BEFORE LISTENING

1. What is happiness for you? if you could imagine it what would it look like? Describe it.

e.g.: If I could describe what is happiness for me, I would imagine .... It looks like a..., because...

2. What do you usually feel like doing when you feel happy?

e.g. When I feel happy, I usually feel like singing my favourite songs in English:)

BEFORE LISTENING

Task 1. Listen to the original version of the song 'Rather Be' and say how you understand the main idea. What, to your mind, is the role of the video clip. Does it match the lyrics?

Task 2. How do you translate the title of the song into your language? How do you understand the grammar notion 'RATHER DO smth*'?

would rather do = 'd rather ... = rather.. - would prefer to do smth

Use Longman Dictionary to have a closer look at the usage of 'rather'.

BEFORE LISTENING

Task 1. Do you understand the meaning of the word combination 'family portrait*'? How do usually family portraits look like? What, to your mind, is the purpose of making 'family portraits'? Do you have any? What are they like? How do you feel when leafing through your family photos?

*a painting, drawing, sculpture, photograph, or other likeness of an individual, esp of the face (according to Collins Dictionary)

NB: Mind the the way the word 'portrait' is pronounced. it is the word of a French origin. 

"Englishman in New York" is a song by English artist Sting, from his second studio album. The song was released in 1988 as the third single from the album. In 1990 the remix "Englishman in New York" was released as a single. The remix played around with the introduction and some of the instrumentation, but the essence of the song remained the same. The new version was commercially successful, reaching number 15 in the UK charts in mid-1990 (*according to wiki).

BEFORE LISTENING

Task 1. Listen to the song and observe New York. How do you find it? Why do you think is the video made in black and white? What is the weather like in New York? How does the author feel and see the city?

BEFORE LISTENING

VOCABULARY

Look through the words and expressions from the song that may be unfamiliar to you, see if/how you can translate them into your language. Consult a monolingual dictionary if needed.  

• everything comes into focus = I see, I understand, I got the sense/the point 
• to swing the sorrows = to get rid of sorrows, negative emotions, sadness and regrets
• delusion - a mistaken or misleading opinion, idea, belief, etc
• inhibition- a mental state or condition in which the varieties of expression and behaviour of an individual become restricted
• to lose inhibition - to do what you feel like doing, what you have restricted yourself to do for some reason
• to romance one's ego - to do what your heart commands you
• to give it a try = to try

LISTENING

Listen to the song and see if you understand everything. Consult the dictionary or your teacher if you come across unknown words.

Time waits for no one,
So do you want to waste some time,
Oh, oh tonight?
Don't be afraid of tomorrow,
Just take my hand, i'll make it feel so much better tonight

Suddenly my eyes are open,
Everything comes into focus, oh,
We are all illuminated,
Lights are shining on our faces, blinding

Swing me these sorrows,
And try delusion for a while,
It's such a beautiful night,
You've got to lose inhibition,
Romance your ego for a while,
Come on, give it a try

Suddenly my eyes are open,
Everything comes into focus, oh,
We are all illuminated,
Lights are shining on our faces, blinding
We are, we are, blinding,
We are, we are, blinding

Suddenly my eyes are open,
Everything comes into focus, oh,
We are all illuminated,
Lights are shining on our faces, blinding
We are, we are, blinding,
We are, we are, blinding

AFTER LISTENING

What is the main idea of the song?