Curso De Inglés con Música

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“If I could only fly” was written and

performed by an American country music
singer-songwriter - Blaze Foley. It was
released in 1979. This song was written for
his wife at the time and has become his

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most popular and well-known song.

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LISTENING COMPREHENSION
PART 1
ACTIVITY 1

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Listen to Part 1 of the song and fill in the blanks with the
correct form of the verbs.
I almost (feel) ________ you (touch) ________ me just now.

I (wish) ________ I (know) ________ which way to (turn) ________ and (go)

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________.

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I (feel) ________ so good, and then I (feel) ________ so bad.

I (wonder) ________ what I ought to (do) ________.

ACTIVITY 2

A PART 2

Listen to Part 2 of the song and answer the questions.

1. What would he do if he could fly?
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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2. What is actually happening?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

ACTIVITY 3
Listen to Part 2, how do you understand the line below?

Just a dismal thinking on a dismal day.

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…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

ACTIVITY 4
PART 3

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Listen to Part 3 and decide if the following sentences are True

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(T) or False (F) or Not Given (NG).

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He rarely writes sad songs.
Rara vez escribe canciones tristes.

He wishes that all his songs could make her smile.

Desea que todas sus canciones la hagan sonreír.

He wants her to come with him.

Quiere que ella lo acompañe.

He doesn’t want to stay home with her.

No quiere quedarse en casa con ella.
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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KEY PHRASES
● just now justo ahora
● bid [noun phrase] goodbye despedirse [frase nominal]
● be with [someone] estar con [alguien]
● go wrong ir mal
● get away
● make [someone] smile
[someone] can be:
escaparse
sonreir a [pronombre]

● Object pronoun: him, her, me, them, us, it.

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● Name: Anna, Alex, etc.
● Noun phrase (refers to a person or people): my mom, his friends, a

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boy, etc.
Example sentences:
● I saw her here just now.
La vi aquí hace un momento.

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● I don’t want to bid this town goodbye.

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No quiero despedirme de esta ciudad.
● I just want to be with you for the rest of my life.
Solo quiero estar contigo el resto de mi vida.

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● Don’t worry, nothing can go wrong.
No se preocupe, nada puede salir mal.
● He wants to get away for some time.
Quiere escapar por algún tiempo.
● I just want to make you smile.
Solo quiero hacerte sonreír.

ACTIVITY 5
Fill in the blanks with the given phrases. You may need to
conjugate the verbs.
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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bid … goodbye just now

make … smile go wrong

1. Everything ___________________ now. There’s no way to fix it.

2. Let’s ________ this place ________ when we still have the chance.
3. Who were you talking to ___________________?

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4. All she ever wants is to ________ her children ________.

KEY STRUCTURES
I feel so [adjective].
Me siento tan [adjetivo].

I feel so good, then I feel so bad.

I feel so tired. 2
I ought to [verb in base form].

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Debería [verbo en forma básica].

I wonder what I ought to do.

I ought to go.

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I feel so hungry. I ought to leave.

I can hardly [verb in base I got nowhere to [verb in base

form]. form].
Apenas puedo [verbo en forma No tengo a donde [verbo en forma
básica]. básica].

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I can hardly stand.
I can hardly sleep.
I can hardly eat.
I got nowhere to run.
I got nowhere to go.
I got nowhere to stay.

I wish you could [verb in base

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I wanna [verb in base form]. form].
Quiero [verbo en forma básica]. Ojalá pudieras [verbo en forma
básica].

I wanna stay. I wish you could come with me.

I wanna dance. I wish you could stay.
I wanna sleep. I wish you could go.

If I could only [verb in base form].

Si tan solo pudiera [verbo en forma básica].

If I could only fly.

If I could only come.
If I could only study.
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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KEY PRONUNCIATION
RHYTHM PRACTICE
In our previous lessons - Have you ever seen the rain and Roxanne, we
learned about sentence stress. We know that in English sentences, there are

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words that are stressed more than the others as they carry more important
meanings. Within a word, we have word stress where a syllable is stressed

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more than the others. Unstressed words and syllables are pronounced more
quickly and shorter with a lower pitch. Stressed and unstressed syllables in
words and phrases make the unique rhythm of the English language.

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Today, we are going to look at one of the most common rhythm patterns
through this song:

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oOoOo... - Unstressed-stressed-unstressed-stressed...

For example:

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ACTIVITY 6
A Watch Video 2 - Key Pronunciation for more details.

Practice reading the following phrases. Pay attention to the

stress patterns.
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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1. Don’t you think? 6. all around the world

2. Go ahead. 7. I’ll see you later.

3. You’re welcome. 8. What’s the problem?

4. How ya doing? 9. You wanna stay for dinner?

5. What’s the matter? 10. I wanna eat. I wanna know

MAKING WISHES

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● We use ‘I wish’ or ‘If only’ to make wishes about the present,
expressing the desire to change a situation in the present. 2
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For example:

I don’t have any money. (reality)

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I wish I had more money.
Ojalá tuviera más dinero.
Or If only I had more money.
Si tan solo tuviera más dinero.

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We’re not together. (reality)

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I wish we were together.
Me gustaría que estuviéramos
juntos.
Or If only we were together.
Si tan solo estuviéramos
juntos.

