Hey there, this is Teacher Ola Podcast episode 130. Learn English With Depeche Mode ‘Enjoy The Silence’
My name’s Ola and I am an online English teacher, I teach through one to one classes and I want you to know I believe you can eliminate your language blockade. It is 100% guaranteed. I’m not saying it’ll be given to you on a silver platter yet I know you can get there. I’ve overcome a massive blockade myself and I know how to do it. The secret word here is consistency. That is why I record this podcast’s episodes, and each comes with a little worksheet, a one-pager to help you digest and test what you’ve practised here. You can speak English with more confidence, slay that fear and enjoy new freedoms. Each episode helps you practice speaking, the practical part is always there, at the end of each episode. You’ll boost your vocabulary, brush up your grammar, and improve your pronunciation. Go to my website for full transcripts and worksheets to each episode. <They’re free> Happy learning!
Hello again, welcome to this episode. Let’s learn English with Depeche mode today. What a timeless song! Preparing this episode I noticed that the song has a minimal number of words. There are just enough words to convey the meaning, to get that message across but it feels like each line was carefully curated to make sure no words are unimportant. Meaningless. Each word in these lyrics matters. That’s just my observation. Let me know what you think and let’s start.
Before we go to song facts and the lyrics and the expressions and the practical part where you repeat the sentences out loud let me ask you to visit teacherola.com. Go there, find my shop and grab a Worksheet Set. Forget downloading each Worksheet separately. Additionally, you’ll get a Speaking English Planner. A tool that I created to help you monitor your daily speaking practice. Ok, song facts.
‘Enjoy The Silence’ was released as the second single from Depeche Mode’s seventh studio album, Violator, in February 1990. Martin Gore recalled in one interview in 2012: “The original demo of Enjoy the Silence was very slow and minimal, just me and a harmonium, and Alan Wilder had this idea of putting a beat to it.
We added the choir chords and the producer and Alan said, ‘Why don’t you play some guitar over the top?’ That’s when I came up with the riff. I think that’s the only time in our history when we all looked at each other and said, ‘I think this might be a hit.’
Well, I don’t think I wanna add anything more, let’s just skip to the lyrics because they really speak for themselves. Shall we? Listen and repeat:
Words like violence
Break the silence
Come crashing in
Into my little world
Violence – Violence is violent behaviour that is intended to hurt or kill somebody.
Children who witness violence between parents often develop problems.
Violence has one meaning, that is physical or emotional force and energy. Let me give you a sentence that illustrates this meaning.
The violence of her emotions upset him.
Break the silence – words break the silence. They stop, they end, they damage the silence. A sentence:
A scream broke the silence of the night.
Other expressions with silence you might wanna know are:
Silence is golden.
A heavy silence.
A pregnant silence.
Crashing – Words come crashing in. It makes you think of a car accident, doesn’t it? If a vehicle crashes or the driver crashes in, it hits an object or another vehicle, causing damage. To hit something hard while moving, causing noise or damage.
He crashed his car into a wall
Waves crashed against the shore.
Let’s repeat next for lines, shall we?
Painful to me
Pierce right through me
Can’t you understand?
Oh, my little girl
Painful – Painful means causing you pain or causing you to feel upset or embarrassed.
She had to undergo a series of painful injections.
Her sister’s divorce was a very painful experience for her.
Additionally, ‘painful’ can characterise something unpleasant or difficult to do.
We had to go through a painful procedure.
Pierce right through me – to pierce is to make a small hole in something or to go through something, with a sharp object. You might have your ears or nose or lips, or really whatever you want, pierced s that you can wear jewellery there. The sound of words is painful for him. One sentence to illustrate this experience:
Screams pierced the silence of the night.
Now, time to repeat the chorus:
All I ever wanted
All I ever needed
Is here in my arms
Words are very unnecessary
They can only do harm
Unnecessary – in the song, the word is pronounced in a very flat way so to speak. ‘Words are very unnecessary’. There’s no clear accent on any of the syllables. It’s a long word so you can be sure there’s at least one emphasised syllable. It should sound /ʌnˈnesəsəri/. The accent is on the second syllable. It means unjustified, not needed or more than needed.
All this fuss was totally unnecessary.
Do harm – to hurt or injure somebody or to damage something.
He asserted that he had not intended to harm anyone.
He wouldn’t harm a fly.
She wouldn’t harm a hair oof Ana’s head.
Let’s go right to the lyrics of the second verse.
Vows are spoken
To be broken
Feelings are intense
Words are trivial
Vows are spoken to be broken – A vow is a formal and serious promise, especially a religious one, to do something. You can make a vow, you can take a vow, keep it or break it.
Nothing would persuade her to break that vow.
Trivial – not important or serious; not worth considering.
I didn’t want to bother you with such a trivial matter.
Trivia is unimportant information.
In his spare time, he enjoys collecting useless trivia.
Sometimes I waste time reading trivia.
My friend, this song is short, obviously, cause words damage and we don’t want that so the number of words is limited. At least get such an impression. The last four lines, please repeat:
Pleasures remain
So does the pain
Words are meaningless
And forgettable
Pleasures remain – pleasure in this line is countable, it has a plural form. Pleasures. In this meaning, a pleasure is a thing that makes you happy or satisfied.
Learn to enjoy simple pleasures.
Pleasures remain, they stay, they don’t depend on words. Silencew allows us to enjoy life. Silence allows us all the same to feel pain. Words are just meaningless.
Forgettable – This word can be misused, so be careful. Forgettable is not interesting or special and therefore easily forgotten. Words are forgettable. It’s not the same words as forgetful. Forgetful means often forgetting things. Absent-minded.
I remember being called forgetful in my childhood.
Here you have it! We’ve just arrived at the practical part of the episode. Let’s train your brain and your mouth, your face muscles, your tongue. Let’s say the sentences out loud:
The violence of her emotions upset him.
Silence is golden.
Waves crashed against the shore.
Her sister’s divorce was a very painful experience for her.
He wouldn’t harm a fly.
Nothing would persuade her to break that vow.
In his spare time, he enjoys collecting useless trivia.
Sometimes I waste time reading trivia.
Learn to enjoy simple pleasures.
I remember being called forgetful in my childhood.
Good work! Thank you and don’t forget to thank yourself for showing up today. Showing up is always the hardest part. And you did it! You’re not done yet though. Go to your inbox and grab the worksheet. If you’re not a member of TOPeople, it’s a shame. Download the Worksheet from teacherola.com/130.
I hope you liked the episode, if you did, as always, please leave your rating in iTunes if you can. Share, comment, like, do whatever you can to help this podcast stay afloat! If you want to hear more from me please show some support. Tell someone about this podcast and help me spread the message.
Be here next Wednesday, same time, same place we’ll talk about the difference between ‘her’ and ‘hers’. Thanks for listening, take care. Happy learning. Stay fearless and say it out loud. Bye-bye!