These were ranked as some of the best songs in English-language movies.
​
►Born Free by Barry and Black, Won Academy Award. Sung and played by Douglas Wright, who has many other easy songs. (45 words)
Note: 'cause is a contraction of because.
 
Born free, as free as the wind blows
As free as the grass grows
Born free to follow your heart
Live free and beauty surrounds you
The world still astounds you
Each time you look at a star
 
Stay free, where no walls divide you
You're free as the roaring tide
So there's no need to hide
Born free, and life is worth living
But only worth living
'Cause you're born free  (2x)
 
►Singing in the Rain 1952, by Freed and Brown, sung by Gene Kelly (47 words)
 
Doo-dloo-doo-doo-doo...
 
I'm singing in the rain
Just singing in the rain
What a glorious feelin'
I'm happy again
I'm laughing at clouds
So dark up above
The sun's in my heart
And I'm ready for love
 
Let the stormy clouds chase
Everyone from the place
Come on with the rain
I've a smile on my face
I walk down the lane
With a happy refrain
Just singin',
Singin' in the rain
Dancin' in the rain
 
Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah
Dee-ah dee-ah dee-ah
 
I'm happy again!
I'm singin' and dancin' in the rain!
 
I'm dancin' and singin' in the rain.
 
►Summertime 1935, from Porgy and Bess by Gershwin and Hayward (53 words)
 
Summertime,
And the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
And the cotton is high
 
Oh, Your daddy's rich
And your ma is good lookin'
So hush little baby
Don't you cry
 
One of these mornings
You're going to rise up singing
Gonna spread your wings
And take the sky
 
But 'til that morning
There's a'nothing can harm you
With daddy and mammy standing by
 
►Goldfinger 1964, by Bricusse, Newley, Barry, sung by Bassey (55 words)
 
Goldfinger
He's the man, the man with the Midas touch
A spider's touch
Such a cold finger
Beckons you to enter his web of sin
But don't go in
 
Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can't disguise what you fear
For a golden girl knows when he's kissed her
It's the kiss of death from
Mister Goldfinger
Pretty girl beware of this heart of gold
This heart is cold
 
Golden words he will pour in your ear
But his lies can't disguise what you fear
For a golden girl knows when he's kissed her
It's the kiss of death from
Mister Goldfinger
Pretty girl beware of this heart of gold
This heart is cold
 
He loves only gold
Only gold
He loves gold
He loves only gold
Only gold
He loves gold
 
►Somewhere over the Rainbow 1939 from The Wizard of Oz by Arlen and Harburg, won Academy Award (60 words)
 
Somewhere over the rainbow, way up high
There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream,
Really do come true.
 
Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up when the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops,
Away above the chimney tops,
That's where you'll find me.
 
Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly
Birds fly over the rainbow
Why then, oh why can't I?
 
►The Way We Were 1973, by Bergman, Bergman and Hamlisch, won Academy Award (63 words)
 
Memories light the corners of my mind
Misty water-colored memories of the way we were
Scattered pictures of the smiles we left behind
Smiles we gave to one another for the way we were
 
Can it be that it was all so simple then
Or has time rewritten every line
If we had the chance to do it all again, tell me, would we, could we
Mem'ries are too beautiful and yet
 
What's too painful to remember
We simply choose to forget
So it's the laughter we will remember
Whenever we remember just the way we were
Memories
 
►As Time Goes By 1942, from Casablanca, by Hupfeld, sung by Dooley Wilson (71 words)
 
You must remember this, a kiss is just a kiss,
A sigh is just a sigh, the fundamental things apply,
As time goes by
 
An' when two lovers woo, they still say "I love you,"
On that you can rely, no matter what the future brings,
As time goes by
 
Moonlight an' love songs never out of date,
Hearts full of passion, jealousy an' hate,
Woman needs man and man must have his mate,
That no one can deny
 
It's still the same old story, a fight for love an' glory,
A case of do or die, the world will always welcome lovers,
As time goes by
 
