SPEAKER MUSIC by FERGAL KAVANAGH DANIEL FRANCIS alright: this one-word Here comes the sun doo, doo, doo, doo doo, doo, doo, doo: songs often TUNE INTO ENGLISH spelling of ‘all right’, often seen Here comes the sun use vocalizations, or vocables, in in informal writing and in place of lyrics. These are a form And I say it’s alright song, is mostly considered of nonsense16 used in a wide incorrect. Little darling, it’s been a long cold lonely winter variety of music, usually mixed Little darling, it seems like years since it’s been with meaningful text. The Beatles’ darling: this is one of the here most used terms of Here comes the sun doo, doo, doo endearment. It derives, in fact, Here comes the sun Long cold lonely winter: from ‘dear’, which can also adjectives follow a determined Here Comes the Sun mean ‘expensive’. And I say it’s alright order in English. As a general Little darling, the smiles returning to the rule, opinions or attitudes Uno degli ultimi grandi successi del quartetto di Liverpool è una semplice ode all’arrivo it seems like years: it is faces come first, before more neutral, del bel tempo dopo un lungo e freddo inverno. Ha una melodia facile da ricordare e un possible (but not necessary) to factual ones. This is not the Little darling, it feels like years since it’s case here, but it can be testo quasi infantile, eppure ora il suo messaggio acquisisce un nuovo significato. use the present perfect in this phrase: ‘It feels like it’s been been here considered a poetic licence. years’. Here comes the sun doo, doo, doo 1 9 he most streamed Beatles song George decided to take a day off to visit Here comes the sun it’s been: this is a contraction LOWER INTERMEDIATE B1 on Spotify was not written by his friend Eric Clapton’s country house. He And I say it’s alright of the auxiliary verb ‘have’: ‘it John Lennon or Paul McCartney, wrote the song in the garden, telling the Sun, sun, sun, here it comes has been’. The use of the T present perfect here is ON CD 20 but by guitarist George Harrison. Here BBC, “it was just sunny and it was all just Sun, sun, sun, here it comes incorrect as it refers to a point Comes the Sun is on “Abbey Road’, the the release10 of that tension that had been Sun, sun, sun, here it comes in time and not a period up to Beatles” final recorded album, released2 building up11 in me.” He finished the song Sun, sun, sun, here it comes now. GLOSSARY in September 1969. on a summer holiday in Sardinia12. Sun, sun, sun, here it comes 1 to stream: riprodurre Harrison wrote Here Comes the Sun dur- The lyrics are very positive, simply repeat- online ing a particularly difficult period of his life. ing the title and saying how long and cold 2 to release: It was April 1969 and the Beatles were the winter had been. In fact, London’s me- Little darling, I feel that ice is slowly pubblicare 3 4 melting17 3 to involve: involved in countless business meet- teorological records show that the early ings and tense recording sessions, during months of 1969 were colder than usual, Little darling, it seems like years since it’s partecipare a clear: when the sky is clear, it is 5 4 countless: which time the guitarist argued with his but when spring finally came, it was the fair18, cloudless, but not neces- been clear innumerevoli band mates6 and temporarily left. He had sunniest April for over13 a decade. sarily bright19 nor sunny. Here comes the sun doo, doo, doo 5 to argue: discutere, litigare also recently been arrested for possession The optimistic song has been described as Here comes the sun 6 mates: compagni of drugs and had spent a “promise of a new dawn14 after a lonely15 And I say it’s alright 7 tonsils: tondille time in hospital winter” and is now more Here comes the sun doo, doo, doo 8 to remove: togliere to have his ton- relevant than 9 to take a day off: Here comes the sun sils7 removed8. ever. prendersi il giorno It’s alright libero It’s alright 10 release: liberazione 11 to build up: costruire 12 Sardinia: Sardegna 13 over: più di 14 dawn: alba 15 lonely: solitario SCAN & 16 nonsense: assurdo, WATCH senza senso 17 to melt: sciogliere 18 fair: chiaro 19 bright: luminoso Scan this QR code with your smartphone or tablet and listen to the original song on YouTube while reading the lyrics. The Beatles (clockwise from top left): Paul McCartney, Ringo Fergal Kavanagh runs the website Starr, John Lennon and George www.tuneintoenglish.com, Harrison, backstage at The Regal the web’s largest free resource in Cambridge in 1963. for learning English through pop music. 62 sixty-two sity-three 63.