There is a lot of repetition in song lyrics. A song’s refrain, for example, might be repeated several times, or a particular phrase might recur throughout a song. When the repeated material is a common idiom, phrasal verb, or grammatical form, you can capitalize on the repetition by using it as a teaching tool. Consider these examples of repeated phrases in Beatles songs:

• “We Can Work It Out” repeats the idiomatic phrasal verb work out eight times.
• “With a Little Help from My Friends” repeats the idiomatic phrasal verb get by five times.
• “Here Comes the Sun” repeats the expression all right six times and the grammatical form it’s been four times.

How to Create a Lesson Around a Repeated Phrase in 4 Easy Steps:

Step 1: Choose a song with a repeated phrase worth practicing, and copy the lyrics from the Internet. (You could highlight the phrase in boldface or color.)
Step 2: Call students’ attention to the phrase, explaining its meaning and use.
Step 3: Students listen to the song while reading the lyrics.
Step 4:  Whenever possible, spin off an activity based on the phrase. Please see the list below for activities and reproducible worksheets.

Songs with repeated phrases:

• “Always on My Mind” (Willie Nelson) Repeats the phrase should have several times. An interactive worksheet is on the page “Should Have + Past Participle.“
• “Both Sides Now” (Joni Mitchell) Repeats the adverbial phrase at all. An activity is on the page “Adverbial Phrase At All.”
• “A Change Is Gonna Come” (Sam Cooke, 1964) Repeats the phrase it’s been a long time comin’ four times. A worksheet contrasting the use of it’s been and it was is on the page “Present Perfect: It Was vs. It’s Been.”
• “Hello” (Adele, 2015) Repeats the line I’m sorry for breaking your heart three times. A worksheet is on the page “Gerunds as Objects of Prepositions.” 
• “I Can See Clearly Now” (Johnny Nash or Jimmy Cliff) Repeats the phrase It’s gonna be a bright sunshiny day six times. The interactive worksheet on the page “Future with Gonna: Talking About the Weather” gives students practice using gonna when talking about the weather forecast.
• “I Will Remember You” (Sarah McLachlan, 1999) Repeats the sentences I will remember you. Will you remember me? four times. A worksheet is on the page “Future with Will: Making Promises.”
• “I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free” (Nina Simone) Repeats the construction wish + simple past nine times. A worksheet is on the page “Wish + Simple Past: Making a Wish About the Present.“
• “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” (Meghan Trainor with John Legend) Repeats the phrase I’m gonna 21 times. An activity is on the page “Future with Gonna: Talking About Plans.”
• “Love Yourself” (Justin Bieber, 2015) Repeats the phrase love yourself eight times. A worksheet is on the page “Reflexive Pronouns.”
• “My Girl” (The Temptations, 1965) This song repeats the phrase I’ve got seven times.
• “Only One Call Away” (Charlie Puth, 2016) Repeats the line I’ll be there to save the day four times. A worksheet is on the page “Future with Will: Offering to Help.”
• “See You Again” (Wiz Khalifa and Charlie Puth, 2015)  (Caution: The word damn in the line Damn, who knew? might make this song inappropriate for some student populations.) Repeats the sentence It’s been a long day without you, my friend three times. A worksheet contrasting the use of it’s been and it was is on the page “Present Perfect: It Was vs. It’s Been.”
• “Somebody That I Used to Know” (Goyte) Repeats the title phrase nine times. You could follow up with the Draw-Write-Share Activity below. Permission granted to duplicate for classroom use.

draw-write-share.pdf

• “Stressed Out” (Twenty One Pilots, 2015) Repeats the construction wish + simple past ten times. (Wish I had a better voice, Wish we could turn back time, etc.) A worksheet is on the page “Wish + Simple Past: Making a Wish About the Present.“
• “This Town” (Niall Horan, 2016) Repeats the phrase “the words I never got to say”—a perfect example of using got to meaning had the opportunity to. An interactive activity is on the page “Get to Do Something.”
• “You Gotta Be” (Des’ree, 1994) Repeats the title phrase 37 times. An interactive activity is on the page “Gotta: Informal spoken English for Got To.”
• “When We Were Young” (Adele, 2015) The word like is used in the song to make a comparison 14 times.  An activity on the page “Comparisons with Like.”