Tom's Diner
The short link for this page
http://bit.ly/maelt_diner
In reference to Complex Prepositions,
see BNC anomalies
At the bottom of this page, there are two Word files, one of the lyrics and another with questions about grammar associated with each line of the song.
In the video on the left Susanne Vega introduces the song then sings it in its original form, a capella. The video at the end of this page is a more recent version.
There are notes on this song also here: http://bit.ly/maelt_music
I am sitting
In the morning
At the diner
On the corner
I am waiting
At the counter
For the man
To pour the coffee
And he fills it
Only halfway
And before
I even argue
He is looking
Out the window
At somebody
Coming in
"It is always
Nice to see you"
Says the man
Behind the counter
To the woman
Who has come in
She is shaking
Her umbrella
And I look
The other way
As they are kissing
Their hellos
I'm pretending
Not to see them
Instead
I pour the milk
I open
Up the paper
There's a story
Of an actor
Who had died
While he was drinking
It was no one
I had heard of
And I'm turning
To the horoscope
And looking
For the funnies
When I'm feeling
Someone watching me
And so
I raise my head
There's a woman
On the outside
Looking inside
Does she see me?
No she does not
Really see me
Cause she sees
Her own reflection
And I'm trying
Not to notice
That she's hitching
Up her skirt
And while she's
Straightening her stockings
Her hair
Has gotten wet
Oh, this rain
It will continue
Through the morning
As I'm listening
To the bells
Of the cathedral
I am thinking
Of your voice...
And of the midnight picnic
Once upon a time
Before the rain began...
I finish up my coffee
It's time to catch the train
The following notes come from Wikipedia (16.05.12)
"Tom's Diner" is an a cappella pop song written in 1981 by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. It was first released as a track on the January 1984 issue of Fast Folk Musical Magazine.[1] When first featured on one of her own studio albums, it appeared as the first track of her Solitude Standing album in 1987. It was later used as the basis for a popular remix by the British group DNA in 1990. The 1991 release Tom's Album includes the DNA version as well as cover versions by such artists as After One, Chicago-based band Canasta, and Bingo Hand Job (R.E.M. and Billy Bragg)[2]. It was also used as the background soundtrack for the opening scene of the 1993 film Untamed Heart.
Using Tom's Diner in an ELT setting.
These notes were originally written on a forum discussion in which a group of my trainees were starting to discuss planning a lesson on music.
Using a song is not doing the topic Music. The topic Music is about violins, booking concert tickets online, writing fan mail, linking to a youtube video and reviewing a concert (blog entry for example), etc.
If you want to link to the present progressive vs. simple present that has been touched on in recent lessons, Tom's Diner is recommended. I usually use this song for prepositions, but its use of the present progressive and simple present is valuable for input and analysis.
As this lesson also constitute's cultural input, reading up on this well-known song is essential. Wikipedia has an entry that you should probably triangulate.
You could introduce Tom's Diner with some pictures of this cafe in NY using pics from the web. You can even use Google Maps if you have the facilities. Search for Tom's diner NY NY, and hone in on it. Try "street view".
The first time you play the song, the focus task could be to simply count the number of -ing forms that they hear just to get them tuned in to the text they'll be working with. And one of the key foci of the lesson.
Most of the verbs can be mimed. I imagine having each verse or section of the song on separate cards and asking pairs to mime them to get some vocabulary of nouns and verbs from the other students. They would need dictionaries and the teacher(s) would need some good ideas about what "midnight picnic" and "kissing their hellos" etc means. These may be areas for discussion and interpretation.
Then they could do the miming task. And later make their own timelines for their verses of the song to illustrate the tenses used. If the cards mentioned above were actually A4, students could create their time lines under the verses they've been allocated.
At some point they'd need to listen again and put their verses in order. Students could then pin their verse/timeline cards on the wall in order.
As a production activity, ask them in pairs/groups to write some other little verses in the same style as the song, e.g.,
I am walking through the forest when I see my old friend, etc
I am sitting in the classroom looking out the window etc
The students might like to recite or perform (singing/miming) or publish (class blog) their creations.
Another production activity would be to make their own video clip of the song (or part of it) using Windows Movie Maker. These can be easily uploaded to Youtube, as we (too?) often see when searching Youtube for something. The pictures students use for this may be photos they take themselves or from the web or a combination.
Every line here starts with a preposition
"Tom's Diner" is an a cappella pop song written
in 1981
by American singer-songwriter Suzanne Vega. It was first released
as a track
on the January 1984 issue
of Fast Folk Musical Magazine.[1] When first featured
on one
of her own studio albums, it appeared
as the first track
of her Solitude Standing album
in 1987. It was later used
as the basis
for a popular remix
by the British group DNA
in 1990. The 1991 release Tom's Album includes the DNA version as well as cover versions
by such artists
as After One, Chicago-based band Canasta, and Bingo Hand Job. It was also used
as the background soundtrack
for the opening scene
of the 1993 film Untamed Heart.