Songs to practise simple past

Now that we are facing a long week, I thought it would be a good idea to practise our English with songs. I propose three songs :


Level 1 : Easy

This one I selected an easy one: Cold Play's Paradise. The exercise I propose is simply that you fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. Are you ready ?

Complete the song using the verbs in the box in the SIMPLE PAST AFFIRMATIVE

be       can     close             dream            expect          fly       run     say

Coldplay’s Paradise

When she ______ (1) just a girl
She __expected__ (0) the world
But it _______ (2) away from her reach
So she ______ (3) away in her sleep
________ (4) of para- para- paradise
Para- para- paradise
Para- para- paradise
Every time she ________ (5) her eyes
Whoa-oh-oh oh-oooh oh-oh-oh

When she ______ (1) just a girl
She expected the world
But it _____ (2) away from her reach
And the bullets catch in her teeth

Life goes on
It gets so heavy
The wheel breaks the butterfly
Every tear, a waterfall
In the night, the stormy night
She _____ (5) her eyes
In the night, the stormy night
Away she'd fly.

And _______ (4)of para- para- paradise
Para- para- paradise
Para- para- paradise
Whoa-oh-oh oh-oooh oh-oh-oh (repeat)

La lalaLa
Lalala

So lying underneath those stormy skies.
She ________(6) oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh.
I know the sun must set to rise.This _______(7) be para- para- paradise
Para- para- paradiseWhoa-oh-oh oh-ooohohoh-oh. (repeat x5)

Here you have the lyrics of the song so thatyou can correct it by yourselves.


Level 2 : Intermediate

1. Listen to the video above and fill in the gaps of the song by using the simple past of the verbs in the box

be (x4)           can     feel     not have(x2)            happen         say     (x2) tell

"Somebody That I Used To Know"
(feat. Kimbra)

[Gotye:]
Now and then I think of when we _______ (1) together
Like when you _____ (2) you felt so happy you could die
______ (3) myself that you were right for me
But _____ (4) so lonely in your company
But that was love and it's an ache I still remember.

You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness
Like resignation to the end, always the end
So when we felt that we _____(5) not make sense
Well you said that we would still be friends
But I'll admit that I _____ (6) glad that it was over

You ________ (7) to cut me off
Make out like it never _________ (8) and that we _____ (9) nothing
And I don't even need your love
But you treat me like a stranger and that feels so rough
No you ________ (10) to stoop so low
Have your friends collect your records and then change your number
I guess that I don't need that though
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know
Now you're just somebody that I used to know

[Kimbra:]
Now and then I think of all the times you screwed me over
But had me believing it ____(11) always something that I’d done
But I don't wanna live that way
Reading into every word you say
You ______ (12) that you could let it go
And I wouldn't catch you hung up on somebody that you used to know

Chorus

Somebody
(I used to know)
Somebody
(Now you're just somebody that I used to know)

(I used to know)
(That I used to know)
(I used to know)
Somebody

Answers:

1) Check the lyrics of the song in this link:

Level 3 : Difficult
Fill in the gaps of this song with the appropriate verb in the simple past:

 

Set fire to the rain


I let it fall, my heart,
And as it fell you rose to claim it
It was dark and I was over
Until you ____________ my lips and you __________ me
My hands, they're strong
But my knees ___________ far too weak
To stand in your arms
Without falling to your feet
But there's a side to you
That I never _________, never _______________
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true
And the games you play
You would always win, always win
But I set fire to the rain
___________ it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name,
Your name
When I lay with you
I ____________stay there
Close my eyes
Feel you here forever
You and me together nothing gets better
'Cause there's a side to you
That I never _________, never ___________
All the things you'd say
They were never true, never true
And the games you play 

You would always win, always win
But I set fire to the rain
_________- it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming out your name,
Your name
I set fire to the rain
And I ____________ us into the flames

Well, it felt something died
'Cause I knew that that was
The last time, the last time
Sometimes I wake up by the door,
That heart you _________ must be waiting for you
Even now when we're already over
I can't help myself from looking for you
I set fire to the rain
___________ it pour as I touched your face
Well, it burned while I cried
'Cause I heard it screaming Out your name,
Your name
I set fire to the rain,

And I threw us into the flames
Well, it felt something died
'Cause I knew that, that was the last time
The last time
Let it burn
Let it burn
Let it burn

Here you have the answers:

 I hope you have enjoyed learning English with songs.