Song lyrics and subtext

This post is in answer to a question about how to work with advanced (Czech speaking) seniors, who are students of English, and the song, "This Woman's Work."

This is the idea for the song.
The lyric of 'This Woman's Work' is about being forced to confront an unexpected and frightening crisis during the normal event of childbirth. Used in the movie _She’s Having a Baby_, director John Hughes used the song during the film’s dramatic climax, when Jake (Kevin Bacon) learns that the lives of his wife (Elizabeth McGovern) and their unborn child are in danger.
As the song plays, we see a montage sequence of flashbacks showing the couple in happier times, intercut with shots of him waiting for news of Elizabeth and their baby’s condition. Bush wrote the song specifically for the sequence, writing from a man’s (Jake’s) viewpoint and matching the words to the visuals which had already been filmed.
The lyrics of the song ask the reader to ask questions of what is said, to think about meaning. (Here are the lyrics!) For example,

Who is singing? Father.
What is he singing about? Lover/wife/mother/pregnant woman.
What does he feel? Regret . . . and maybe losing her and being left with their child. They should have treasured the moments together before this happened.
What do you think happened? etc.

How does this relate to seniors? The song is about potential or actual loss of loved ones including children and partners. This is a life event seniors face. Women's work is to make houses into homes. They bring children into our (men's) world and raise them. But sometimes, it's a man's job to do the work in the family that women do or did.
This is an advanced reading because although the words are simple, what is being said has to be filled in by the person reading or listening. Meaning in language is sometimes in the subtext. And you have to have a conversation with the text in order to uncover it.
How to treat this in an advanced reading class? Well, there are many possibilities. I do not think advanced students should be translating. If they want to translate, it should be from English to English. We can discuss this "philosophy," but you may find the task of reading and interpreting and understanding too difficult for your students.

Comments

Women's work--chceš facku?

A note about this phrase. . . You can use it to describe work that women do. You can say this without it being negative or critical. You can also say this when your partner is the person doing all the cooking, cleaning, and childcare. Try it and see what happens. Chceš facku? It is possible she will look at you as if you are a caveman living in the distant past. Be careful, she can give you a good slap in the face.

What is your level of English use?

Are you a never-ever or beginning English user? OR Are you bilingual or have almost no trace of any errors when speaking, reading, writing, and listening to English? If you are somewhere in-between these extremes, you are probably at one of the following levels. Which is your level of English ability do you think? BASIC USER (pre-intermediate+) A1 Breakthrough A2 Waystage INDEPENDENT USER (intermediate/upper-intermediate) B1 Threshold B2 Vantage (fluency and spontaneity in use) PROFICIENT USER (advanced) C1 Advanced C2 Mastery Take this assessment to find your level of English use. https://www.languagelevel.com/english/index.php Tell your instructor the result of this assessment. Your level will help your instructor work with you to improve your English. _____ Reference for the levels: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_as_a_second_or_foreign_language/

Language in culture

The sheriff is shot. But the music is great. [Précis. Language is embedded in culture also. Serious students of a language need to dig deeper to get it, or have the benefit of some help.] I have taught English as a foreign language for over twenty years. This has been both a secondary occupation and sometimes a first. In any event there are two teaching/learning opportunities I do not practice, which in fact weakens my effectiveness. I don't play games and I don't (often) listen to music. Thus, my efforts to help students learn are reduced, for both of these ways of learning a language are proven successful techniques. Recently I asked a student who is passionate about music about the song "Knockin' on Heaven's Door." He said, "Oh, we all know that. It is the first song I learned to play on the guitar." I then asked him what the song was about. He said he didn't know, but that it was something about being dead. I asked dead or dying. He d...

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