Songs

The classroom-friendly songs below are organized by theme. The songs have:

  • clear, comprehensible lyrics
  • language and official music videos that are at least “PG”
  • staying power (Most of the songs topped Billboard charts or won a prestigious award like a Grammy or an Oscar.)

Themes, Part 1
Sunshine | Falling in Love | Memories | Taking Chances | Work
Being in Love | Happiness | U.S. Cities

Themes, Part 2
Lost Love | Sports | Friendship | Living Simply | Peace
You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover | Freedom | Survival / Resilience

Updates: Newly added songs are posted on Facebook.

Story suggestions. I sometimes pair the songs on this page with stories in the True Stories reading series. For example, Bruce Springsteen’s “Pay Me My Money Down” works well with the story “The Last Laugh” in True Stories 2, about a waitress who is promised a Toyota as a prize for being the top employee and gets a toy Yoda instead. Under “Teaching Tips” you’ll find ideas for pairing songs with thematically related stories in True Stories.

1. Theme: Sunshine

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2. Theme: Falling in Love

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs about falling in love with these stories in the True Stories reading series: “The Love Letters” (True Stories 2); “Love at First Sight” and “Love Under Siege” (True Stories 4); “The Real Ronaldo” (True Stories 5); and “Baby Henry on the F Train” (Pop-up Story 3).

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3. Theme: Memories

  • “Both Sides Now” (Joni Mitchell, 1967) Recommended: the audio-only performance in the 2021 movie Coda (the main character sings this song for an audition) and Joni Mitchell’s 2021 remastered recording of her song. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan, which includes the Story Behind the Song.
  • “The Castle on the Hill” (Ed Sheeran, 2017) Recommended: the lyrics video and the live performance in a BBC studio. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan. (Caution: The singer reminisces about smoking cigarettes and getting drunk with his friends when he was 15, so this song may not be appropriate for your class. Previewing the lyrics is advised.)
  • “Don’t You Worry, Child” (Swedish House Mafia) Recommended: the official acoustic video
  • “In My Life” (The Beatles) Recommended: the audio-only video.
  • “I Remember You” (Skid Row) Recommended: the official video
  • “I Will Remember You” (Sarah McLachlan,1999) Recommended: the official video or the live 2020 performance at Edmonton Folk Music Festival (The official video ends with a romantic kiss and may not be suitable for your class; previewing is advised.) Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan. Award: Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
  • “Memories” (Maroon 5, 2019) Recommended: the official audio-only video and the official video. Based on the melody of Pachelbel’s Canon, the song was written in memory of the band’s manager and close friend, who died in 2017. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan for the song. 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, but only individual teachers can make this judgment.
  • “Photograph” (Nickelback) The official video is classroom friendly, but the song’s language may not be appropriate for your class; previewing the lyrics is advised.
  • “7 Years” (Lukas Graham, 2015) Recommended: the video with the montage of family photos. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan.
  • “This Is the Time” (Billy Joel) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “Try to Remember” (The Brothers Four; Josh Groban) Recommended: Josh Groban’s audio-only video and The Brothers Four’s audio-ony video
  • “The Way We Were” (Barbra Streisand, 1973) Recommended: Beyonce’s live performance at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in honor of Barbra Streisand and Streisand’s audio-only video. Award: Academy Award for Best Original Song in a Movie

Teaching Tip: As a follow-up activity on the theme “Memories,” you could ask students to draw a scene from their past that brings back happy memories and then write a few sentences about the scene under their drawing. They then share their drawing and their writing in small groups. (For examples of more activities like this one, Please see Activity 3: Class Discussion on a Song’s Theme.)

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4. Theme: Taking Chances

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs about taking chances with this story in the True Stories reading series: “745 Miles on a Pink Bike” (Pop-up Story 1).

5. Theme: Work

Teaching Tip #1: If you teach adults, the Draw-Write-Share activity personalizing the theme “Work” is highly recommended. Please see Example 3 in Activity 3: Class Discussion on a Song’s Theme.

