Maroon 5, 2019

This song, based on the melody of Pachelbel’s Canon, was written in memory of the band’s manager and close friend, who died of a pulmonary embolism in 2017. The song has a few grammatical mistakes (mainly dropping the final s in third person singular) that could be exploited for a grammar lesson. It also works well as a springboard for a discussion on people that were important parts of our lives.

Note: The lyrics mention “drinks,” but not specifically alcoholic drinks. Teachers who avoid songs that refer to alcoholic beverages may find this reference vague enough to be acceptable, although only individual teachers can make this judgment.

Choose from the following activities:

• Listening  Listen to the song while reading the lyrics below. There are mistakes in the underlined lines. Find the mistakes and correct them. Then listen to the song again. Lyrics intended for nonprofit educational purposes only.

memories, lyrics with mistakes.docx          memories, lyrics with mistakes.pdf

• Listening  Listen to the song while watching the official video or one of the lyric videos.
• Listening  Listen to the song. Sing the lines in bold font. Lyrics intended for nonprofit educational purposes only.

memories, lyrics.docx         memories, lyrics.pdf

• Listening  Just for fun, listen to part of Pachelbel’s Canon in D to hear the similarities between it and the melody in “Memories.”
• Post-Listening  Talk about childhood memories. Structure the conversation with the Draw-Write-Share activity below, in which students draw a picture of their childhood home and then answer questions about childhood friends. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use. For levels high beginning and up.

childhood home.docx          childhood home.pdf

• Post-Listening  Talk about people we will always remember. Structure the discussion as a Draw-Write-Share activity. First, students draw a picture of someone they’ll always remember. Under their drawing, they complete this sentence: I’ll never forget _________________ because ______________________. Then they share their drawing and their writing in a small group. This activity is from the resource book Drawing Out by Sharon Bassanno and Mary Ann Christison.
• Post-Listening  Talk about how we will be remembered. Structure the conversation with the interactive worksheet below, for levels high beginning and up. The worksheet gives students practice changing verbs in the simple present to the simple past. Permission is granted to reproduce for classroom use. For levels high beginning and up.

remembering you.docx          remembering you.pdf