ESLSongs

Practice the future tense ‘going to’ in your ESL class with this song, Next Year Baby by Jamie Cullum, about New Year’s Resolutions (and how they don’t last very long).

The lyrics of this song contain 10 different examples of this tense.

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

Lyrics

Next year
Things are gonna change
Gonna drink less beer
And start all over again

Gonna read more books
Gonna keep up with the news
Gonna learn how to cook
And spend less money on shoes

Gonna pay my bills on time
File my mail away, every day
Only drink the finest wine
And call my gran every Sunday

Well resolutions
Well baby they come and go
Will I do any of these things?
The answer’s probably no

But if there’s one thing, I must do
Despite my greatest fears
I’m gonna say to you
How I’ve felt all of these years

Next year
Next year

I’m gonna tell you how I feel
I’m gonna tell you how I feel

Well, resolutions
Baby they come and go
Will I do any of these things?
The answer’s probably no

But if there’s one thing, I must do
Despite my greatest fears
I’m gonna say to you
How I’ve felt all of these years

Next year
Next year
Next year

Suggested activity: matching

Download this exercise (PDF)

Listen to the song and match the gaps 1-10 with the new year’s resolutions a-j. There is one extra resolution that isn’t mentioned in the song: a) call my gran, b) drink less beer, c) drink the finest wine, d) keep up with the news, e) learn how to cook, f) pay my bills on time, g) quit smoking, h) read more books, i) spend less money on shoes, j) tell you how I feel (x2)

Next year
Things are gonna change
(I’m) gonna ¹____________________
And start all over again

Gonna ²____________________
Gonna ³____________________
Gonna ⁴____________________
And ⁵____________________

I’m gonna ⁶____________________
File my mail away, every day
Only ⁷____________________
And ⁸____________________ every Sunday

Well resolutions
Well baby they come and go
Will I do any of these things?
The answer’s probably no

But if there’s one thing, I must do
Despite my greatest fears
I’m gonna say to you how I’ve felt all of these years

Next year
Next year

I’m gonna ⁹____________________
I’m gonna ¹⁰____________________

Next year…

Have you made any New Year’s resolutions? What are you going to do this year?
Do you really think that you will keep these promises?

Jamie Cullum

Jamie Cullum is an English jazz-pop singer, pianist, songwriter and radio presenter. Although primarily a vocalist and pianist, he also accompanies himself on other instruments, including guitar and drums. He has recorded nine studio albums, three compilation albums, one live album and twenty-four singles. Since April 2010, he has presented a weekly Tuesday evening jazz show on BBC Radio 2.