Improve your listening and writing skills by filling in the blanks in the song lyrics. These activities are designed for Beginners and Intermediates to learn new vocabulary related to a specific topic in a quick and fun way.
Today we propose a well-known ballad from the 1970’s, You’ve Got A Friend by the American singer James Taylor. Originally written by Carole King, this song reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and won two Grammy Awards. Enjoy it!
Exercise
Fill in the missing words: friend – wherever – there – eyes – summer – loving – be – name – running – you – am – good – out – dark – friend – head – name – spring – running – darkest – take. ⇩
Grammar
Contractions and slangs
Many times, in lyrics, we can find an informal type of vocabulary. This is why we find things like contractions and slang words. Here are some examples of contractions and slang we can find in lyrics:
– ’bout = about
– don’tcha = don’t you
– ain’t = am not, is not, are not, has not or have not
– ’cause / ‘coz = because
– -in’ ending like in thinkin’ or losin’ (it looses the g in -ing to sound more informal)
– dunno = don’t know
– lemme = let me
– gimme = give me
– gonna = going to
– gotta = got to
– wanna = want to
– kinda = kind of
Related Course Units
I prefer Carole King’s version but it was nice
And you need a helping hand vs And you need some loving care.
There’s a Tom Jones version wonderful too.
https://youtu.be/bhLrWyRgKg0
Very good to improve my vocabulary with additional words.
I was lost trying to figure out the changed phrase loving care instead of helping hand
I don’t like this ritmics, it’s bored. The lyric is nice!