Practice the construction “wish…” in your ESL class with this song about racism, I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free by Nina Simone.
These song lyrics include 9 examples of “wish”, although “I wish I could…” is the most common.
There is a suggestion on how to use this song in your ESL classes below, but for more ideas, click here.
Lyrics
I wish I knew how it would feel to be free
I wish I could break all the chains holding me
I wish I could say all the things that I should to say
Say them loud say them clear for the whole round world to hear
I wish I could share all the love that’s in my heart
Remove all the bars that keep us apart
I wish you could know what it means to be me
Then you’d see and agree every man should be free
I wish I could give all I’m longing to give
I wish I could live like I’m longing to live
I wish I could do all the things that I can do
Though I’m way overdue I’d be starting anew
I wish I could be like a bird in the sky
How sweet it would be if I found out I could fly
I’d soar to the sun and look down at the sea
And I’d sing ’cause I know
And I’d sing ’cause I know
And I’d sing ’cause I know
I know how it feels to be free…
Suggested activity: match the sentence halves
Download this exercise (PDF)
Match the first half of each “I wish…” phrase on the left with a second half on the right. There is one extra phrase that you don’t need to use!
First halves…
1I wish…
2I wish…
3I wish…
Say them loud say them clear for the whole round world to hear
4I wish…
Remove all the bars that keep us apart
5I wish…
Then you’d see and agree every man should be free
6I wish…
7I wish…
8I wish…
Though I’m way overdue I’d be starting anew
9I wish…
How sweet it would be if I found out I could fly
I’d soar to the sun and look down at the sea
And I’d sing ’cause I know
And I’d sing ’cause I know
And I’d sing ’cause I know
I know how it feels to be free
Second halves…
…I could break all the chains holding me
…I could share all the love that’s in my heart
…you could know what it means to be me
…I could say all the things that I should to say
…I knew how it would feel to be free
…I could be like a bird in the sky
…I had enough money to buy you a house
…I could give all I’m longing to give
…I could live like I’m longing to live
Nina SimoneNina Simone was an American singer, songwriter, pianist, composer, arranger and civil rights activist. Her music spanned styles including classical, folk, gospel, blues, jazz, R&B, and pop. In 2023 Rolling Stone ranked Simone at No. 21 on their list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.
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