“It Must Have Been
Love” – Roxette (1980s pop music)
This is a song about two people who have been dating for
some time, but now they’re not together anymore. They have recently broken up, and they are
looking back at their past relationship. When they were together, they didn’t
realize who special it was. Now that it’s gone, they realize and are fairly certain that it “must have been
love.”
“Confetti” – The
Lemonheads (1990s American alternative rock band)
This song is about a young man and woman who were dating,
but the young man didn’t really love the woman. He’s describing his confused
emotions and guilt. For some time they were together, and he tried to love her,
but he didn’t’ have the ability to
do it (he couldn’t do it), so he prepared himself (“to steal yourself” means to prepare yourself for something
difficult) to break up with her. This song also features conditional phrases “if he could have” and the phrases “would rather,” “kind of,” and “sort of.”)
“You Might Think”
– originally by The Cars (1980s British rock band), sung here by Weezer (2000s
rock)
This song seems to be about a guy who’s describing what
others “might think” about him. It goes back and forth between using modals (“might think”) and using the
adverb “maybe” to show a lack of certainty because we can’t
ever truly know what someone else is thinking.
“Future Islands”
– Tin Man (2011, American synth pop band)
This song seems to be about a man whose lover left him, and
at first, it was difficult for him. However, he learned to be strong without
her. In the first verse, he expresses how completely
certain he is by using “couldn’t possibly.” Later, the song uses the phrasal modal of necessity “you’ve got
to,” which means “have to.”
“Should I Stay or
Should I Go” – The Clash (1980s, British punk rock)
The man in this song is singing to a lover. According to
him, she is sending mixed messages. He’s uncertain if she wants him or not, so
he’s asking her advice: “Should I
stay or should I go.” This song also features conditional phrases.
“I Should’ve Known”
– Foo Fighters (2011 American rock band)
This song is sung by a man whose relationship has fallen
apart, and he’s looking back at the past relationship with regret and giving himself past
advice. The song also features some present
and past modals of ability when he
reflects on some things that he “cannot”
do currently and other things that he “could
not” do in the past.
“I Should’ve Known
Better” – The Beatles (1964, British rock and roll band)
This song is similar to the one above: it’s sung by a man
who regrets that he wasn’t smarter
earlier in his relationship. He upset because he thinks he “should’ve known better” and he “should’ve realized” certain things, but
he didn’t! This song also features some nice future tense sentences and future time clauses.
“Pumped Up
Kicks” -- Foster the People (2011, American
indie pop group)
The words to this song are very dark, although the music is
rather light. The song is about a teenager who finds his dad’s gun and uses it
to give a warning, to threaten other
“kids” his age. (“Pumped up kicks” is
slang for “nice shoes.”)
“Run Like Hell” – Pink Floyd (1982,
British rock band)
This song is taken from the album The Wall, which tells a story, and part of that story involves a
very dangerous and repressive government that controls the lives of its
citizens. This song is sung as a warning,
describing the negative consequences
that will happen to you if you don’t “run” and hide from the government.
The lyrics of this song are quite dark, but this song nicely shows the
relationship between the phrasal modal
“had better V” and the negative
consequences that will follow if you don’t follow this strong advice.
“Breakeven” – The
Script (2001, Irish rock band)
This song is about a man whose girlfriend just broke his
heart. He says he always helped her when she needed him, but now he’s “falling
apart,” and she’s not there to support him. In the chorus, he asks for advice,
asking what he’s “supposed to do”?
However, he’s probably not actually asking advice with this question; he’s
probably just expressing frustration.