Moonlight an' love songs never out of date,
Hearts full of passion, jealousy an' hate,
Woman needs man and man must have his mate,
That no one can deny
 
It's still the same old story, a fight for love an' glory,
A case of do or die, the world will always welcome lovers,
As time goes by
 
►The Sound of Music 1965 by Rodgers and Hammerstein (73 words)
 
The hills are alive with the sound of music
With songs they have sung for a thousand years
The hills fill my heart with the sound of music
My heart wants to sing every song it hears
 
My heart wants to beat like the wings of the birds
That rise from the lake to the trees
My heart wants to sigh like a chime that flies
From a church on a breeze
To laugh like a brook when it trips and falls over
Stones on its way
To sing through the night like a lark who is learning to pray
 
I go to the hills when my heart is lonely
I know I will hear what I've heard before
My heart will be blessed with the sound of music
And I'll sing once more
 
►Ol' Man River,1927, from Showboat by Hammerstein and Kern, variation sung by Paul Robeson (79 words)
 
There's an old man called the Mississippi
That's the old man I don't like to be
What does he care if the world's got troubles?
What does he care if the land ain't free?
 
Ol' man river
That ol' man river
He must know something
But don't say nothing
He just keeps rolling
He keeps on rollinh along
 
He don't plant taters
He don't plant cotton
And them that plants 'em is soon forgotten
But ol' man river
He keeps rolling along
 
You and me
We sweat and strain
Body all aching
And wracked with pain
Tote that barge
Lift that bale
Get a little drunk
And you land in jail
 
But I keeps laughing, instead of crying
I must keep fighting until I'm dying
And ol' man river
He just keeps rolling along.

►High Noon, 1952 by Tiomkin and Washington, sung by Tex Ritter, won Academy Award (86 words)
 
(Tex Ritter with High Noon)
 
Do not forsake me oh my darling on this our wedding day
Do not forsake me oh my darling wait wait along
I do not know what fate awaits me I only know I must be brave
And I must face a man who hates me
Or lie a coward a craven coward or lie a coward in my grave
 
Oh to be torn twixt love and duty supposin' I lose my fair haired beauty
Look at that big hand move along nearing high noon
He made a vow while in state's prison vowed it would be my life or his'n
I'm not afraid at all of what will I do if you leave me
 
Do not forsake me oh my darling you made that promise as a bride
Do not forsake me oh my darling although you're grieving don't think of leaving
Now that I need you by my side
Wait along wait along wait along wait along

(High Noon Tex Ritter)

►Impossible Dream 1965, from Man of La Mancha by Leigh and Darion, sung by character of Don Quixote (88 words)
 
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
 
This is my quest, to follow that star,
No matter how hopeless, and no matter how far
To fight for the right without question or pause
To be willing to march, march into hell for a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true to this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm when I'm laid to my rest, my final rest
 
And the world will be better for this
That one man scorned and covered with scars
Still strives with his last ounce of courage
 
To reach To reach the unreachable star, the unreachable the unreachable star
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe, No No No No
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star,
To dream, to dream the impossible dream

►Staying Alive 1977, from Saturday Night Fever by Gibb, Gibb, and Gibb (91 words)
 
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm a woman's man: no time to talk
Music loud and women warm, I've been kicked around
Since I was born
And now it's all right, it's okay
And you may look the other way
 
We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man
Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive
 
Well now, I get low and I get high
And if I can't get either, I really try
Got the wings of heaven on my shoes
I'm a dancin' man and I just can't lose
You know it's all right, it's okay
I'll live to see another day
 
We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man
Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive
 
Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, Somebody help me, yeah
Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me,  yeah,
I'm stayin' alive
 
Well, you can tell by the way I use my walk
I'm a woman's man: no time to talk
Music loud and women warm
I've been kicked around since I was born
And now it's all right, it's okay
And you may look the other way
 
We can try to understand
The New York Times' effect on man
Whether you're a brother or whether you're a mother
You're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Feel the city breakin' and everybody shakin'
And we're stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive, stayin' alive
Ah, ha, ha, ha, stayin' alive
 
Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, Somebody help me, yeah
Life goin' nowhere, somebody help me, yeah
I'm stayin' alive
 
►I Just Called To Say I Love You, 1984, from Woman in Red, by Stevie Wonder. Won Academy Award (101 words)

No New Year's Day to celebrate
No chocolate covered candy hearts to give away
No first of spring, no song to sing
In fact it's just another ordinary day

No April rain
No flowers bloom
No wedding Saturday within the month of June
But what it is, is something true
Made up of these three words that I must say to you

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

No summer's high
No warm July
No harvest moon to light one tender August night
No falling breeze
No autumn leaves
Not even time for birds to fly to southern skies

No Libra sun
No Halloween
No giving thanks to all the Christmas joy you bring
But what it is, is all so new
Made of these three words that I must say to you

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart

I just called to say I love you
I just called to say how much I care
I just called to say I love you
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart, of my heart, of my heart

►I Could Have Danced All Night 1956, from My Fair Lady by Lerner and Lowe, sung by Julie Andrews (114 words)
 
Bed, bed! I couldn't go to bed
My head's too light to try to set it down
Sleep, sleep! I couldn't sleep tonight
Not for all the jewels in the crown
 
I could have danced all night
I could have danced all night
And still have begged for more
I could have spread my wings
And done a thousand things
I've never done before
I'll never know what made it so exciting
Why all at once my heart took flight
I only know when he began to dance with me
I could have danced, danced, danced all night
 
(It's after three now)
(Don't you agree now)
(She ought to be in bed)
 
I could have danced all night (You're tired out, you must be dead)
I could have danced all night (Your face is drawn, your eyes are red)
And still have begged for more (Now say goodnight, turn out the light)
(Please, it's really time for you to be in bed)
 
I could have spread my wings (Do come along, do as you're told)
And done a thousand things (Or Mrs. Pierce is apt to stir)
I've never done before (You're up too late, please, it sure is late)
(Miss, you'll catch a cold)
 
I'll never know what made it so exciting
Why all at once my heart took flight
I only know when he (Put down your book, the work'll keep)
Began to dance with me (Now settle down and go to sleep)
I could have danced, danced, danced all night
 
(I understand, dear)
(It's all been grand, dear)
(But now it's time to sleep)
 
I could have danced all night
I could have danced all night
And still have begged for more
I could have spread my wings
And done a thousand things
I've never done beforeI'll never know what made it so exciting
Why all at once my heart took flight
I only know when he began to dance with me
I could have danced, danced, danced all night
​

Gilbert and Sullivan wrote 14 comic operas from 1871-1896, which are still performed often throughout the English-speaking world. Many of the songs are well-known. Most have many more words than the songs here. The text and songs are all at gsarchive.net.

​►​Oh, Better Far to Live and Die, or Pirate King, (87 words) from Pirates of Penzance, 1879

Oh, better far to live and die
Under the brave black flag I fly,
Than play a sanctimonious part,
With a pirate head and a pirate heart.

Away to the cheating world go you,
Where pirates all are well-to-do;
But I’ll be true to the song I sing,
And live and die a Pirate King.

For I am a Pirate King
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!

I am a Pirate King!
You are!
Hurrah for the Pirate King

And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King.
It is
Hurrah for the Pirate King
Hurrah for a Pirate King

Oh he is a Pirate King
He is
Hurrah for the Pirate King
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King.
It is
Hurrah for the Pirate King
Hurrah for the Pirate King

When I sally forth to seek my prey
I help myself in a royal way.
I sink a few more ships, it’s true,
Than a well-bred monarch ought to do;

But many a king on a first-class throne,
If he wants to call his crown his own,
Must manage somehow to get through
More dirty work than ever I do,

For I am a Pirate King!
And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King!

I am a Pirate King!
You are!
Hurrah for the Pirate King!

And it is, it is a glorious thing
To be a Pirate King.

It is!
Hurrah for a Pirate King!
Hurrah for a Pirate King!

