up in the woods among the evergreens,
There .............. a log cabin .............. of earth and wood,
Where .............. a country boy named Johnny B. Goode
Who never ever .............. to read or write so well
But he .............. play the guitar just like he.............. .............. a bell.
Go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Johnny B. Goode.
He .............. .............. .............. his guitar in a gunny sack,
Go sit beneath the tree by the railroad track,
The engineers .............. .............. him sitting in the shade,
Strumming to the rhythm that the drivers made,
People passing by you know they’d stop and say,
“Oh, my, that little country boy sure can play.”
Go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Johnny B. Goode.
His mother .............. him “Someday you will be a man,
And you .............. .............. the leader of a big old band.
People gonna come from miles around
To hear you play your guitar ‘til the sun .............. down.
One day maybe your name gonna be in lights
Saying ‘Johnny B. Goode tonight.’ “
Go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Go, Johnny, go, go,
Johnny B. Goode.
I I I) Check your answers to I I) with the complete lyrics and look up any words you don’t recognise. What is ‘gonna’ an abbreviation for? Which tense is this?
Exercise 6: Across The Universe by The Beatles
I) In groups of four or five, brainstorm all the words you know in English to do with the Universe. Then one person from each
group reads out his/her group’s answers and the teacher writes all the vocabulary on the board.
I I) In the song, “Across The Universe” there are lots of comparisons, called similes. In pairs or small groups, try to guess what the
following similes may be describing (using your dictionaries if necessary):
1) .............. are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup.
2) ............... of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes.
3) .............. meander like a restless wind inside a letter box.
4) Limitless undying .............. which shines around me like a million suns.
I I I) The answers to II) are included below. In your pairs or groups, decide which similes (1, 2, 3 or 4) belong with which phrases
(a, b, c or d.) The dots (.....................................................) show you where to insert the similes:
1) Words are flying out like endless rain into a paper cup.
2) Images of broken light which dance before me like a million eyes .
3) Thoughts meander like a restless wind inside a letter box.
4) Limitless undying love which shines around me like a million suns.
a) Sounds of laughter, shades of life
are ringing through my open ears,
exciting and inviting me.
.....................................................
It calls me on and on across the universe.
b) .....................................................
they tumble blindly as
they make their way across the universe.
c) .....................................................
They slither while they pass
They slip away across the universe.
Pools of sorrow, waves of joy
are drifting thorough my open mind,
Possessing and caressing me.
d) .....................................................
That call me on and on across the universe.
IV) Check your answers to I I I) with the complete lyrics and discuss as a class your interpretations of the song. What is it about?
Exercise 7: Satisfaction by The Rolling Stones
I) The song, ‘Satisfaction,’ was written and sung in the 1960’s by The Rolling Stones. As a class, discuss the following:
•
Have you heard of The Rolling Stones and, if so, what do you know about them?
•
What do you know about Britain in the 1960’s?
•
The chorus of the song is “I can’t get no satisfaction.” Firstly, correct the grammar in this sentence. Secondly, why do
you think the writer of the song is dissatisfied?
I I) In pairs, complete the song lyrics below with words you think are appropriate (to help you, think about parts of speech and
rhyming):
I can’t get no satisfaction,
I can’t get no satisfaction,
But I .............. and I .............. and I .............. and I ...............
I can’t get no, I can’t get no.
When I’m .............. in my car
And that man comes on the radio
Tellin’ me more and more
About some useless ..............
Supposed to fire my imagination.
I can’t get no, no, no, no,
Hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say.
I can’t get no satisfaction,
I can’t get no satisfaction,
But I .............. and I .............. and I .............. and I ...............
I can’t get no, I can’t get no.
When I’m .............. my TV
And that man comes on to .............. me
How .............. my shirts can be,
But he can’t be a man ‘cause he doesn’t ..............
The same cigarettes as me.
I can’t get no, no, no, no,
Hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say.
I can’t get no satisfaction,
I can’t get no satisfaction,
But I .............. and I .............. and I .............. and I ...............
I can’t get no, I can’t get no.
When I’m ridin’ round the world
And I’m doin’ this and I’m signing that
And I’m .............. to make some girl
Who tells me baby, baby, baby,
.............. back maybe .............. week,
‘Cause you see I’m on a losing streak.
I can’t get no, no, no, no.
Hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say.
I can’t get no, I can’t get no,
I can’t get no satisfaction,
No satisfaction, no
Satisfaction, no satisfaction.
I I I ) Check your answers to I I) with the complete lyrics, look up any vocabulary you don’t understand and then discuss as a class
your interpretations of the song.
Oral Work
Discussion Activities
Look at the “Aquarius” image above and discuss the following:
•
Do you recognize any of the photos? If so, tell the rest of the group what you know about them.
•
Are you familiar with any of the music from the 1960’s and 1970’s? If so, what words do you associate with the music of
this era and the era in general? What images and ideas (if any) come to mind when you think about the first mass music festivals
of the ’60’s and ’70’s, such as Woodstock?
•
Who was Martin Luther King Jr. and what was he famous for?
•
In the image there is a photograph of a Mayan temple and, if you look carefully, you will also see a photograph of a teepee (on the left, above the picture of the Beatles.) Do you know what the Maya and several North American Indian cultures have
in common? (Clue: 2012) If you think you know the answer, tell the rest of the class, but, if you don’t know you’ll find out when
you hear the talk.
•
In the image you will see the peace symbol alongside the symbol for yin and yang, as well as various images associated
with the hippy movement. What were the ideals of the original hippies? How did these ideals contrast with other events going on
in the world around the same time and represented in the image, such as the development of the atom bomb and the Vietnam war?
Further oral activities
•
Global warming, climate change, ecological destruction: what are the causes of these problems and what are the possible
solutions?
•
Slavery: Do you know when slavery started? When was it made illegal throughout the world? Why do you think slavery
existed (and, sadly, still exists in some places, albeit covertly)? How do you think the slave traders and owners felt when slavery
was abolished? And the slaves?
Divide the class into two groups and imagine one half of the class is a group of masters (slave owners) and the other a group of
slaves. You have all just found out that the abolition of slavery is imminent. Role-play the reactions of each group to this news,
first within your own group and then uniting with the other group to form a group discussion.
•
Human rights: until relatively recently women and workers in Europe had almost as few rights as slaves, and, unfortunately, in some countries this still hasn’t changed significantly. Can you think of any key moments in history for either the
women’s or the workers’ movements? For instance, have you heard of the uprisings in France in 1968 (clue: see image)? Or the
suffragette movement?
In pairs or small groups, role-play a scene which reflects whichever of these movements most captures your imagination; for
example, you could imagine that one of you works in a factory, prior to the existence of trade unions, and you approach your boss
about having paid holidays; or you could be a wife confronting her husband with the idea of her going out to work for a living.
•
Discuss the phrase “The night is darkest just before dawn.” Are we entering a New Age of love and peace, where materialism and destruction will be part of the past, or are domination and wastefulness an innate – and permanent - part of human
nature?
•
Discussion: The following picture was drawn in 1971. Do you like it/not like it/feel indifferent to it? What do you think
the artist meant to communicate?