Fun Fall Song Lyrics with Teacher Robin!

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Hello, welcome to another class. I’m Robin and today we’re going to be talking about songs for fall, or autumn. These are synonyms. So fall and autumn are a season. So in the Northern Hemisphere, we are entering the season of fall. So today I’m going to share with you some great songs that you can listen to, practice your lyrics, vocabulary, and enjoy the beginning of fall in English. So I have chosen four different songs for you. We have a classic, some more modern songs, and then one that’s very popular right now. So we’re going to look at some key vocabulary from the lyrics, analyze them a little bit, as well as look at some grammar points that stand out in the song. Okay, so I hope you enjoy this, and you are ready to sing along at the end of the class. I’m not going to sing, but if you want to sing, that’s perfectly fine. And remember that you can also participate by writing in the comments. Okay, so my first song is a classic, this song was popular in the 70s and it’s called “September” by Earth, Wind and Fire. So many of you if you hear the tune, if you hear it, you might recognize it, because it’s very popular, but you might not know the lyrics. So we’re going to look at just one part, one verse of this song. The chorus is a bit difficult to, to analyze in English, because it’s a lot of just random words and singing. So it doesn’t really make sense, the the chorus, but the verse does, so let’s look at it. They say, “Do you remember the 21st night of September, love was changing the mind of pretenders while chasing the clouds away. Our hearts were ringing in the key that our souls were singing, and we danced into the night. Remember how the stars stole the night away?” And then they go into the chorus. Okay, so let’s look at a couple of things here. We can point out the past continuous. So ,when do we use the past continuous? It was an ongoing action in the past. So we formed that with the subject plus the verb “to be” in the past, so “was” or “were”, plus the verb with -ing. So if you look at the lyrics, “our hearts were ringing in the key that our souls were singing”. Okay, so ongoing action in the past. So this, these are nice lyrics. So maybe you can tell me in the comments what you think this means, especially the part about “love was changing the minds of pretenders”. So what is s pretender? When you pretend to do something, it means that you do it or you say something, but you don’t really mean it. So what do you think this line might mean? Tell me in the comments, “love was changing the mind of pretenders”. Okay, so this is a great song to start listening to in the fall, and it’s fun, you can dance along and now you can understand the lyrics as well. So let’s look at another song. Now this one is more modern, it was popular a few years ago. And it’s by a band called The Neighborhood, The Neighborhood. And the song is called “Sweater Weather”. Okay, so this is perfect for fall because as the fall season starts, the temperatures drop a little bit, it starts to become cool, not cold, but cool. So you might want to wear a sweater or like I’m wearing today just like a light shirt instead of your short sleeve shirts or, or your tank tops in the summer. So this is where we kind of transition our clothes. So “Sweater Weather” is the perfect title and the perfect kind of song to start fall. So let’s look at the lyrics of this song by the neighborhood. They say “All I am is a man. I want the world in my hands. I hate the beach, but I stand in California with my toes in the sand. Use the sleeves of my sweater. Let’s have an adventure. Head in the clouds but my gravity’s centered touch my neck and I’ll touch yours, you and those high waisted shorts.” Okay, this is just a part of the song. But we can already look at a few grammar points and some vocabulary here. So there’s a few examples of the imperative. Now remember, the imperative is a command when you’re telling someone to do something. So there’s two different ways that we can form the imperative. We can use the third person singular, okay, this becomes the imperative. For example, “touch my neck”. Okay, so that’s a command, touch my neck. And another another way is to say “let’s”, which is short for “let us” but it’s more of an invitation. But it’s also considered the imperative. So when he says “Let’s have an adventure”, this is the imperative form, let’s have an adventure. Okay, so one thing that’s interesting about this song is that it takes place in California, which most songs about California are related to the summer, the sun, the beach, having fun, etc. So, this singer, he sings, “I hate the beach, but I stand in California with my toes and the sand.” So it’s kind of ironic, it’s irony, which is where you say something but you really mean the opposite, right? So it’s ironic that he’s in California, he’s at the beach with his toes in the sand, but he actually hates the beach. Okay, so that’s kind of funny. All right, let’s look at one more part of this song. They say, “cause it’s too cold for you, here and now. So let me hold both your hands in the holes of my sweater.” Okay, so the holes of my sweater would be like here, so you hold your hands through the holes of your sweater. So