Away
Away

►When a Merry Maiden Marries, 92 words, from The Gondoliers, 1889

When a merry maiden marries,
Sorrow goes and pleasure tarries;
Every sound becomes a song,
All is right, and nothing’s wrong!

From to-day and ever after
Let our tears be tears of laughter.
Every sigh that finds a vent
Be a sigh of sweet content!

When you marry, merry maiden,
Then the air with love is laden;
Every flower is a rose,
Every goose becomes a swan,
Every kind of trouble goes
Where the last year’s snows have gone!
Sunlight takes the place of shade
When you marry, merry maid!

When a merry maiden marries,
Sorrow goes and pleasure tarries;
Every sound becomes a song,
All is right, and nothing’s wrong.

Gnawing Care and aching Sorrow,
Get ye gone until to-morrow;
Jealousies in grim array,
Ye are things of yesterday!

When you marry, merry maiden,
Then the air with joy is laden;
All the corners of the earth
Ring with music sweetly played,
Worry is melodious mirth,
Grief is joy in masquerade;
Sullen night is laughing day –

All the year is merry May!
All the year is merry May!
Merry, merry May
Merry, merry May
All the year is merry, merry May!​​

►A Magnet Hung in a Hardware Shop, 104 words, from Patience, 1881
​"Churn" is a container to carry milk or make butter. After the song was written, people made models of churns in silver to hold salt, pepper, or perfume.
​
A magnet hung in a hardware shop,
And all around was a loving crop
Of scissors and needles, nails and knives,
Offering love for all their lives;
But for iron the magnet felt no whim,
Though he charmed iron, it charmed not him;
From needles and nails and knives he’d turn,
For he’d set his love on a Silver Churn!

A Silver Churn?

A Silver Churn!
His most æsthetic,
Very magnetic
Fancy took this turn –
“If I can wheedle
A knife or a needle,
Why not a Silver Churn?”

His most æsthetic,
Very magnetic
Fancy took this turn –
“If I can wheedle
A knife or a needle,
Why not a Silver Churn?”

And Iron and Steel expressed surprise,
The needles opened their well-drilled eyes,
The penknives felt “shut up”, no doubt,
The scissors declared themselves “cut out”,
The kettles they boiled with rage, ’tis said,
While every nail went off its head,
And hither and thither began to roam,
Till a hammer came up and drove them home.

It drove them home?
It drove them home!
While this magnetic,
Peripatetic
Lover he lived to learn,
By no endeavour
Can magnet ever
Attract a Silver Churn!

While this magnetic,
Peripatetic
Lover he lived to learn,
By no endeavour
Can magnet ever
Attract a Silver Churn!

►Captain of the Pinafore, 105 words, from H.M.S. Pinafore, 1878
​"Ship a selvagee" means to loop twine around 2 or more pegs, many times, to create a strong continuous circle of twine, then tie the ends together and take more twine to wrap around the bundle, holding it together.
​
My gallant crew, good morning!

Sir, good morning!

I hope you're all quite well.

Quite well; and you, sir?

I am in reasonable health, and happy To meet you all once more.

You do us proud, sir!

I am the Captain of the Pinafore!

And a right good captain, too!

You're very, very good, And be it understood, I command a right good crew.

We're very, very good, And be it understood, He commands a right good crew.

Though related to a peer,
I can hand, reef, and steer,
And ship a selvagee;
I am never known to quail
At the fury of a gale,
And I'm never, never sick at sea!

What, never?

No, never!

What, never?

Hardly ever!

He's hardly ever sick at sea!
Then give three cheers, and one cheer more, For the hardy Captain of the Pinafore!
Then give three cheers, and one cheer more, For the Captain of the Pinafore!

I do my best to satisfy you all --

And with you we're quite content.

You're exceedingly polite, And I think it only right To return the compliment.

We're exceedingly polite, And he thinks it's only right To return the compliment.

Bad language or abuse,
I never, never use,
Whatever the emergency;
Though "bother it" I may
Occasionally say,
I never use a big, big D --

What, never?

No, never!

What, never?

