ESLSongs

Practise prepositions (especially of place & movement) in your ESL class with this song, Lucy in the sky with diamonds by The Beatles.

The lyrics of this song contain 12 different prepositions: at, away, by, down, for, in, of, on, over, past, to & with

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

Lyrics

Picture yourself in a boat on a river
With tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl with kaleidoscope eyes

Cellophane flowers of yellow and green
Towering over your head
Look for the girl with the sun in her eyes
And she’s gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds…

Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers
That grow so incredibly high

Newspaper taxis appear on the shore
Waiting to take you away
Climb in the back with your head in the clouds
And you’re gone

Lucy in the sky with diamonds…

Picture yourself on a train in a station
With plasticine porters with looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there at the turnstile
The girl with the kaleidoscope eyes

Lucy in the sky with diamonds…

Suggested activity: fill the gaps

Download this exercise (PDF)

Listen to the song and put the following prepositions (especially of place) in the correct gaps: at, away, by, down, for, in (x5), of, on (x3), over, past, to & with (x4)

Picture yourself ¹_____ a boat ²_____ a river
³_____ tangerine trees and marmalade skies
Somebody calls you, you answer quite slowly
A girl ⁴_____ kaleidoscope eyes

Cellophane flowers ⁵_____ yellow and green
Towering ⁶_____ your head
Look ⁷_____ the girl with the sun ⁸_____ her eyes
And she’s gone

Chorus
Lucy in the sky with diamonds…

Follow her ⁹_____ ¹⁰_____ a bridge ¹¹_____ a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies
Everyone smiles as you drift ¹²_____ the flowers
That grow so incredibly high

Newspaper taxis appear ¹³_____ the shore
Waiting to take you ¹⁴_____
Climb ¹⁵_____ the back with your head ¹⁶_____ the clouds
And you’re gone

Chorus
Lucy in the sky with diamonds…

Picture yourself ¹⁷_____ a train ¹⁸_____ a station
With plasticine porters ¹⁹_____ looking glass ties
Suddenly someone is there ²⁰_____ the turnstile
The girl ²¹_____ kaleidoscope eyes

Chorus
Lucy in the sky with diamonds…

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the development of 1960s counterculture and the recognition of popular music as an art form. Rooted in skiffle, beat and 1950s rock ‘n’ roll, their sound incorporated elements of classical music and traditional pop in innovative ways. The band also explored music styles ranging from folk and Indian music to psychedelia and hard rock. As pioneers in recording, songwriting and artistic presentation, the Beatles revolutionized many aspects of the music industry and were often publicized as leaders of the era’s youth and sociocultural movements.