it’s romantic, as well. Okay, so I hope you enjoy this song, “Sweater Weather” by The Neighborhood. The next song that I have chosen for you is one that I really like from a group that I love called White Stripes. Okay, so they were popular maybe in the last 10 years, let’s say they have been popular, White Stripes, and the song is called, “We’re going to be friends”. So this is a great song for back to school. Because in the fall, most people in most countries, this is when you go back to school when you start school again. So if you look at these lyrics, they are talking about typical school vocabulary, kids, especially kids going back to school. So let’s look at these lyrics. He says “Fall is here, hear the yell, back to school ring the bell, brand new shoes, walking blues, climb the fence, books and pens, I can tell that we are gonna be friends.” He says that again, “I can tell that we are gonna be friends. Walk with me, Susie Lee, through the park and by the tree, we will rest upon the ground. And look at all the bugs we found. Safely walk to school without a sound.” That’s really nice, because it’s kind of nostalgic. So nostalgia is when you think back on something like when you were young. When I was young, I walked to school with my friends. So maybe we don’t do that anymore, maybe because of safety or because of COVID maybe the children aren’t going to school right now. So this is kind of a nice song to reflect on the good times of going to school. So you have this vocabulary about books and pens and lying on the grass and finding bugs. So these are typical things that children do. So this is a really sweet song from a band that I really love The White Stripes. So check out the song and sing along. And finally, let’s go to my last song, which is a song that’s popular right now. So it’s not exactly related to fall, but a little bit. So this is a popular song right now by Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande. Okay, so two very popular singers right now. And the song is called “Rain on Me.” So we could say, this is a fall song because in fall, it starts to rain more. But let’s look at the meaning of this song. I think you’re going to like this. Even if you don’t necessarily like Lady Gaga. This is actually a really good song. So in the song they say “I didn’t ask for a free ride. I only asked you to show me a good time. I never asked for the rainfall. At least I showed up. You showed me nothing at all.” Alright, so let’s look at this part. Let’s look at some vocabulary. So she says “I didn’t ask for a free ride.” So what does it mean to have a free ride? A free ride means that someone gives you something, excuse me, when someone gives you something and you don’t deserve it at all. So it’s like getting something for free. You didn’t earn it, you didn’t work for it. Someone just gives it to you. So she says “I didn’t ask for a free ride. So I didn’t ask for you to do this for me. I just asked you to show me a good time”. I just want to have fun. Okay, and she says “at least I showed up, you showed me nothing at all”. So in this case to show up, can mean to arrive at a place. So if you’re going to a party, you show up at 8pm that means you arrive, but “to show up” can also be figurative and it can mean to be there to be present. Like in a relationship for someone. “I showed up”, that means I was there. Okay, I was there for you. Alright, let’s look at the rest of this song. Okay, related to rain. So remember that rain, a lot of times is used to mean something negative, something sad. So this is kind of like a metaphor, a metaphor when something means something else. So when we talk about rain, especially in music, a lot of times rain means something negative or bad. So she says “it’s coming down on me”. So it’s raining a lot. It’s coming down on me, water like misery. It’s coming down on me. I’m ready. Rain on me. I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive.” Okay, so here they’re talking about the rain being maybe a negative situation, or a bad relationship, or something like this. But she says “I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive.” So here we’re seeing the positive of a situation. So things aren’t always perfect but we’re going to make the best of it. So “I’d rather be dry”, the ideal situation would be to not be wet. If this were literal in the rain, but it’s raining. We’re wet. So we have to do what we can. Okay, so this is a strong metaphor, meaning something else. So she’s talking about probably her and Ariana Grande, about relationships, and trying to make the best or saying that I didn’t ask for what you’ve given me. So this is a really interesting song and it’s very catchy, too, good for dancing and things like that. Okay, so these are the lyrics that I have for you today. I hope that you like them. I’ve given you a lot of variety. So you have a lot to choose from if you have different musical tastes. And now, tell me in the comments, are there any songs that you like to listen to in the fall? Can you think of any fall-related songs or any songs in general that you’re listening to right now in English that you enjoy? I’d love to hear from you. So tell me that in the comments. And I look forward to seeing you back here next week. Thanks again for joining. Take care. Bye!