Hardly ever!
​
Hardly ever swears a big, big D --
Then give three cheers, and one cheer more, For the well-bred Captain of the Pinafore!
Then give three cheers, and one cheer more, For the Captain of the Pinafore!

►Dienda (69 words)
 
How like a fall
To be gone in a day
Just as the leaves had turned gold
I was drawn to a sound
That the wind carried down
From an open window pane
And oh, how like a song
Or a sad melody
To linger long after the end
And the harmony rings
With the promise of spring
On a Brooklyn street
 
How like the fall to be gone in a day
Just as the trees had turned gold
I was drawn to this sound
That some fingers had found
But now the winter seems to stay too long
And how like a song
Or a sad melody
To linger long after it's gone
Though the window is closed
And the questions it posed
On a Brooklyn street
 
how like a song
Or a sweet melody
To linger long after it's gone
Let the harmony ring
With the promise of spring
On that Brooklyn street
A Brooklyn street
 
►Moon over Bourbon Street (85 words)
 
There's a moon over Bourbon Street tonight
I see faces as they pass beneath the pale lamplight
I've no choice but to follow that call
The bright lights the people and the moon and all
I pray every day to be strong
For I know what I do must be wrong
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there's a moon over Bourbon Street
 
It was many years ago I became what I am
I was trapped in this life like an innocent lamb
Now I can never show my face at noon
And you'll only see me walking by the light of the moon
The brim of my hat hides the eyes of a beast
I've the face of a sinner but the hands of a priest
Oh you'll never see my shade or hear the sound of my feet
While there's a moon over Bourbon Street
 
►Fields of Gold (89 words)
 
1, 2, 3
Do you remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley
Do you forget the sun in his jealous sky as we walk in fields of gold
So she took her love for to gaze awhile upon the fields of barley
In his arms she fell as her hair came down among the fields of gold
Will you stay with me, will you be my love among the fields of barley?
Do you forget the sun in his jealous sky as we lie in fields of gold
See the west wind move like a lover so upon the fields of barley.
Feel her body rise when you kiss her mouth among the fields of gold
I never made promises lightly and there have been some that I've broken
But I swear in the days still left we'll walk in fields of gold
We'll walk in fields of gold
 
Many years have passed since those summer days among the fields of barley
See the children run as the sun goes down among the fields of gold
Do you remember me when the west wind moves upon the fields of barley
You can tell the sun in his jealous sky when we walked in fields of gold
When we walked in fields of gold, when we walked in fields of gold
 
►A Thousand Years and A Perfect Love Gone Wrong (156 words)
 
(It can't be the show we planned. It's gonna be a different show, but we'll do something.)
 
A thousand years, a thousand more,
A thousand times a million doors to eternity
I may have lived a thousand lives, a thousand times
An endless turning stairway climbs
To a tower of souls
If it takes another thousand years, a thousand wars,
The towers rise to numberless floors in space
Shed another million tears, a million breaths,
A million names but only one truth to face
 
A million roads, a million fears
A million suns, ten million years of uncertainty
I could speak a million lies, a million songs,
A million rights, a million wrongs in this balance of time
But if there was a single truth, a single light
A single thought, a singular touch of grace
Following this single point, this single flame,
The single haunted memory of your face
 
I still love you
I still want you
A thousand times the mysteries unfold themselves
Like galaxies in my head
 
And on and on the mysteries unwind themselves
Eternities still unsaid
'Til you love me
 
I got a question that’s been preying on my mind for some time
I won’t be wagging my tail for one good reason
It has to be a crime
 
This doghouse never was the place for me,
A runner up and second best just ain’t my pedigree
We were so happy, just the two of us
Until this alpha male
Turned up in the January sale
 
He won’t love you
Like I love you,
Won’t be long now before that puppy goes astray
And what I like about this guy the most?
He'd be my favourite lamppost
Devil take the hindmost
 
(introducing musicians)
 
To have found this perfect life
And a perfect love so strong
Well there can't be nothing worse
Than a perfect love gone wrong  (2x)
 
To have found
 
On and on the mysteries unwind themselves
Eternities still unsaid
'Til you love me
'Til you love me
'Til you love me
 