Teaching Tip #2: You could pair songs about work with these stories in the True Stories reading series: “The Last Laugh” (True Stories 2) and “The Chef” (True Stories 5).

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6. Theme: Being in Love

  • “A Thousand Years” (Cristina Perri, 2011) The official video shows scenes from one of the Twilight movies and may not be appropriate for all classrooms. Previewing is advised. The cover by Boyce Avenue, with just a singer and his guitar, is appropriate for all classrooms.
  • “All of Me” (John Legend, 2013) The official video shows romantic scenes of the singer with his wife and is not appropriate for most classrooms. The live performance in a New York hotel bar is more appropriate for the classroom, although the setting might still make the video unsuitable; previewing is advised. Recommended: performance with violinist Lindsey Stirling.
  • “As Long As You Love Me” (Backstreet Boys, 1997) Recommended: the audio-only video and the 2016 live performance video. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan, which includes a worksheet on noun clauses for levels high beginning and up.
  • “Baby, I’m Yours” (Arctic Monkeys, 2006) Recommended: the audio-only video. If you teach Spanish speakers, there is a video with English lyrics and Spanish subtitles. This song has many adverb clauses beginning with the word until.
  • “Because You Loved Me” (Celine Dion, 1996) Recommended: the live-performance video. This song has 14 irregular verbs in the simple past tense. A worksheet is on the page Simple Past Verbs in the Song “Because You Loved Me.”
  • “Can You Feel the Love Tonight” (Elton John, 1994) Recommended: the official lyric video from “Disney on Broadway.” Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Song; Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song; Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance
  • “Chasing Cars” (Snow Patrol, 2006) Recommended: the official video
  • “Don’t Know Why” (Norah Jones) Recommended: the official video. (The phrase my heart is drenched in wine might make this song inappropriate for your class; previewing the lyrics is advised.) Award: Grammy Award for Song of the Year
  • “(Everything I Do) I Do It For You” (Bryan Adams, 1991) Recommended: the live-performance video
  • “I Honestly Love You” (Olivia Newton-John, 1974) Recommended: the official video, which is a 2010 performance of this 1974 song and a video of a live performance from the Sydney Opera House in 2009.
  • “I’m Yours” (Jason Mraz, 2008) The official video is suitable for almost all classrooms. It does, however, show athletic women in bikini swimsuits, so some teachers may wish to preview it. Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “Iris” (The Goo Goo Dolls) Recommended: the official video and a live performance video (in the pouring rain)
  • “I Will Always Love You” (Whitney Houston, 1992) The official video shows scenes from the movie The Bodyguard. It ends with a romantic kiss, so it may not be appropriate for your class; previewing is advised. Recommended: the audio-only video. This song repeats the promise I will always love you many times. An interactive activity is on the page Future with Will: Making Promises. Awards: Grammy Award for Record of the Year; chosen by the U.S. Library of Congress for preservation in the National Recording Registry
  • “Like I’m Gonna Lose You” (Meghan Trainor with John Legend, 2015) The official video is suitable for most classrooms. It does, however, show romantic kisses, so previewing is advised. This song repeats the phrase I’m gonna 21 times. An activity is the page Future with Gonna: Talking About Plans.
  • “Just the Way You Are” (Billy Joel, 1977) Recommended: the live-performance video and the audio-only video. Awards: Grammy Awards, Record of the Year and Song of the Year
  • “Longer” (Dan Fogelberg, 1979) Recommended: the audio-only video.
  • “Love Me Tender” (Elvis Presley, 1956) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “Lucky” (Jason Mraz & Colbie Caillat, 2009)
  • “Make You Feel My Love” (Bob Dylan,1997; Adele, 2008) Recommended: Adele’s official video. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan, which includes a reading about Dylan’s Nobel Prize in Literature.
  • “Maybe I’m Amazed” (Paul McCartney, 1977) Recommended: the audio-only video and the live-performance video
  • “My Girl” (The Temptations, 1965) Recommended: the audio-only video. The song “My Girl” repeats the phrase I’ve got seven times. For an interactive worksheet that gives students practice saying I’ve got it and I’ve got ’em when going over a list of what they’ll take to a picnic, please see the Grammar + Songs page.
  • “My Guy” (Mary Wells, 1964) Recommended: the audio-only video. This song has many rhyming words, so it would be ideal for a gap-fill exercise. Please see Activity 1: The Targeted Cloze Exercise.
  • “One Call Away” (Charlie Puth, 2016) Recommended: the official video. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan.
  • “Something” (George Harrison, 1969) Recommended: the audio-only video and the official video
  • “Time After Time” (Cyndi Lauper, 1984) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “Unchained Melody” (Righteous Brothers, 1965) Recommended: the audio-only video; the cover by Susan Boyle); the cover by Boyce Avenue
  • “Up Where We Belong” (Joe Cocker and Jennifer Warnes, 1982) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “When You Say Nothing At All” (Keith Whitley, Ronan Keating, or Alison Krauss) There are several official videos of this song; one by Krauss, one by Keating, and one by Whitley. All three are classroom friendly.
  • “You Are So Beautiful” (Joe Cocker, 1975) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “You Are the Sunshine of My Life” (Stevie Wonder, 1973) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “You Got It” (Roy Orbison) Recommended: the live performance video; the montage of live performances; the audio-only video. In three verses, the singer pauses long enough between phrases to allow students to repeat after him. Please see Activity 6: Singing or Speaking the Chorus. Scroll to the end of the activity to hear an audio clip from a beginning class singing the chorus.
  • “You Make My Dreams Come True” (Hall and Oates, 1981) There is an official video, but the words are fairly difficult to understand. Students would need to read the lyrics while listening. Recommended: the video of British singer Billie Marten covering the song. The video is just the singer and her guitar, and in her version, the words are easier to understand.
  • “You Send Me” (Sam Cooke, 1957) Recommended: the audio-only video and the  live performance by Gregor Porter recorded for BBC Radio
  • “Your Song” (Elton John, 1970) Recommended: the 2005 live performance

