Eric Clapton – Wonderful Tonight

This song comes with a worksheet to use in the classroomPractice the present simple in your ESL class with this song, Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton.

There are 20 different examples of the present simple (affirmative, negative and interrogative) in this song: It’s / she puts on / (she) brushes / she asks / do I look…? / I say / you look / we go / everyone turns / do you feel / I feel / I see / you just don’t realize / I love / I’ve got / I give / she helps / I tell / I turn out

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

YouTube player

Lyrics

It’s late in the evening; she’s wondering what clothes to wear.
She puts on her make-up and brushes her long blonde hair.
And then she asks me, “Do I look all right?”
And I say, “Yes, you look wonderful tonight.”

We go to a party and everyone turns to see
This beautiful lady that’s walking around with me.
And then she asks me, “Do you feel all right?”
And I say, “Yes, I feel wonderful tonight.”

I feel wonderful because I see
The love light in your eyes.
And the wonder of it all
Is that you just don’t realize how much I love you.

It’s time to go home now and I’ve got an aching head,
So I give her the car keys and she helps me to bed.
And then I tell her, as I turn out the light,
I say, “My darling, you were wonderful tonight.
Oh my darling, you were wonderful tonight.”

Suggested activity: fill the gaps

Download this exercise (PDF)

Listen to the song, and put the verbs into their correct form; the present simple (affirmative, negative & interrogative), the present continuous & the past simple

It’s late in the evening; she 1__________ (wonder) what clothes to wear.
She 2__________ (put) on her make-up and 3__________ (brush) her long blonde hair.
And then she asks me, “ 4__________ (look) all right?”
And I say, “Yes, you look wonderful tonight.”

We 5__________ (go) to a party and everyone 6__________ (turn) to see
This beautiful lady that’s walking around with me.
And then she asks me, “ 7__________ (feel) all right?”
And I say, “Yes, I feel wonderful tonight.”

I feel wonderful because I 8__________ (see) the love light in your eyes.
And the wonder of it all is that you just 9__________ (realise – negative) how much I love you.

It’s time to go home now and I’ve got an aching head,
So I give her the car keys and she 10__________ (help) me to bed.
And then I 11__________ (tell) her, as I turn out the light,
I say, “My darling, you 12__________ (be) wonderful tonight.
Oh my darling, you 13__________ (be) wonderful tonight.”

Eric ClaptonEnglish guitarist, singer, and songwriter (born 1945)

Eric Patrick Clapton is an English rock and blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is regarded as one of the most successful and influential guitarists in rock music. He ranked second in Rolling Stones list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time” and fourth in Gibsons “Top 50 Guitarists of All Time”. He was named number five in Time magazine’s list of “The 10 Best Electric Guitar Players” in 2009. In 2023, Rolling Stone named Clapton the 35th best guitarist of all time.