(Strange singing A Thousand Years. Some, some of the lyrics seem to be too close to something else. Disturbed by it. I'm sorry. We planned to do a song called All This Time, which is really about my father, who left us a long time ago. So we're gonna sing it for him. Ok Manu)

El Condor Pasa (If I Could),  Music 1913 (El Condor Pasa) by Daniel Alomía Robles, Arrangement by Jorge Milchberg, Words 1970 (If I Could) by Paul Simon, sung by Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel (45 words)

I'd rather be a sparrow than a snail
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would

CHORUS
Away, I'd rather sail away
Like a swan that's here and gone
A man gets tied up to the ground
He gives the world its saddest sound
It's saddest sound

I'd rather be a hammer than a nail
Yes, I would
If I only could
I surely would   CHORUS

I'd rather be a forest than a street
Yes, I would
If I could
I surely would   CHORUS

I'd rather feel the earth beneath my feet
Yes, I would
If I only could
I surely would

Bridge Over Troubled Water, (75 words)
"I will lay me down" is slang for "I will lie down".

When you're weary, feeling small,
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all
I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

When you're down and out
When you're on the street
When evening falls so hard
I will comfort you
I'll take your part
When darkness comes
And pain is all around
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down

Sail on, silvergirl
Sail on by
Your time has come to shine
All your dreams are on their way
See how they shine
If you need a friend
I'm sailing right behind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will ease your mind

That Silver-Haired Daddy Of Mine, (75 words)

In a vine covered shack in the mountains
Bravely fighting the battle of time
Is a dear one who's weathered my sorrows
'Tis that silver haired daddy of mine
 
If I could recall all the heartaches
Dear old daddy, I've caused you to bear
If I could erase those lines from your face
And bring back the gold to your hair

If God would but grant me the power
Just to turn back the pages of time
I'd give all I own if I could but atone
To that silver haired daddy of mine

Oh, I know it's too late, dear old daddy
To repay all those sorrows and cares
Though dear mother is waiting in heaven
Just to comfort and solace you there

If I could recall all the heartaches
Dear old daddy, I've caused you to bear
If I could erase those lines from your face
And bring back the gold to your hair

If God would but grant me the power
Just to turn back the pages of time
I'd give all I own if I could but atone
To that silver haired daddy of mine

I'd give all I own if I could but atone
To that silver haired daddy of mine.

Old Friends, (77 words)

Old friends
Old friends
Sat on their park bench
Like bookends
The newspaper blown through the grass
Falls on the round toes
Of the high shoes
Of the old friends

Old friends
Winter companions
The old men
Lost in their overcoats
Waiting for the sunset
The sounds of the city
Sifting through trees
Settle like dust
On the shoulders
Of the old friends

Can you imagine us
Years from today
Sharing a park bench quietly?
How terribly strange
To be seventy

Old friends
Memory brushes the same years
Silently sharing the same fear

Time it was
And what a time it was
It was . . .
A time of innocence
A time of confidences

Long ago . . . it must be . . .
I have a photograph
Preserve your memories
They're all that's left you

I Am A Rock, (84 words)

A winter's day
In a deep and dark December
I am alone
Gazing from my window
To the streets below
On a freshly fallen, silent shroud of snow
I am a rock
I am an island

I've built walls
A fortress, steep and mighty
That none may penetrate
I have no need of friendship
Friendship causes pain.
It's laughter and it's loving I disdain.
I am a rock
I am an island

Don't talk of love
Well, I've heard the words before
It's sleeping in my memory
And I won't disturb the slumber
Of feelings that have died
If I never loved, I never would have cried
I am a rock
I am an island

I have my books
And my poetry to protect me
I am shielded in my armor
Hiding in my room
Safe within my womb
I touch no one and no one touches me
I am a rock
I am an island

And a rock feels no pain
And an island never cries

These songs are not well-known, but they can help students learn English.

Smiling Brings you Happiness (9 words)
The recording starts in Japanese: Warau kado niwa fuku kitaru
English starts at 15 seconds.
 
