Budapest
George Ezra
Questions for discussion
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‘My house in Budapest//My hidden treasure chest//Golden grand piano//My beautiful Castillo’ – Who is the person singing the song and why do you think this?
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‘You//You//I’d leave it all’ – Why does the singer say this? What would they leave and why?
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‘My acres of a land//I have achieved//It may be hard for you to//Stop and believe’ - Find and copy one word that means ‘earned’.
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Find two expanded noun phrases in the song.
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‘I’ll up and run’ – What does the singer mean by this?
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What do you think this song is about?
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What do you think the main themes are of this song?
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P4C question – Why would the person give up literally everything they have for someone else?
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
Things We Lost in the Fire
Bastille
Questions for Discussion
1) Find and copy one word that means 'collected'.
2) What do you think song is about?
3) From whose perspective is this song being sung?
4) What is the key event in the song?
5) Choose three words to describe how the singer feels. Don't use general emotion words such as 'sad' as they are unspecific.
6) Why does the singer keep repeating the line 'we we born with nothing'?
7) What does it mean if 'the future is in your hands'?
8) P4C question - what object would you be most upset to lose and why?
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
Roots
Imagine Dragons
Questions for Discussion
1) 'Trouble finds me' - what does the writer mean by trouble? How does trouble find them?
2) What does it mean if you 'lose your belief'? What is a belief?
3) What does it mean if you are 'going back to your roots'?
4) What do you think this song is about? There's no write or wrong answer to this question... just what you think so use your imaginations!
5) What does 'rock bottom' mean? Why has the singer hit rock bottom?
6) Why would someone return to their roots after 'hitting rock bottom'?
7) 'Hell will always come before you grow' - What does this line of the song mean?
8) P4C question - Think of a time when you were sad. What did you do to overcome how you felt?
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
Little Talks
Of Monstors And Men
Questions for Discussion
1) Why does the male singer offer to hold the other singers hand in the empty house?
2) Think of 3 words to describe the house mentioned in the song.
3) 'The stairs creak as I sleep//It's keeping me awake//It's the house telling you to close your eyes' - find and copy one word that that describes a sound.
4) 'Cause though the truth may vary' - what does this mean? How can the truth vary?
5) 'There's an old voice in my head//That's holding me back//Well tell her that I miss our little talks' - Whose voice is being described? How are they holding the other person back?
6) What do you think their 'little talks' were?
7) What does it mean if you are 'full of life'?
8) 'You're gone, gone, gone away//I watched you disappear' - where did the person go? what happened to them?
9) What are the main themes in this song?
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
Firework: Similes, Metaphors and Noun Phrases
Katy Perry
Katy Perry's 'Firework' is brill song for look at similes and metaphors. Get your children to find the similes and metaphors in the sounds - for bonus house points ask them to find the noun phrases too.
After discussing those get the children to re-write the song for a bit fun. Use the pro forma below and get the children to fill in the gaps.
Do you ever feel like a (np)_____
Drifiting through the wind, wanting to start again?
Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin
Like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?
Do you ever feel like a _____(np)?
Screams but no one seems to hear a thing
Do you know that there's still a chance for you
'Cause there's a spark in you?
You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like ______(s)
'Cause, baby, you're _____(m)
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby, you're _____(m)
Come on, let your colours burst
Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe
You don't have to feel like _____(np)
You're original, cannot be replaced
If you only knew what the future holds
After a hurricane comes a rainbow
Maybe a reason why all the doors are closed
So you could open one that leads you to the perfect road
Like a _____(s), your _____(np) will _____
And when it's time you'll know
You just gotta ignite the light and let it shine
Just own the night like ______(s)
'Cause, baby, you're _____(m)
Come on, show 'em what you're worth
Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah"
As you shoot across the sky-y-y
Baby, you're _____(m)
Come on, let your colours burst
Make 'em go, "Aah, aah, aah"
You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
Bohemian Rhapsody: Newspaper Writing
Queen
Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' is a great prompt for a newspaper article. Discuss the key events with your children and ask them: from whose perspective is the story being told? What happened? Who did they kill? Why did they kill them? How do other people feel about them death?
Give the character a name and write a newspaper clipping using this this link.
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
Symphony
Clean Bandit feat. Zara Larsson
Questions for Discussion
1) Choose one word that represents the meaning of this song. Explain, using evidence from the lyrics, why you have chosen your word.
2) Find and copy a simile from the lyrics.
3) 'And every melody is timeless' - What makes something 'timeless'?
4) Describe something else that is 'timeless'.
5) Is this song about 'hope' or 'loss'? Defend your selection using evidence.
6) A rhapsody is a really emotional piece of music or writing. Choose one piece of a music or writing that you think can be described as a rhapsody. Explain your choice.
7) 'I just wanna be part of your symphony' - is this a metaphor? Explain your answer?
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
She Lit a Fire
Lord Huron
Questions for Discussion
1) What is this song about? What happens? And, who is it about?
2) From whose perspective is this story being sung?
3) 'I've been through the desert//And I've been across the sea//I've been walking through the mountains' - Improve the verbs in these first few lines of the song: 'I've _____ through the desert//And I've _____ across the sea//I've been _____ through the mountains'
4) Rephrase this line 'she lit a fire'. Another way of thinking about this questions is to think 'how can I write this in my own words?'
5) Is this songs about 'hope' or 'loss'? Defend your answer using evidence.
6) Which word better describes the singers attitude towards finding the person he is looking for: 'hopeful' or 'determined' - explain your answer using evidence.
7) P4C - describe a time when you were inspired to do something? What was it that inspired you?
Click here for a link to the lyrics.
Drive
Oh Wonder
Questions for Discussion
1) ‘Sat back with the window down//Eighty an hour and the radio loud//The same songs with the same old rhymes//Tell me to shake it off and swing from the lights’ – choose a word that describes how the singer is feeling/acting. Support your answer will evidence from the lyrics.
2) Find the metaphor in the second verse.
3) What does the phrase ‘routine lies’ tell us about the singer’s relationship with the person they are singing about?
4) 'All I do, all I do is get burnt’ – What does it mean to ‘get burnt’?
5) Does the singer love the person that they are singing about?
6) Can you think of another name for the song? Use evidence from the lyrics to support your choice.
7) The singer is ‘mixed up’ – true or false.
Click here for a link to the lyrics.