ESLSongs

Practice the past simple (especially irregular verbs) in your ESL class with this song, A Day in the Life by The Beatles.

The 14 irregular verbs in this song are: read, made, was, had, saw, blew, stood, woke, fell, found, drank, spoke, went & were but there are also 6 other regular positive and negative examples of the past simple: didn’t notice, stared, turned away, dragged, noticed & grabbed

The song also contains three examples of the past perfect.

There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here.

Lyrics

I read the news today, oh boy
About a lucky man who made the grade
And though the news was rather sad
Well I just had to laugh
I saw the photograph.

He blew his mind out in a car
He didn’t notice that the red lights had changed
A crowd of people stood and stared
They’d seen his face before
Nobody was really sure
If he was from the House of Lords.

I saw a film today, oh boy
The English army had just won the war
A crowd of people turned away
But I just had to look
Having read the book
I’d love to turn you on.

Woke up, fell out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
Found my way downstairs and drank a cup,
And looking up I noticed I was late.

Found my coat and grabbed my hat
Made the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and had a smoke,
Somebody spoke and I went into a dream.

I read the news today oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes were rather small
They had to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
I’d love to turn you on.

Suggested activity: fill the gaps

Download this exercise (PDF)

Do you know the meaning of these verbs? Which are irregular? What is the past simple?
be, blow, drag, drink, fall, find, go, grab, have, make, notice, read, see, speak, stand, stare, turn, wake

Look at the lyrics below. Which words go in each of the gaps? First try to guess, then listen to the song to check your answers.
Some of the answers come quite quickly, so don’t worry if you don’t fill all the gaps.
Some of the verbs are repeated.

I ¹_____________ the news today, oh boy
About a lucky man who ²_____________ the grade
And though the news ³_____________ rather sad
Well I just ⁴_____________ to laugh
I ⁵_____________ the photograph.

He ⁶_____________ his mind out in a car
He didn’t notice that the red lights had changed
A crowd of people ⁷_____________ and stared
They’d seen his face before
Nobody ⁸_____________ really sure
If he ⁹_____________ from the House of Lords.

I ¹⁰_____________ a film today, oh boy
The English army had just won the war
A crowd of people ¹¹_____________ away
But I just ¹²_____________ to look
Having read the book
I’d love to turn you on.

¹³_____________ up, ¹⁴_____________ out of bed,
Dragged a comb across my head
¹⁵_____________ my way downstairs and ¹⁶_____________ a cup,
And looking up I ¹⁷_____________ I was late.

Found my coat and ¹⁸_____________ my hat
¹⁹_____________ the bus in seconds flat
Found my way upstairs and ²⁰_____________ a smoke,
Somebody ²¹_____________ and I ²²_____________ into a dream.

I ²²_____________ the news today, oh boy
Four thousand holes in Blackburn, Lancashire
And though the holes ²⁴_____________ rather small
They ²⁵_____________ to count them all
Now they know how many holes it takes to fill the Albert Hall.
I’d love to turn you on.