The 10 most famous English songs and their meaning | EF English Live (2023) (2023)

Writing song lyrics is a tricky business; finding the words that convey exactly what the composer feels, adapting them to a certain melody and rhythm, and that the sound of the words is also pleasant to the ear.

Lyrics can be the starting point of a song – the first words, suggesting a certain feeling or mood, and inspiring a melody. This is the power of words. The lyrics of the great songs withWords in Englishit has the power to move you – be it a tear of happiness or sadness, this is the composer's gift.

Other English songs are just plain catchy – the chorus lyrics that stick in your head, even if they are completely nonsense – naaa na na na-na-naaaaaa not exactly the most inspiring lyrics ever sung, but thanks to The Beatles are among some of the most sung songs in the world!

The best lyrics read like the best poetry, and many would argue that artists of the stature ofNeil YoungyBob Dylanthey are poets as well as composers. To demonstrate just how difficult and rare it is to craft exquisite handwriting like theirs, it's worth looking at the other end of the scale:

I don’t want to see a ghost/It’s the sight that I fear most/I’d rather have a piece of toast…

There are more bad than good lyrical attempts – and that's why we appreciate those great lyrics even more. Here are some of the best of all time and a little explanation about each one. We'd love to hear your favorites too, and what they mean to you and why.

1. The Beach Boys – Surf’s Up

Columnated ruins domino…

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Quite simply one of the most beautiful lyrics ever written – and one of the rarest too. With surreal symbolism, it is the product of the truly unique imagination of the lyrical genius.Van Dyke Parks(with the help of some illegal substances). Creating image upon image, the words flowing, perfectly adapting to the incredible ode to the sea ofBrian Wilson.

The song's lyrics were so unusual that it actually caused friction within the band with theBeach Boy,Mike Love, complaining that it was absurd, and that it would alienate his fans. The song was shelved for a few years as a result, but luckily it couldn't be hidden for long!

2. Bob Dylan – Masters of War

I think you will find/When your death takes its toll/All the money you made/Will never buy back your soul…

The protest song to end all protest songs,Dylanhe expressed the concern of a generation when he wrote this anti-war lyric. With Vietnam raging, and the draft forcing young Americans to fight a war they didn't understand, the lyrics perfectly capture all of their rage, fear and disgust.

Sung in the first person, from the point of view of a young man who doesn't want to be forced to join the army, it makes the song even more personal. The melody here is so simple, and yet this song has been covered by so many artists – all thanks to those incredibly powerful lyrics.

3. The Beatles – Hey Jude

Take a sad song, and make it better…

WhileJohn Lennoninitially believed that this song was written for him at the beginning of his relationship withYoko Ono,Paul McCartneyin fact he wrote this Beatles classic for theLennon's son Julian. Originally titled 'Hey Jude', the song was written to comfort young Julian when his parents divorced – and its lyrics have comforted many others since.

It was also written at the time of the new relation ofMcCartneyconLinda Eastman, is a song that offers support, advice and a strong belief in love – another famous lyric about love.

It seems we can't escape from him! ButHey Judeis best known for its ending – over four minutes of famous 'na na na's' stretches the song to over seven minutes in length, in that time making it the longest single to ever chart from the UK charts, giving the Beatles their biggest hit in the US as well.

4. Johnny Cash – I Still Miss Someone

There’s someone for me somewhere/And I still miss someone…

Another simple tune that is transformed by its painful lyrics, this is one of Johnny Cash's most famous and most performed songs. Surely there have been more lyrics written about love than anything else, and the ones that stick with us are almost always about love lost.

In this case, the lyric hits the mark, because it's so honest and sincere – everyone who's ever lost someone can relate to it. One of the favorites ofBob Dylan.Joni Mitchell, Emmylou Harris, Dolly Parton, Gram Parson y Stevie Nicksare just a few of the artists who have performed this country music classic.

5. Johnny Mandel and Mike Altman – Suicide is Painless (Theme from M*A*S*H)

The game of life is hard to play/I’m going to lose it anyway…

One of the most famous film and television themes in history, thetema de M*A*S*Hit also has some very unexpected lyrics. When director Robert Altman was looking for a song for one of the film's characters to sing in a scene, he told composer Mandel that it had to be called "Sucide is Painless," and that it had to be "the stupidest song ever." never written."

