Hey there! This is TOP episode 182. Learn English with Miley Cyrus ‘Flowers’

My name’s Ola and I’m an English teacher. I believe you can eliminate your language blockade. You can speak English with more confidence, slay that fear and enjoy easy communication. 

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Hello! Thank you for joining me today. I can buy myself flowers! Wow, that song is such a hit now. Simple melody, simple lyrics but, hay, it’s got everything a song needs to become popular. And hey, listen to episode 74: Learn English With Gloria Gaynor ‘I Will Survive’ because this song has a lot in common with ‘Flowers’ by Miley Cyrus. Let me know if you catch my drift 🙂 

Before we jump in, please let me tell you about something I’m really excited about! It’s another English Live Class, and it’s this Sunday 19 Feb 2023 at 8 pm. Go to teacherola.com/liveclass and download the free materials you need to be well-prepared for the class.

Listen to the lyrics of the song ‘Flowers’ and repeat each line out loud. Let’s start right away:

We were good, we were gold

Kinda dream that can’t be sold

We were right ’til we weren’t

Built a home and watched it burn

we were gold – so what does it mean, to be gold? To be gold is used to say that someone is in a very good situation and is likely to be successful. They were great, they had it all. An example sentence:

Their parents say that their children are as good as gold. 

We were right ’til we weren’t Till means the same thing as until. It indicates when something will happen, begin, or end. Here, She says they made a great couple,they were grate together but it ended, so they were grate until they weren’t. One sentence that illustrates the function of ‘till’:

Can’t you wait till we get home?

watched it burn –  They literally watched their house burn. In the lyrics, it’s ‘home’ not ‘house’ so she talks about the family, the home they built, not the place, the family. But as I said before,  the building and the house in Malibu California got burned in a blaze in 2018 due to wildfires in that region.  

Let’s go on, listen and repeat out loud:

Mm, I didn’t wanna leave you

I didn’t wanna lie

Started to cry but then remembered I

I didn’t wanna lie –  to lie. To say or write something that you know is not true. You can lie to somebody, you can lie about something or about doing something. I’d like to give you one idiom with the word ‘lie’. 

To lie through your teeth. It’s to say something that is not true at all. For example: 

The suspect was clearly lying through his teeth.

Listen and repeat the chorus:

I can buy myself flowers

Write my name in the sand

Talk to myself for hours

Say things you don’t understand

flowers – And here I just picked one idiom for you. It’s the flower of something. It’s the finest, most vital, or most exemplary part of something. For example, the flower of the youth. 

sand – This time I have not one, not two, but three idioms with the word ‘sand’. Listen:

One. Hide your head in the sand. To refuse to admit that a problem exists or refuse to deal with it. To ignore the reality of a situation. For instance: 

For years we have been hiding our heads in the sand, refusing to admit that the store is losing money.

Two. To draw a line in the sand. To establish a clear limit to what you will do or accept. Crossing it will cause trouble. An example sentence: 

It’s time to draw a line in the sand and stop bullying in our school.

Three. Shifting sands. You can talk about the shifting sands of a situation when it keeps changing, and this makes it difficult to deal with. Listen to this example:

It’s a struggle to keep up with the shifting sands of fashion.

Let’s continue with the lyrics: 

I can take myself dancing

And I can hold my own hand

Yeah, I can love me better than you can

Dancing – here, please notice the difference between American and British pronunciation patterns. American: /ˈdænsɪŋ/, and British: /ˈdɑːnsɪŋ/. Interesting, huh? 

To hold – This is an irregular verb, and its forms are hold – held – held. An example sentence:

He was holding the baby in his arms.

I can love me better – I can do it better. I can write it better, I can deal with this better. I can love me better than you. 

Paint my nails, cherry red

Match the roses that you left

No remorse, no regret

I forgive every word you said

remorse – it’s this feeling of being extremely sorry for something wrong or bad that you have done. For example: 

She felt no remorse for leaving them without notice.

regret – It’s to feel sorry about something you have done or about something that you have not been able to do. So remorse is stronger than regret. An example sentence: 

 I regret that I never got to meet him in person.

And so here we arrived at the practical part of our podcast. Listen and repeat the sentences. Do it out loud. 

Their parents say that their children are as good as gold. 

Can’t you wait till we get home?

The suspect was clearly lying through his teeth.

For years we have been hiding our heads in the sand, refusing to admit that the store is losing money.

It’s time to draw a line in the sand and stop bullying in our school.

It’s a struggle to keep up with the shifting sands of fashion.

He was holding the baby in his arms.

She felt no remorse for leaving them without notice.

 I regret that I never got to meet him in person.

Well done! Now, go to your inbox and get the worksheet to test yourself. If you aren’t a member of TOPeople download the worksheet from teacherola.com/182. 

If you find this episode useful, tell your friends about my podcast. Help me reach people who need it. Thank you so much for doing so! Please rate this podcast wherever you listen and let’s keep this podcast alive together! I hope I’ll see you on Sunday at our English Live Class! Download your free materials at teacherola.com/liveclass. Teacherola.com/liveclass. Take care! Stay fearless and say it out loud! Bye!