Smiling brings you happiness, let it show the way.

12 Ways to Bliss (61 words)
The song starts at 1:40
 
When you want to be happy there's 1 thing you can do
Smile from ear to ear

When you want to be happy there's 2 things you can do
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
When you want to be happy there's 3 things you can do
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
When you want to be happy there's 4 things you can do
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
When you want to be happy there's 5 things you can do
Dare to show your love
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
END OF RECORDING. The following words are at
http://mikesclass.pbworks.com/f/12Ways_AnchorPt.pdf
 
When you want to be happy there's 6 things you can do
Kiss the setting sun
Dare to show your love
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
When you want to be happy there's 7 things to do
Jump up in the air
Kiss the setting sun
Dare to show your love
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
When you want to be happy there's 8 things you can do
Tickle a friend
Jump up in the air
Kiss the setting sun
Dare to show your love
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
When you want to be happy there's 9 things you can do
Be a bit bizarre
Tickle a friend
Jump up in the air
Kiss the setting sun
Dare to show your love
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
When you want to be happy there's 10 things you can do
Wish upon a star
Be a bit bizarre
Tickle a friend
Jump up in the air
Kiss the setting sun
Dare to show your love
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
 When you want to be happy there's 11 things to do
Taste a lovely dream
Wish upon a star
Be a bit bizarre
Tickle a friend
Jump up in the air
Kiss the setting sun
Dare to show your love
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear
 
When you want to be happy there's 12 things you can do
Act as if you are
Taste a lovely dream
Wish upon a star
Be a bit bizarre
Tickle a friend
Jump up in the air
Kiss the setting sun
Dare to show your love
Sing a melody
Look up at the sky
Breathe in deep and
Smile from ear to ear

Lonely Man, (47 words)

It's a lonely man
Who wanders all around
It's a lonely man
Who roams from town to town
Searchin', always searchin'
For something he can't find
Hopin', always hopin'
That some day fate will be kind

It's a lonely man
Who travels all alone
When he has no one
That he can call his own

Always so unhappy
Taking shelter where he can
Here I am
Come meet a lonely, lonely man

Always so unhappy
Taking shelter where he can
Here I am
Come meet a lonely, lonely man

Here I am
Come meet a lonely, lonely man

Indescribably Blue, (56 words)

Our friends all ask me
The last time I saw you
And I smile and tell them
It's been a day or two

There's no way to explain it
The way that I miss you
And my love, you have left me
Indescribably blue

I talk to your picture
My fav'rite one of you
I wish that you were here with me
But what good will it do

Having no way to tell you
The pain that I've been through
Oh, my love, you have left me
Indescribably blue
Yes, my love, you have left me
Indescribably blue

Love Me Tender, (58 words)

Love me tender,
love me sweet,
never let me go.
You have made my life complete,
and I love you so.

Love me tender,
love me true,
all my dreams fulfilled.
For my darlin' I love you,
and I always will.

Love me tender,
love me long,
take me to your heart.
For it's there that I belong,
and we'll never part.

Love me tender,
love me dear,
tell me you are mine.
I'll be yours through all the years,
till the end of time.

(When at last my dreams come true
Darling this I know
Happiness will follow you
Everywhere you go).

Return To Sender, (69 words)
"Special D" means fast mail, "special delivery"

Return to sender
Return to sender

I gave a letter to the postman,
He put it his sack.
Bright in early next morning,
He brought my letter back.

She wrote upon it:
Return to sender, address unknown.
No such number, no such zone.

We had a quarrel, a lovers' spat
I write I'm sorry but my letter keeps coming back.

So then I dropped it in the mailbox
And sent it special D.
Bright in early next morning
It came right back to me.

She wrote upon it:
Return to sender, address unknown.
No such person, no such zone.

This time I'm gonna take it myself
And put it right in her hand.
And if it comes back the very next day
Then I'll understand the writing on it

Return to sender, address unknown.
No such number, no such zone.

Return to sender
Return to sender
Return to sender
Return to sender