Thursday 27 January 2011

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...

6 comments:

  1. IT WAS AN EARLY MORNING YESTERDAY
    I WAS UP BEFORE THE DAWN
    AND I REALLY HAVE ENJOYED MY STAY
    BUT I MUST BE MOVING ON

    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
    IS THE UNDISPUTED TRUTH
    BUT I HAVE TO HAVE THINGS MY OWN WAY
    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 BRAND NEW
    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 POINT OF VIEW
    HOPE YOUR DREAMS WILL ALL COME TRUE
    GOODBYE MARY, GOODBYE JANE
    WILL WE EVER MEET AGAIN
    FEEL NO SORROW, FEEL NO SHAME
    COME TOMORROW FEEL NO PAIN

    Sweet devotion
    It's not for me
    Just give me motion
    And set me free
    And the Land and the Ocean
    Far Away
    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 CAN´T TELL
    AND SOME THEY WILL AND SOME THEY WON´T
    WITH SOME IT´S JUST AS WELL

    YOU CAN LAUGH AT MY BEHAVIOUR
    THAT´LL NEVER BOTHER ME
    SAY THE DEVIL IS MY SAVIOR
    BUT I DON´T PAY NO HEED

    AND I WILL GO ON SHINING
    SHINING LIKE BRAND NEW
    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 set me free
    And the Land and the Ocean
    Far Away
    It's the life I've chosen
    Every Day
    So now I'm leaving, got to go, hit the road
    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...

    ReplyDelete
  2. What a vital song! I´ve liked it very much! I´ve just written the collocations I didn´t know. The blog is a very useful complement for our task at home.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Thank you Vir!

    It's definitely one of my favourite songs, it really is vital and joyful. I'm glad you liked it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Good song...but I prefer "The logical song"...
    I don't know Why... Maybe I'm getting old.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I really enjoyed it!
    Thanks.

    I've never heard some of them, like:
    "To have things your own way"
    "To shine like brand new"
    "Not to pay no heed", this is funny because of the two negative particles together??
    "To hit the road". (I like this one)

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hi Encarna!

    Actually, the double negative is a feature of colloquial language here. You can also say: "to pay no heed", which is more common and also grammatically correct.

    I'm glad you liked the song.

    ReplyDelete