“No tears will be shed” is a song written for English teachers to use in the ESL classroom to practise quantifiers.
The lyrics of this song include the following 13 different examples of quantifiers: a lot, all, any, both, enough, a few, (very) little, many, much / so much / too much, no, nothing, plenty, some.
This song comes with a worksheet and is also available on Spotify as well as for download in mp3 format. To see other suggestions on how to use this song in class, click here.
Lyrics
This is my story, it began many years ago
And in a few hours it will come to an end
For the gallows are waiting to take me away from here
And all the women I wronged will have their revenge
CHORUS
And I know that in the end
I will want a few more days with you
And I fear that when I go
No tears will be shed
I am hated by plenty of men who I’d stolen from
And by some of their wives who gave me their hearts
I cared very little what any of them thought of me
Or that stealing their kisses could do so much harm
CHORUS
Yet I know that in the end
I will want a few more days with you
And I fear that when I go
No tears will be shed
That is all of my story I wanted to share with you
It’s not worth a lot, but then nor is my love
Both of us now have to go on our separate ways
And too much of you is never enough
CHORUS
‘Cause I know that in the end
I will want a few more days with you
And I fear that when I go
No tears will be shed
Yes I know that in the end
I’ve done nothing to deserve your love
But I fear that when I go
No tears will be shed
Suggested activity: fill the gaps
Download this exercise (PDF)
Try to guess which quantifiers go in each gap- a lot, all, any, both, enough, a few, little, many, much / too much, no, nothing, plenty, some– Then listen to the song to check.
This is my story, it began _____________ years ago
And in _____________ hours it will come to an end
For the gallows are waiting to take me away from here
And _____________ the women I wronged will have their revenge
And I know that in the end
I will want _____________ more days with you
And I fear that when I go
_____________ tears will be shed
I am hated by _____________ of men who I’d stolen from
And by _____________ of their wives who gave me their hearts
I cared very _____________ what _____________ of them thought of me
Or that stealing their kisses could do so _____________ harm
Yet I know that in the end
I will want _____________ more days with you
And I fear that when I go
_____________ tears will be shed
That is _____________ of my story I wanted to share with you
It’s not worth _____________, but then nor is my love
_____________ of us now have to go on our separate ways
And _____________ of you is never _____________
‘Cause I know that in the end
I will want _____________ more days with you
And I fear that when I go
_____________ tears will be shed
Yes I know that in the end
I’ve done _____________ to deserve your love
But I fear that when I go
_____________ tears will be shed
If you enjoyed the song or if you think it will be useful for your students at least, remember this song comes with a worksheet and is available on Spotify as well as for download in mp3 format.