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs about being in love with these stories in True Stories 3: “Puppy Love” and “Surprise! It’s Your Wedding!.”

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7. Theme: Happiness

Teaching Tip: This topic is ideal for an upbeat Draw-Write-Share exercise. Please see Activity 3: Class Discussion on a Song’s Theme. Scroll to the end of the activity for specific teaching suggestions.

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8. Theme: U.S. Cities

Teaching Tip #1: Students complete these two sentences: 1. The best thing about my hometown is _______. 2. The worst thing about my hometown is _______. (For example, one student wrote: The best thing about my hometown is the coffee. The worst thing about my hometown is that there are no big stores or movie theaters.) Students then share their writing in small groups. In my class, this activity prompted lively conversations and fostered a sense of community as students found common ground sharing the pros and cons of  their hometowns.

Teaching Tip #2: Friederike Kippel suggests this activity in the resource book Keep Talking (“One Day in London,” p. 106): Students interview a partner on what activities the partner likes to do while traveling. Students then plan a one-day sightseeing excursion in their native town or city and share the itinerary with their partners. I have done this activity in my class several times. It never fails to engage students.

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Themes, Part 2:
Lost Love | Sports | Friendship | Living Simply | Peace
You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover | Freedom | Survival

1. Theme: Lost Love

A. Songs About Reconnecting with a Lost Love

B. Songs About the End of a Romantic Relationship

  • “Always on My Mind” (Willie Nelson, 1982) Recommended: the official live performance video. The song repeats the words should have. An interactive worksheet is on the page Should Have  + Past Participle. Award: Grammy Hall of Fame
  • “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” (Elvis Presley 1960) Recommended: the official lyric video; the audio-only video
  • “Be Alright” (Dean Lewis, 2018) Caution: The official licensed videos for this song contain language that is inappropriate for most classrooms. There are, however, clean versions on YouTube; search “Be Alright clean/radio edit.” Recommended: the live performance on the TV show Today and the cover by Jada Facer. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan, which includes punctuated, annotated clean lyrics.
  • “Bye Bye Love” (Everly Brothers 1958) Recommended: the audio-only video. This song has an easy-to-sing chorus. Please see Activity 6: Singing or Speaking the Chorus.
  • “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” (Neil Sedaka, 1962) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “Crazy” (Willie Nelson, 1962) Recommended: Willie Nelson’s audio-only video; the 2018 informal performance by Allison Young and Josh Turner. This song has many gerunds following the preposition for. A worksheet is on the page Gerunds as Objects of Prepositions.
  • “Don’t Start Now” (Dua Lipa, 2020) Recommended: the live-performance video
  • “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” (Bob Dylan, 1963) Recommended: the audio-only video and the 2011 informal cover by Josh Turner and Carson McKee
  • “Driver’s License” (Olivia Rodrigo, 2021) Caution: There are two versions of this song–the “official” version and the “clean” version, which is played on the radio. Add “clean” to your search terms to find classroom-friendly lyrics and videos. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan. Award: 2022 Grammy Award for Best Pop Solo Performance
  • “Easy On Me”  (Adele, 2021) Recommended: the official video and the audio-only video. You could follow up with the Story Behind the Song.
  • “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” (Paul Simon, 1975) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “50 Ways to Say Goodbye” (Train, 2012) Recommended: the audio-only video
