Hey there! This is TOP episode 150: Learn English With Phil Collins ‘Another Day In Paradise’
My name’s Ola and I am an online English teacher. I believe you can eliminate your language blockade. It is 100% guaranteed. The secret word here is consistency. There are other secret words too. 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.
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Hello hello! Thanks for jumping in here! You’re in the right place, you’re going to learn some vocabulary today but also brush up a bit on grammar. Stay with me till the end of this episode for the practical part. Phil Collins my friend. The man who produced only great hits. I struggled to choose a song by him for the fact he has such beautiful pieces! Back then they knew how to make good music, right? Hehe.
Before we tackle the lyrics, listen. Every Thursday at 11 am I go live just for a quick chat, 20 minutes or so to discuss some language-related tips. You’ll find me as teacherola.podcast. So join me on Thursday at 11:00 live on Instagram!
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Phil Collin’s ‘Another Day In Paradise’ hit has a socially conscious message. It addresses the consequences of ignoring the people in need, the poor and the homeless.
Collins told The New York Times how the song came together: “It was begun at the piano. I started playing and put it down on a tape so I wouldn’t forget it. Then I decided to see what would happen when I started singing. When I began, the words just came out, ‘She calls out to the man on the street.’ I didn’t set out to write a song about the homeless. Those were just the words I happened to sing. It was only then that I decided that was what the song would be about. I wrote this after being in Washington DC where I was amazed by how many people I saw living in boxes.”
‘Another Day In Paradise’ won a Grammy Award for Record of the Year. It also won the 1990 Brit Award for Best Single. The music video was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form.
Ok, now let’s see the lyrics. Listen and repeat each line out loud:
She calls out to the man on the street
“Sir, can you help me?
It’s cold and I’ve nowhere to sleep
Is there somewhere you can tell me?”
She calls out to the man on the street – to call out somebody. In fact, the presence of the preposition ‘to’ is a bit awkward. Normally we just call out people. To call someone out means to ask somebody to come, especially to an emergency. To summon someone to deal with an emergency or provide a service. An example:
Please call out a plumber.
Here though, I think the meaning is fore straightforward. She calls out to the man on the street – she shouts to him in an attempt to draw his attention. She needs his help and asks for it.
I’ve nowhere to sleep – Again, there’s an uncommon sound to this phrase. It’s done to fit the number of syllables required in the line, so it was shortened for the purpose of the rhythm. I’ve nowhere to sleep. But, it shouldn’t be contracted, ‘have’ here is the main noun, we should see it in its full form. I have nowhere to sleep. It’s often heard though, so don’t freak out.
It’s common in various regionalisms and slang throughout English-speaking countries. So, yep, you wanna say: I have a dog, but it’s possible for you to hear I’ve a dog. Or, I’ve no dog. Or, I’ve no idea. Nobody said it was easy!
Is there somewhere you can tell me? – Is there any place you could tell me about? So that I could go there and spend the night in safety. That’s the meaning I see in this phrase. Please tune in to the song because you’ll find the pronunciation Phill Collins employed here is quite something. It’s not like: Is there somewhere you can tell me?’ But rather: ‘S’there somewhere you can tell me?’. Again, it’s done for the sake of the music.
The next part of the first verse. Here goes:
He walks on, doesn’t look back
He pretends he can’t hear her
Starts to whistle as he crosses the street
Seems embarrassed to be there
He walks on – he continues to walk, he ignores her. Just like in ‘move on’, he moves on, he walks on.
He pretends he can’t hear her – the word ‘that’ could be added so that we’d have: He pretends that he can’t hear her. Leaving ‘that’ out in this sentence is correct as well! Read more about ‘relative clauses’ if you feel like you need more practice.
To whistle – to make a high sound or a musical tune by forcing your breath out when your lips are almost closed. That’s the definition from The Oxford dictionary, and that’s the verb in action: <whistling>. You can whistle in amazement, you can whistle to a dog, you can whistle at someone or something. A sentence:
He started to whistle a tune.
embarrassed – shy, uncomfortable or ashamed, especially in a social situation.
