ESLSongs

Practise the present continuous and/or prepositions in your ESL class with this song, Lemon Tree by Fool’s Garden.

The lyrics of this song contain over half a dozen different examples of the present continuous and 11 different prepositions (in, around, for, of, about, up, down, out, inside, into & on)

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

Lyrics

I’m sitting here in the boring room
It’s just another rainy Sunday afternoon
I’m wasting my time
I got nothing to do
I’m hanging around
I’m waiting for you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder

I’m driving around in my car
I’m driving too fast
I’m driving too far
I’d like to change my point of view
I feel so lonely
I’m waiting for you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder

I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me ’bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
I’m turning my head up and down
I’m turning turning turning turning turning around
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree

Sing, dah…

I’m sitting here
I miss the power
I’d like to go out taking a shower
But there’s a heavy cloud inside my head
I feel so tired
Put myself into bed
While nothing ever happens and I wonder

Isolation is not good for me
Isolation I don’t want to sit on the lemon-tree
I’m steppin’ around in the desert of joy
Baby anyhow I’ll get another toy
And everything will happen and you wonder

I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me ’bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree
I’m turning my head up and down
I’m turning turning turning turning turning around
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
Yellow, wonder, wonder

I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me ’bout the blue blue sky
And all that I can see, and all that I can see, and all that I can see
Is just a yellow lemon-tree

Suggested activity: fill the gaps

Download this exercise (PDF)

Put the prepositions in the correct gaps in the song, then listen to check: about, around (x2), down, for (x3), in (x2), inside, into, of (x2), on, out, up

I’m sitting here ¹________ the boring room
It’s just another rainy Sunday afternoon
I’m wasting my time
I got nothing to do
I’m hanging ²__________
I’m waiting ³__________ you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder

I’m driving around ⁴__________ my car
I’m driving too fast
I’m driving too far
I’d like to change my point ⁵__________ view
I feel so lonely
I’m waiting ⁶__________ you
But nothing ever happens and I wonder

CHORUS
I wonder how
I wonder why
Yesterday you told me ⁷__________ the blue blue sky
And all that I can see is just a yellow lemon-tree
I’m turning my head ⁸__________ and ⁹__________
I’m turning turning turning turning turning ¹⁰__________
And all that I can see is just another lemon-tree

Sing, dah…

I’m sitting here
I miss the power
I’d like to go ¹¹__________ taking a shower
But there’s a heavy cloud ¹²__________ my head
I feel so tired
Put myself ¹³__________ bed
While nothing ever happens and I wonder

Isolation is not good ¹⁴__________ me
Isolation I don’t want to sit ¹⁵__________ the lemon-tree
I’m stepping around in the desert ¹⁶__________ joy
Baby anyhow I’ll get another toy
And everything will happen and you wonder

Fools Garden

Fools Garden is an English band formed in 1991 in the city of Pforzheim. The founders of the group and the only permanent members are vocalist Peter Freudenthaler and guitarist Volker Hinkel. In 1993, bassist Thomas Mangold, keyboardist Roland Röhl and drummer Ralf Wochele were invited to join Fool’s Garden for recording of the first studio album Once in a Blue Moon.