Altman tried writing the lyrics himself, but found it too hard for his 45-year-old brain to write "stupid enough." Instead, he gave the assignment to his 14-year-old son, Michael, who instead produced one of the most famous lyrics to ever come out of a 14-year-old boy! The famously melancholic song is written from the point of view of a person considering suicide. Reflecting the futility of war and the meaninglessness of life, this theme of darkly humorous story of soldiers facing the hardships of Vietnam is made all the more poignant by the fact that it was written by someone so young.

6. The Smiths – There Is a Light That Never Goes Out

Take me out, tonight…

It's rare to find a band that is critically acclaimed for both their songs and their music - but thanks toMorrisseymagic wordsmith,The SmithsThey have achieved just that. An avid reader, a huge fan of poetry and a romantic at heart, Morrissey has written some of the most famous songs to come out of the British music scene in the last 30 years. His song titles alone contain more poetry than most lyric sheets.–Shoplifters of the World Unite, Last Night I Dreamt That Somebody Loved Me, There Is a Light That Never Goes Out–that have even inspired countless tattoos.There Is a Lightis one of his most widely covered songs, with lyrics that were apparently inspired by one of Morrissey's heroes,James DeaninRebel Without a Cause.Appealing to teens everywhere, the lyrics speak of adolescent alienation – the need to run away, the experience of life's first excesses and thrills, when you no longer feel comfortable in the family home.

7. REM – It’s the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)

That’s great, it starts with an earthquake, birds and snakes…

REMhas written some of the most successful songs of the last few decades, and it's largely thanks to the (often bad) lyrics of the songs onMichael Stipe. Stipe seems to pride himself on writing songs that are a bit murky – very symbolic, with hidden meanings. It’s the End of the Worldis no exception, and as one of their most upbeat and popular songs, it has lyrics that put even the biggest REM fans to the test. Apparently, some kind of homage to the famousSubterranean Homesick Blueswith excess of lyricalBob Dylan, you will soon be breathless singing it! What does it all mean? As with many REM lyrics, it's not known for sure.

There are lots of little snippets of stories, some complaints about capitalism, other things, and some words included just because they sound so good when connected in the song:“The ladder starts to clatter with fear fight down height”.

8. Neil Young – Old Man

Old man look at my life, I’m a lot like you…

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It has often been ranked right up there withBob Dylan, in terms of his deep lyrical writing, Neil has a gift for tugging on those sensitive heartstrings. He's never afraid to show his emotions, which is what helps make his words so powerful – truthful, and from the bottom of the heart.Old Man It was a song written for the old manager who took care of the ranchBroken Arrow, which Neil bought in 1970 and still lives on today. He compares the life of an old man with that of a young man, and finds that they are more alike in their needs than they realize.

9. Joni Mitchell – Big Yellow Taxi

They paved paradise, and put up a parking lot…

A fellow Canadian performer of Neil's, and a good friend of his within the folk scene,Joni MitchellHe has written a good part of the famous songs. Perhaps the best known letter is the one she wrote forBig Yellow Taxi.Writing about her concern for pollution and the environment, Joni explains: “I wrote 'Big Yellow Taxi' on my first trip to Hawaii.

I took a taxi to the hotel and when I woke up the next morning, I drew the curtains and saw those beautiful green mountains in the distance. Then I looked down and there was a huge parking lot, and it broke my heart… this stain on paradise.” The lines "you don’t know what you’ve got til it’s gone” apply to a whole host of circumstances, in addition to the destruction of the earth – helping the song become a universal favorite.

10. The Muppets – Mah Nà Mah Nà

Mah Nà Mah Nà…!

Los Muppetsthey're here to prove that songs don't have to be about love, pain, loss, or be in any way profound to be popular.Mah Na Mah Na is one of the most famous Muppet ditties, loved all over the world, that means nothing. Actually, a song written by Piero Umiliani for an Italian movie, which contains only nonsense words. It just goes to show that sometimes hit songs just need to sound good, becoming musical instruments in their own right, rather than having any special meaning. It's almost impossible not to sing along with them!

Listen to all these songs, analyze the meaning of their lyrics in English and continue to discover new ways abouthow to learn to speak english successfully.

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