I’ve never felt so embarrassed in my life!
This word makes me think of this huge question that is always at the back of our heads when we learn English adjectives. Is it ‘embarrassed’ or ‘embarrassing’ the word that I should use now? Well, to make it crystal clear go to episode 4 of Teacher Ola Podcast, it’s titled Interested or Interesting? And have a listen. Episode four.
So, ‘embarrassing’ means making you feel shy, uncomfortable or ashamed. Awkward. An example sentence:
It was acutely embarrassing for us all.
Let’s move on to the chorus:
Oh, think twice, ’cause it’s another day for you and me in paradise
Oh, think twice, ’cause it’s another day for you
You and me in paradise
Think about it
Think twice – to think carefully about an idea. To think it through, to give it a thought. For instance:
I wouldn’t think twice about it.
A paradise – a perfect place where people are said to go when they die. It’s also a place that is extremely beautiful and that seems perfect, like heaven, or a state of perfect happiness, bliss. For example:
They moved house to find a paradise in the countryside.
Time to get down to the second phrase. Listen and repeat out loud.
She calls out to the man on the street
He can see she’s been crying
She’s got blisters on the soles of her feet
She can’t walk but she’s trying
He can see she’s been crying – present perfect continuous. He can see that her eyes are red, and her face clearly shows she has been crying. He sees the evidence, he sees her and the reason behind the way she looks now stems from what she has been doing just now. She has been crying. I have one episode on present perfect, it’s about one small element of this vast topic, it’s episode 16 Yet and Already.
I know you’ve been working all day, you look exhausted.
She’s got blisters on the soles of her feet – a blister is a swelling on the surface of the skin filled with liquid. Nasty. Happens when you walk a lot, or when you walk in too-small shoes.
A sole is the bottom surface of the foot. A sole is also the bottom part of a shoe or sock. Example sentences:
I had blisters on the soles of my feet.
The soles are made of leather.
Getting back to the lyrics. Listen and repeat:
Oh Lord, is there nothing more anybody can do?
Oh Lord, there must be something you can say
There must be something you can say – Why must? Why not ‘has to’? There has to be? We use must to show this is our logical assumption. Judging by the facts I have at my disposal, judging by what I know I think I’m sure there is something you can say. To learn more about the difference between ‘must’ and ‘have to’ go to episode 108: Have To vs Must. Modals. Modals, episode 108. One sentence to illustrate this:
You must be bored to death.
The second verse my friend, listen and repeat:
You can tell from the lines on her face
You can see that she’s been there
Probably been moved on from every place
‘Cause she didn’t fit in there
You can tell from the lines on her face – looking at the lines on her face you can safely state something. For example:
You can tell from the way they behave that they’re in love.
fit in – to to live, to be in an easy and natural way with somebody or something. Example sentences:
She’s exactly the type of person we need, she’ll fit in perfectly.
Do my plans fit in with your arrangements?
This is it, the end of the song, the end of the lyrics. Now have a listen to the song and enjoy undertsanding the lyrics. Before you do just that please let’s practice together. Listen to the example sentences yet again, but this time repeat them after me and do it out loud.
This is it! We’ve made it! Yet again. Good for you! Well done. Now let’s practice. Don’t go anywhere this is the essence of this episode. You speaking English out loud. Listen and repeat.
Please call out a plumber.
He started to whistle a tune.
I’ve never felt so embarrassed in my life!
It was acutely embarrassing for us all.
They moved house to find a paradise in the countryside.
I know you’ve been working all day, you look exhausted.
I had blisters on the soles of my feet.
The soles are made of leather.
You must be bored to death.
You can tell from the way they behave that they’re in love.
She’s exactly the type of person we need, she’ll fit in perfectly.
Do my plans fit in with your arrangements?
So good! Now, go to your inbox and get the worksheet to test yourself. Complete the gapped lyrics while listening to Phil Collins’s ‘Another Day In Paradise’. If you aren’t a member of TOPeople download the worksheet from teacherola.com/150.
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Thanks and I’ll see you next Wednesday! Happy learning. Take care! Stay fearless and say it out loud! Bye!