Before you
watch
- The song you’re about to listen to really inspires me in a way that not many songs do. It makes me feel really emotional. Is there any song that makes you feel this way? Which one? Who is the song by? What is it about? Why do you find it so inspirational/ moving?
Watch the
video and listen to the song.
- Identify
-
Time and place
-
Main characters
-
Reason why they have gathered
-
Kind of atmosphere
- Listen again and join with arrows
- The old man a. think the piano man is very good and tip him.
- John b. is in the Navy.
- Paul c. practices politics.
- Davy d. sounds like a carnival and brings comfort to the people at the bar.
- The waitress e. is a single real estate novelist.
- The businessmen f. wants the pianist to play a song he used to know by heart.
- The piano man g. is a bartender who wishes he were a movie star.
- The manager h. get drunk.
- The people i. makes the people at the bar forget their troubles..
- The piano j. is happy about the big crowd that has gathered to see the piano man.
- Spot words in the word cloud which may help describe the atmosphere at the bar or the feelings the different characters may be experiencing. Explain how the different words may relate to the story.
4. Do you know the expressions in the box? Listen to the song again and fill in the blanks with them.
get stoned for free for a while for life in the mood (x3)
It's nine o'clock on a Saturday
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."
La la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all ________________for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks _________________
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be _______________
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly ________________
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all _________________for a melody
And you got us feeling alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life _____________________
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all ________________for a melody
And you got us feeling alright
The regular crowd shuffles in
There's an old man sitting next to me
Makin' love to his tonic and gin
He says, "Son, can you play me a memory
I'm not really sure how it goes
But it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete
When I wore a younger man's clothes."
La la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Sing us a song, you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well, we're all ________________for a melody
And you've got us feelin' alright
Now John at the bar is a friend of mine
He gets me my drinks _________________
And he's quick with a joke or to light up your smoke
But there's someplace that he'd rather be
He says, "Bill, I believe this is killing me."
As the smile ran away from his face
"Well I'm sure that I could be a movie star
If I could get out of this place"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Now Paul is a real estate novelist
Who never had time for a wife
And he's talkin' with Davy, who's still in the Navy
And probably will be _______________
And the waitress is practicing politics
As the businessmen slowly ________________
Yes, they're sharing a drink they call loneliness
But it's better than drinkin' alone
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all _________________for a melody
And you got us feeling alright
It's a pretty good crowd for a Saturday
And the manager gives me a smile
'Cause he knows that it's me they've been comin' to see
To forget about life _____________________
And the piano, it sounds like a carnival
And the microphone smells like a beer
And they sit at the bar and put bread in my jar
And say, "Man, what are you doin' here?"
Oh, la la la, di da da
La la, di da da da dum
Sing us a song you're the piano man
Sing us a song tonight
Well we're all ________________for a melody
And you got us feeling alright
After you
watch
- The people in the song have come to the bar to listen to the piano man and forget about life for a while. What do you do when you want to forget about life for a while?
- John works as a bartender but there’s some place that he’d rather be. Is there anything in your life you’re not so happy about or something else you'd rather do? What?
- Have you ever felt lonely? When? What do you do when you feel this way?
- At the end of the song the piano sounds like a carnival and seems to bring some comfort to the crowd that has gathered in the bar. What/ who brings comfort to you when you feel (a bit) down?