  • “Flowers” (Miley Cyrus, 2023) Recommended: the lyrics video; the cover by Boyce Avenue. This song uses the reflexive pronoun myself many times; the cover by Boyce Avenue tells the story from a different point of view and uses the reflexive pronoun yourself many times. A worksheet is on the page Reflexive Pronouns. Award: 2024 Grammy for Song of the Year.
  • “Forget You” (Cee Lo Green, 2010) Use the clean version. Recommended: the official video. 
  • “Give Me One Reason” (Tracy Chapman, 1995) Recommended: the live performance with Eric Clapton and the official video Award: Grammy Award for Best Rock Song
  • “Hello, Goodbye” (The Beatles, 1967) Recommended: the official video and the audio-only video
  • “It Ain’t Me” (Selena Gomez, 2017) Recommended: the lyric video and the audio-only video. The song repeats the phrase who’s gonna many times. An interactive worksheet is on the page Future with Gonna: Questions Beginning with Who’s gonna… (This song is about a relationship ruined by alcoholism; previewing the lyrics is advised.)
  • “Love Yourself” (Justin Bieber, 2015) A word of caution: One line in the song–And now I know: I’m better sleeping on my own–might make this song inappropriate for some classrooms. The official video, which features dancers who are married in real life, is appropriate for most classrooms, but previewing is advised. Teaching ideas are in the Lesson Plan.
  • “Let Her Go” (Passenger, 2012) Recommended: the official video
  • “Say Something” (A Great Big World, 2013) Recommended: the audio-only video by Great Big World; the cover by Pentatonix; the Boyce Avenue cover. In his book The Poetry of Pop, Adam Bradley points out that the song’s chorus is a poem written in dactylic trimeter—a stressed syllable followed by two unstressed syllables, repeated three times in every line. That predictable stress pattern makes the chorus ideal for reading aloud. The chorus, with the accented syllables in bold, is at the end of Activity 6: Singing or Speaking the Chorus.
  • “Somebody That I Used To Know” (Gotye, 2011) Recommended: the cover by Pentatnix. This song has one line that might make it inappropriate for some classrooms: I think of all the times you screwed me over. The song repeats the phrase used to know many times. A worksheet is on the page Used to + a Verb in the Simple Form.
  • “Someone You Loved” (Louis Capaldi, 2019) Recommended: the official video and the audio-only video. (Previewing the lyrics is recommended; some content may not be appropriate for your class.) This song has repeated examples of infinitives and infinitive phrases used as adjectives (somebody to know, somebody to heal, no one to save me, etc.). A worksheet is on the page Infinitives as Adjectives. Award: 2020 BRIT Awards, Song of the Year
  • “The Way We Were” (Barbra Streisand, 1973) Recommended: Beyonce’s live performance at the Kennedy Center Honors ceremony in honor of Barbra Streisand and Streisand’s audio-only video. Award: Academy Award for Best Original Song in a Movie
  • “This Town” (Niall Horan, 2016) Recommended: the studio performance. The official lyric video (which shows only some lyrics) depicts a romantic kiss and might not be appropriate for all classes; previewing is advised. This song repeats the phrase the words I never got to say—a perfect example of using got to meaning had the opportunity to. An interactive worksheet is on the page Get to Do Something. A annotated lyrics gap-fill exercise targeting the six past-tense verbs in the song is at the end of Activity 1: The Targeted Cloze.
  • “When I’m Gone” (Anna Kendrick, 2012) Recommended: the official video. (A reference to whiskey in the lyrics may make this song inappropriate for some classes; previewing is advised.) The song repeats the phrase you’re gonna miss me 20 times. An activity is on the page Future with Gonna: Talking About Plans.
  • “Yesterday” (Paul McCartney, 1965) Recommended: the audio-only video; the live performance video; the 2019 cover by Himesh Patel

