Explained in English

Free interactive transcript, lyrics and music at: https://explainedinenglish.com/podcast/yesterday.html

Let's improve your English language skills as I explain the song meaning and lyrics of Yesterday by the Beatles.

Lyrics Difficulty: ✦✧✧

EXPLANATION:

(00:23) Introduction to "Yesterday"​

VERSE ONE:

(01:20) Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away

(02:15) Now it looks as though they're here to stay

(03:40) Oh I believe in yesterday

VERSE TWO:

(04:27) Suddenly, I'm not half the man I used to be

(06:21) There's a shadow hanging over me

(07:43) Oh yesterday came suddenly

CHORUS:

(08:07) Why she had to go

(08:49) I don't know, she wouldn't say

(09:30) I said something wrong

(10:16) Now I long for yesterday

VERSE THREE:

(11:21) Yesterday, love was such an easy game

(13:03) Now I need a place to hide away

(14:09) Oh I believe in yesterday

INTERPRETATION:

(14:14) "Yesterday" meaning explained

(14:55) More songs at https://explainedinenglish.com

LINKS:

Email me your feedback:

[email protected]

Find all unreleased song explanations at:

https://explainedinenglish.com/podcast.html

Free interactive transcript, lyrics and music at: https://expainedinenglish.com/podcast/condor.html

Let's improve your English with music as I explain the lyrics and meaning of the song "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" by Simon and Garfunkel.

Lyrics Difficulty: Intermediate

EXPLANATION:

(00:22) Introduction to "El Condor Pasa"

VERSE ONE:

(01:32) I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail

(03:55) Yes I would, If I could, I surely would

CHORUS:

(04:35) Away, I'd rather sail away

(05:59) Like a swan that's here and gone

(07:31) A man gets tied up to the ground

(10:32) He gives the world its saddest sound

VERSE TWO, THREE, FOUR:

(12:07) I'd rather be a hammer than a nail

(13:52) I'd rather be a forest than a street

(14:52) I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet

INTERPRETATION:

(16:19) Interpretation of song meaning

(18:16) More songs at https://explainedinenglish.com

(18:44) Need English lessons? I'm your teacher!

LINKS:

Lots of unreleased song explanations at:

https://explainedinenglish.com/podcast.html

Email me:

[email protected]

Free clickable transcript with lyrics and music: https://explainedinenglish.com/podcast/landslide.html

Let's learn English with music as I explain the song meaning and lyrics of "Landslide" by Fleetwood Mac.

Lyrics Difficulty: Intermediate

EXPLANATION:

(00:22) Introduction to "Landslide"​

VERSE ONE:

(01:11) I took my love, I took it down

(03:09) I climbed a mountain and I turned around

(04:36) And I saw my reflection in the snow-covered hills

(07:50) 'Till the landslide brought me down

VERSE TWO:

(09:44) Oh mirror in the sky, what is love?

(11:53) Can the child within my heart rise above?

(13:43) Can I sail through the changing ocean tides?

(15:17) Can I handle the seasons of my life?

CHORUS:

(17:06) Well I've been afraid of changing

(18:22) Cause I built my life around you

(19:53) But time makes you bolder

(20:35) Even children get older

(21:42) And I'm getting older too

VERSE ONE VARIATION:

(21:55) [Notes on v1 variation]

INTERPRETATION AND PRONUNCIATION:

(22:18) "Landslide" song meaning explained

(23:31) Full album of 70s songs at https://explainedinenglish.com/70s.html

(23:52) Want conversational English lessons?

(24:47) Pronunciation practice

Find lots of unreleased song explanations at:

https://explainedinenglish.com/podcast.html

Main website:

https://explainedinenglish.com

Website: https://explainedinenglish.com

Need help understanding? Use the text transcript below.

Sections:

(00:01) Introduction

(00:21) Who is Kiah?

(00:59) About the Explained in English project

(02:24) Why not just use translations?

(03:22) What level English should I have?

(03:53) How to use the podcast

(05:48) Try an explanation now (https://explainedinenglish.com)

[Transcript]

Introduction (00:01)

Hello and welcome to Explained in English, a new podcast for English learners and music lovers. Today, I’m explaining how to use this podcast, with music, to improve your English.

Who is Kiah? (00:21)

I’m so excited to finally share this podcast with all of you. I’d like to start by introducing myself. My name is Kiah, or Ki, for short. It kind of has a weird spelling, K-I-A-H. I’m from the state of Michigan in the United States, but I live and work in Italy. My job is an English teacher. I’ve been a language teacher for over 10 years now. I started teaching Spanish in the United States, but here I teach English. 

About the Explained in English project (00:59)

Since I work with students who are learning English, I’m always looking for authentic, real ways for them to improve their English. Music and song lyrics in general are something that everyone seems to like. But, even my advanced students often find learning English with music and songs challenging. Sometimes it’s hard to understand what the singer is singing. Sometimes we lack cultural knowledge or history to understand the song properly, and sometimes we lack the motivation to sit down and look up the unknown words. Sometimes it just feels like a lot of work!

For all of these reasons, my students felt a little bit blocked in using music as a learning tool. So, this project, this podcast, is to fix that problem. This podcast is all about giving you the support that you need to enjoy and feel confident understanding songs, all in English. I go through and explain each line of the song, making the words, phrases, and grammar easy to understand and easy to remember.

Why not just use translations? (02:24)

Some people have asked me, “Why not just use translations?”, and my answer is: well, that depends on your goal or what you’re hoping to accomplish. For example, if you just want to understand the meaning of a song then I think translations are a great way. However, if you also want to improve your language skills, then you’ll learn and remember more if you learn all in English.

As an intermediate or advanced student, you want to train yourself to think, interpret, and speak in English, using your native language as little as possible. These explanations will help move you in that direction and get you closer to thinking, speaking, and interpreting in English. 

What level English should I have? (03:22)

So, because everything is explained in English, this podcast is not intended for beginners. These explanations are really for intermediate to advanced students of English. If you can understand most of what I’m saying now, then you’re in the right place. If you are really struggling to understand, then this podcast is probably not for you yet.

How to use the podcast (03:53)

So, how should you use this podcast? To get the most of these explanations follow three simple steps. Step one: 

1. Get familiar with the real song.

Even if you know the song already, I still suggest listening to it once before you go to the explanation. However, if the song is new or unknown, you should spend some time getting to know it; becoming familiar with the tune, the singer’s voice. Just getting comfortable with what the song sounds like. You don’t need to understand all the lyrics yet. After you’ve heard the song, you can move to step two. In the second step you...

2. Listen to the explanation audio.

You should preferably listen in a place free of distractions, where you can relax and enjoy the explanation. The goal of the explanation is for you to understand the song lyrics. However, you don’t have to understand every word that I say. I use a lot of examples, a lot of extra words to help you comprehend and understand the lyrics. You definitely don’t have to memorize all of the words in the explanation. Just focus on grasping the meaning of the song lyrics. At the end of the explanation you move to step three, the final step, where you...

3. Listen to the song again.

This time, you should be able to understand and appreciate the song in a much deeper way. Hopefully, understanding all of the words and the meaning of the song.

Okay! That’s it for this introductory podcast. In the future, I’ll likely record more in-depth information about how to use this podcast. But, for now, I invite you to try one of the explanations. Follow the three basic steps I mentioned before, and you’ll be all set to improve your English with music. 

Thanks again and I’ll see you in the next explanation. Bye bye! 

-Kiah

Website:

https://explainedinenglish.com

E-mail:

[email protected]