ESLSongs

Practice the future tense ‘going to’, & defining relative clauses in your ESL class with this song, 500 miles (I’m gonna be) by The Proclaimers.

The dozen defining relative clauses in these song lyrics follow the pattern “I’m going to be the man who wakes/goes/gets/is… etc.”.

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

Lyrics

When I wake up, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who wakes up next to you
When I go out, yeah, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you
If I get drunk, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who gets drunk next to you
And if I haver, hey, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who’s havering to you

But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

When I’m working, yes, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who’s working hard for you
And when the money comes in for the work I do
I’ll pass almost every penny on to you
When I come home (When I come home), oh, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who comes back home to you
And if I grow old, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who’s growing old with you

But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

Da lat da (Da lat da), da lat da (Da lat da)
Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle uh da-da
Da lat da (Da lat da), da lat da (Da lat da)
Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle uh da-da

When I’m lonely, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who’s lonely without you
And when I’m dreaming, well, I know I’m gonna dream
I’m gonna dream about the time when I’m with you
When I go out (When I go out), well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who goes along with you
And when I come home (When I come home), yes, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who comes back home with you
I’m gonna be the man who’s coming home with you

But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

Da lat da (Da lat da), da lat da (Da lat da)
Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle uh da-da
Da lat da (Da lat da), da lat da (Da lat da)
Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle uh da-da
Da lat da (Da lat da), da lat da (Da lat da)
Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle uh da-da
Da lat da (Da lat da), da lat da (Da lat da)
Da-da-da dun-diddle un-diddle un-diddle uh da-da

And I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who walked a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

Suggested activity: fill the gaps

Download this exercise (PDF)

Finish the relative clauses in an appropriate way, like in the first two examples. Then listen to the song to check your answers. Notice that sometimes the song changes something from the original so your answer might be different to the lyrics in the song.

When I wake up, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who ¹wakes up next to you
When I go out, yeah, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who ²goes along with you
If I get drunk, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who ³__________ next to you
And if I haver, hey, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who’s havering to you

Chorus
But I would walk five hundred miles
And I would walk five hundred more
Just to be the man who ⁴__________ a thousand miles
To fall down at your door

When I’m working, yes, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who ⁵__________ hard for you
And when the money comes in for the work I do
I’ll pass almost every penny on to you
When I come home, oh, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who ⁶__________ to you
And if I grow old, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who ⁷__________ with you

When I’m lonely, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who’s lonely without you
And when I’m dreaming, well, I know I’m gonna dream
I’m gonna dream about the time when I’m with you
When I go out, well, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who ⁸__________ with you
And when I come home, yes, I know I’m gonna be
I’m gonna be the man who ⁹__________ with you
I’m gonna be the man who¹⁰__________ with you

Now make your own promises to your partner (if you’re single, imaginary partner)

eg. I’m gonna be the man who cooks you a delicious dinner every night
eg. I’m gonna be the woman who supports you when you have problems

The Proclaimers

The Proclaimers are a Scottish rock duo formed in 1983 by twin brothers Craig and Charlie Reid. They came to attention with their 1987 single “Letter from America”, which reached No. 3 in the United Kingdom, and the 1988 single “I’m Gonna Be “, which topped charts in Australia, Iceland and New Zealand. The duo’s biggest album, Sunshine on Leith (1988) has been certified multi-Platinum in Australia and Canada, selling over 2 million copies worldwide, including around 700,000 in the United States. The Proclaimers have sold over 5 million albums worldwide.