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs about lost love with these stories in the True Stories reading series: “The Love Letters,” “Love or Baseball?,”  Nicole’s Party” (True Stories 2); “The Husband” (True Stories 3); and “The Real Ronaldo” (True Stories 5).

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2. Theme: Sports

Teaching Tip #1: To find out what your students know about baseball — the “national pastime” of the United States — try the One-Question Interview. (Substitute the questions about music with questions about baseball at the Internet TESL Journal.) This wonderful activity gets students moving around, works with many topics, and can be adjusted for almost any level. Students can use their own paper to do the survey, or they can use the form below.

survey form.doc          survey-form.pdf

Teaching Tip #2: Stories in the True Stories reading series with a sports theme: “Love or Baseball?” and “The Champion” (True Stories 2)

Thanks to: Anna Silliman, who sent me the “one-question interview” idea many years ago. The activity was from the classroom of Fiona Armstrong, Adult Basic Education, New York City Schools.

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3. Theme: Friendship

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs about friendship and altruism with these stories in the True Stories reading series: “Old Friends” (True Stories 2); “Pay It Forward,” “Margaret Patrick…Meet Ruth Eisenberg,” “The Auction,” “Money to Burn,” “Two Strangers” (True Stories 3); and “A Boy, A Book, and a Beginning” (Pop-up Story 4)

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4. Theme: Living Simply

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs about living simply with this story in the True Stories reading series: “The Plain People” (True  Stories 4).

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5. Theme: Peace

Teaching Tip: As a follow-up activity on the theme “Peace,” my colleague Brianna Deering asked her students to complete this sentence: When I need peace in my own life, I _____________________.  Students shared their writing in small groups.

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6. Theme: You Can’t Judge a Book by Its Cover

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs with the theme “you can’t judge a book by its cover” with these stories in the True Stories reading series: “The Runner” (True Stories 2); “The Husband” (True Stories 3);”More Alike Than Different” and “Sucker Day”  (True Stories 4); and “The Real Ronaldo” (True Stories 5).

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7. Theme: Freedom

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs about freedom with these stories in the True Stories reading series: “Together Again” and “The Bottle” (True Stories 2).

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8. Theme: Survival / Resilience

Teaching Tip: You could pair songs about resilience and survival with these stories in the True Stories reading series: “Try, Try Again,” “Thank You,” “Saved by the Bell,” “A Strong Little Boy,” and “The Champion” (True Stories 2); “Everybody’s Baby,” “A Long Fishing Trip,” and “The Surgeon,” (True Stories 3); “The Semong,” “How You Finish,” and  “Flight 5390” (True Stories 4); “The Chef” (True Stories 5); and “745 Miles on a Pink Bike” (Pop-up Story 1).