Notice that the verbs in this case will be in the Past Simple tense.
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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● We use ‘I wish’ or ‘If only’ with ‘could’ to express the desire to change
‘the impossible’ to possible.
For example:

I can’t sleep. (reality)

I wish I could sleep.
Desearía poder dormir.

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Or If only I could sleep.
Si tan solo pudiera dormir.

I can’t afford a car. (reality)

Or
I wish I could afford a car.
Ojalá pudiera pagar un coche.
If only I could afford a car.

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2
Si tan solo pudiera pagar un
auto.

‘I wish I could’ or ‘I wish I could, but I can't’ are usually used to turn down an
invitation or a favor.

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For example:

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A: Do you wanna stay for dinner?
¿Quieres quedarte a cenar?
B: I wish I could. I wish I could, but I can’t.

A Ojalá pudiera. Ojalá pudiera, pero no puedo.

 Curso De Inglés con Música
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ACTIVITY 7
Write your own sentences with ‘I wish’ and ‘If only’.
What are some things that you wish to be different in the
present? Why?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………...

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………...

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………...

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………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………...

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………...

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 Curso De Inglés con Música
www.aiacomunidad.com/ingles-con-musica
LYRICS
(ENGLISH AND SPANISH)
I almost felt you touching me just
now
I wish I knew which way to turn and
go
I feel so good, and then I feel so bad
I wonder what I ought to do
If I could only fly, if I could only fly
I'd bid this place goodbye to come
and be with you
But I can hardly stand, I got nowhere
to run
Another sinking sun, another lonely
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night
everyday
A I
The wind keeps blowing somewhere
Tell me things get better, somewhere
up the way
Just dismal thinking on a dismal day
Sad songs for us to bear
You know sometimes I write happy
Casi te sentí tocándome justo ahora
Me gustaría saber qué camino tomar y
seguir
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Me siento tan bien y luego me siento
tan mal
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Me pregunto qué debo hacer.
Si solo pudiera volar, si solo pudiera
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volar
Me despediría de este lugar para venir
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y estar contigo
Pero apenas puedo estar de pie, no
tengo a dónde correr
Otro sol poniente, otra noche solitaria
El viento sigue soplando en algún
lugar todos los días
Dime que las cosas mejoran, en algún
lugar del camino
Solo triste pensamiento en un triste
día
Canciones tristes que debemos
soportar
Sabes que a veces escribo canciones
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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songs felices
But then sometimes little things Pero luego algunas pequeñas cosas
went wrong salen mal
You know I wish they all could make Y desearía que todos pudieran hacerte
you smile sonreír
Tomorrow maybe we can get away Mañana quizás podamos irnos

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I'm coming home soon and I wanna Voy a volver a casa pronto y quiero
stay quedarme

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I wish you could come with me when Y ojalá pudieras venir conmigo
I go again cuando me vaya otra vez

If I could only fly, if I could only fly

I'd bid this place goodbye to come

and be with you
But I can hardly stand, I got nowhere
to run
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Si solo pudiera volar, si solo pudiera
volar

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Me despediría de este lugar para venir
y estar contigo
Pero apenas puedo estar de pie, no
tengo a dónde correr

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Another sinking sun, one more lonely Otro sol poniente, una noche solitaria

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night más.

If I could only fly, Si tan solo pudiera volar,

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if you could only fly,
if we could only fly,
there'd be no more lonely nights
si solo pudieras volar,
si solo pudiéramos volar,
no habría más noches solitarias
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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VOCABULARY
LEVEL A2
almost casi
another otro
bear soportar

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could podría
if si
just sólo

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keep mantener
maybe tal vez
sinking hundimiento

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so entonces
somewhere algun lado
song canción

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stand estar
think pensar
turn giro
way camino

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LEVEL B1

AI blow
hardly
lonely
nowhere
ought
smile
touch
wish
wonder
soplar
apenas
solitario
en ninguna parte
debería
sonreír
tocar
deseo
preguntarse

LEVEL C1
bid oferta
dismal triste
 Curso De Inglés con Música
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ANSWER KEYS
ACTIVITY 1.
I almost felt you touching me just now
I wish I knew which way to turn and go
I feel so good, and then I feel so bad

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I wonder what I ought to do

ACTIVITY 2.

ACTIVITY 3.
Suggested answer:

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1. If he could fly, he would leave his current place to come and be with her.
2. He couldn’t fly, in fact, he could hardly stand and got nowhere to run to.

he couldn’t do.
ACTIVITY 4.
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He’s having a bad day, and he’s sad and hopeless, thinking about things that

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NG He rarely writes sad songs.
Rara vez escribe canciones tristes.

A
T

F
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He wishes that all his songs could make her smile.
Desea que todas sus canciones la hagan sonreír.

He wants her to come with him.

Quiere que ella lo acompañe.

He doesn’t want to stay home with her.

No quiere quedarse en casa con ella.
 Curso De Inglés con Música
www.aiacomunidad.com/ingles-con-musica

ACTIVITY 5.
1. Everything goes wrong now. There’s no way to fix it.
2. Let’s bid this place goodbye when we still have the chance.
3. Who were you talking to just now?
4. All she ever wants is to make her children smile.

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If you want even more help with your listening and pronunciation, check
out my most comprehensive course here:

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Pronunciation and Listening Course
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