Korean Job Discussion Forums

flicknut · Joined: 23 Nov 2006

This week I start teaching 18 Korean teachers from my public elementary school. One of them has requested that we study English lyrics and listen to songs.

Any ideas? I would like to stay away from songs with abstract lyrics. Ideally, I would like to find songs that tell a story from one verse to the next.

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

Yellow Submarine (Beatles)
Barbara Ann (Beach Boys)

I used both in my summer camp & they worked well.

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

OOPS! Just reread your post, & the target group is Korean teachers, not students.

Lemon Tree (Fools Garden), or Knockin on Heavens Door (Bob Dylan)

Riddzy · Joined: 06 Sep 2004 Location: London

A Boy Named Sue?

It's long but colourful!

My daddy left home when I was three
And he didn't leave much to ma and me
Just this old guitar and an empty bottle of booze.
Now, I don't blame him cause he run and hid
But the meanest thing that he ever did
Was before he left, he went and named me "Sue."

Well, he must o' thought that is quite a joke
And it got a lot of laughs from a' lots of folk,
It seems I had to fight my whole life through.
Some gal would giggle and I'd get red
And some guy'd laugh and I'd bust his head,
I tell ya, life ain't easy for a boy named "Sue."

Well, I grew up quick and I grew up mean,
My fist got hard and my wits got keen,
I'd roam from town to town to hide my shame.
But I made a vow to the moon and stars
That I'd search the honky-tonks and bars
And kill that man who gave me that awful name.

Well, it was Gatlinburg in mid-July
And I just hit town and my throat was dry,
I thought I'd stop and have myself a brew.
At an old saloon on a street of mud,
There at a table, dealing stud,
Sat the dirty, mangy dog that named me "Sue."

Well, I knew that snake was my own sweet dad
From a worn-out picture that my mother'd had,
And I knew that scar on his cheek and his evil eye.
He was big and bent and gray and old,
And I looked at him and my blood ran cold
And I said: "My name is 'Sue!' How do you do!
Now your gonna die!!"

Well, I hit him hard right between the eyes
And he went down, but to my surprise,
He come up with a knife and cut off a piece of my ear.
But I busted a chair right across his teeth
And we crashed through the wall and into the street
Kicking and a' gouging in the mud and the blood and the beer.

I tell ya, I've fought tougher men
But I really can't remember when,
He kicked like a mule and he bit like a crocodile.
I heard him laugh and then I heard him cuss,
He went for his gun and I pulled mine first,
He stood there lookin' at me and I saw him smile.

And he said: "Son, this world is rough
And if a man's gonna make it, he's gotta be tough
And I knew I wouldn't be there to help ya along.
So I give ya that name and I said goodbye
I knew you'd have to get tough or die
And it's the name that helped to make you strong."

He said: "Now you just fought one hell of a fight
And I know you hate me, and you got the right
To kill me now, and I wouldn't blame you if you do.
But ya ought to thank me, before I die,
For the gravel in ya guts and the spit in ya eye
Cause I'm the son-of-a-bitch that named you "Sue.'"

I got all choked up and I threw down my gun
And I called him my pa, and he called me his son,
And I came away with a different point of view.
And I think about him, now and then,
Every time I try and every time I win,
And if I ever have a son, I think I'm gonna name him
Bill or George! Anything but Sue! I still hate that name!

flicknut · Joined: 23 Nov 2006

Thank you for the ideas!

One thing I forgot to mention - all the Korean teachers are female, so songs that relate to women are a plus.

cruisemonkey · Posted: Sat Mar 31, 2007 12:23 am Post subject:

Dynamo Hum

Jellypah · Joined: 27 Oct 2004 Location: ROK

How about "Goodbye Earl" by the Dixie Chicks? That might make for an interesting discussion!

happygirl · Joined: 20 Feb 2006

Stand By Your Man

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

Wasn't 'Dynamo Hum' a sleazy song by Frank Zappa, with very suggestive lyrics?

hogwonguy1979 · Joined: 22 Dec 2003 Location: the racoon den

"Why Dont We Drunk?" by Jimmy Buffett

come on its just a love song from a different point of view

ron_j · Joined: 02 Mar 2007

tracy chapman-fast cars
pearl jam-last kiss
john denver-leaving on a jet plane
i will survive (forgot who sings it)
eric clapton-wonderful tonight
say a little prayer (dionne warwick i think?)

females should appreciate those.

chris_J2 · Joined: 17 Apr 2006 Location: From Brisbane, Au.

Gloria Gaynor sang 'I will survive'.

JohnTeacher · Joined: 10 Mar 2007 Location: Ansan-Si, South Korea

Hi,
I've done this type of thing...and I had success with two Reba McEntire songs.
I began by examing the gamut of words the Teacher Students can offer with regard to human emotions. (i.e.: love, longing, regret, courage, etc.), writing them on the board as we went...for use later in the exercise. Any target words I was hoping for, but didn't get from the Teacher Students, I offered myself when their suggestions petered out.
Then we listened to and read the songs via handouts I provided. (Many sites offer the lyrics to songs published by recording artists)
Those songs were: Till You Love Me, and, If I Had Only Known.
The former is a song about a person's willingness to keep trying to win the heart of the person that she (or he) is smitten with (thus....Till You Love Me). The latter is a song whose title sums up the song's sentiment nicely. "If only known, it was our last walk in the rain......."
"If I had only known, I'd never hear your voice again....."
"If I had only known, it was my last night by your side....."
With the latter, I usually ask them what happened to the couple in the song? Did they break up....OR.....(as I choose to believe)...the singer's soulmate died suddenly.
We would then go over our list of emotions, and see which ones suited the songs.

buster brown · Joined: 26 Aug 2005 Location: Seoul

I wanna second "Goodbye Earl" by the Dixie Chicks. Pretty difficult target pronunciation world/girl/Earl.

"The Pina Colada Song" is good for higher level classes. Lots of discussion to go along with it. PM if you'd like a list of discussion questions.

"I'm All Out of Love" by Air Supply, and "Dancing Queen" by Abba are other good songs that I've used.

ddeubel · Joined: 20 Jul 2005

Well as I've said so many times and especially with teachers, you should set yourself up in the staff room with a big screen and karaoke.

I've done the leg work, hundreds of karaokes produced. Just go to my site and read the preamble which outlines the easy steps. Takes about 2 min. to get started. Just download the player, download the song and play.....many already in Cloze format.

Cheers,

DD

PS. Also some great songs I've put in my powerpoint folder. You download both the powerpoint and song and play in the same folder.... But my We are The World might be too much for anyone's stomach. Uses a lot of AP and Reuters pics...