Song: Winter Things
Artist: Ariana Grande
Year: 2015
Album: Christmas and Chill
Language Feature: Winter vocabulary
Episode Description
What’s the weather like where you are? It’s definitely winter where we are, and Ece is once again trying to get Heather to enjoy the cold and snow. In this episode, we’re using Ariana Grande’s hit song, “Winter Things,” to talk about useful words for everyday conversation, and some special winter-themed vocabulary, too!
Grab your hat and your gloves and get ready to visualize yourself doing some winter things like skating, skiing… and singing!!
Video Version of the Episode
Episode Transcript
<Intro>
E: Hi! I’m Ece.
H: And I’m Heather.
E: We’re co-hosts of the podcast, “English as a Singing Language.”
H: That’s right. We’re both language teachers who love using music to teach and learn languages.
E: In each episode of the podcast, we choose a song -
H: -and we try to choose songs from different time periods and genres of music -
E: Yes, we use a variety of different songs to teach language features like pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and fluency.
H: So, what is the language focus for this episode, Ece?
E: In today’s episode, we’re going to introduce some fun and useful vocabulary.
H: Oh! I love talking about the meaning of words and how to use them.
E: Me too! I can’t wait!
H: Me neither. Let’s get started.
<end intro>
E: (humming Ariana Grande’s song “Winter Things”) Oh! Hi Heather! What are you doing outside on a day like today? It’s freezing! You look m-m-m-miserable.
H: Agh! I feel m-m-miserable. You know how I feel about cold weather.
E: I do. Can you believe that Season 1, Episode 9 was released a year ago already?
H: That’s amazing. A whole year has passed. That episode was about the song, “Let it Snow!” which is a winter-themed song.
E: And here we are, one year later, and we’ve got another winter song that might make you forget about how m-m-miserable you are from the cold.
H: Really? I don’t think that’s possible. But, I did just hear you humming a song that sounded very catchy. What song was that?
E: It was the song, “Winter Things,” by Ariana Grande from her 2015 Holiday album, “Christmas and Chill.”
H: Oh! I’ve heard that song before. It’s very cute, and there’s a lot of winter vocabulary in it.
E: There are also some examples of natural language use to talk about.
H: We both really love talking about how people use language in everyday conversational situations.
E: What do we know about Ariana Grande, Heather?
H: Well, she was born in the United States in Boca Raton, Florida.
E: She started her music career in 2015 in the Broadway musical, 13.
H: Yes. And she was also on television in a couple of popular TV shows on the Nickelodeon channel.
E: She’s now one of the most popular singers in the world.
H: She is, and she is very devoted to her fans. She had this to say to everyone, “Be happy with being you. Love your flaws. Own your quirks. And know that you are just as perfect as anyone else, exactly as you are.”
E: That’s a great quote. You should love yourself even with your flaws, or imperfect parts.
H: And your quirks or little weird, unusual things about yourself.
E: I agree with that! So, Heather, are you ready to see if Ariana Grande can make you love winter?
H: I don’t think that is possible, but I am willing to try.
E: Ok. Well, the song starts out, “It ain't even cold outside, not where I'm from. Feeling like it's mid-July under the sun. My jacket don't get no love, no hats and no gloves, not even a chance to rain.”
H: Wait a minute. This sounds like the kind of weather I like. She is from Florida, so I understand why she’s singing about, “feeling like it’s mid-July under the sun.”
E: Right? And I bet you noticed that she sang, “It ain’t even cold outside,” instead of what we might teach in a grammar class, “It isn’t even cold outside.”
H: I did notice that. You will hear “ain’t” instead of “isn’t” in a lot of songs and a lot of conversational English.
E: And how about, “My jacket don’t get no love.”
H: Yes, we would probably use “doesn’t,” as in, “My jacket doesn’t get any love.” And what does she mean by that anyway?
E: I think she means that since it is so warm, she doesn’t need her jacket, her hat, or her gloves.
H: That would be so great! I would love to not need my jacket, hat, scarf, gloves, boots…
E: She has a special person visiting her, so she wants to do some winter things.
H: She sings, “But my baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things.”
E: And that’s a great use of reduced pronunciation, “gonna” instead of “going to.”
H: Right. “And we are going to do some winter things,” doesn’t sound very natural.
E: No, it doesn’t. And she sings, “Hey-oh, I wanna pretend we’re at the North Pole.”
H: Using “wanna” instead of “want to.”
E: Yep. And if they “pretend” to be there, they are imagining it, they’re not actually at the North Pole.
H: Hmmm…I don’t even want to imagine that I am at the North Pole. I wanna imagine that I’m at the beach in the warm sun!
E: Then she sings, “Turning the heat into an ice cold holiday made just for me and my baby.”
H: Noooooo! That sounds terrible! Why would she want to turn heat into ice??
E: Well, she has some fun winter things she wants to do.
H: Okaaaay
E: How about, “Take me to the ice-skating rink downtown.”
H: Ice skating doesn’t sound too bad, but what is a “rink”? It sounds like “ring” with a “k.” Is that a place?
E: Exactly. An ice rink is a place where there is ice for people to skate on. It can be indoors or outdoors.
H: Well, skating around at the ice-skating rink does sound a little fun.
E: The next line is “Even though it’s 100 degrees.”
H: Wait a minute. 100 degrees celsius is extremely hot.
E: Yes, 100 degrees fahrenheit is about 38 degrees celsius.
H: Mmmmm…..now, that sounds great.
E: As Ariana sings, “Ain't no ice or no chills, no snowmen to build, most of our friends at the beach.”
H: I do remember having so much fun building a snowman in the winter when I was little.
E: I used to build a whole snow family when I was younger.
H: And I notice that she is using “ain’t” again, so instead of, “There isn’t any ice or any chills,” she sings, “Ain’t no ice or no chills.”
E: Yes. She is using more conversational English here, and it works well with the song.
H: So, they are still in a sunny, warm place, dreaming about winter things, right?
E: Yes. In the next verse, she sings, “Just imagine that we're laughing, in my cabin, chilling by the fireside.”
H: What is a “cabin,” Ece?
E: A cabin is a kind of small house that is made out of wood. A cabin is usually in the forest, far away from the city.
H: A warm cabin with a fire going sounds nice.
E: It does. And I like the way she uses the verb, “chilling,” too.
H: Oh yeah. That’s really cute. “To chill” can mean to relax, and it also means, “cold,” so it kind of has two meanings here.
E: I like that. And it’s interesting how you can take “fire” and “side” and put them together to make one word that means, “next to the fire.”
H: I wish I could sit fireside right now, with a cup of hot chocolate…
E: Well, the last two lines of the song are, “Even though this sun is blasting, we can be wherever if we visualize.”
H: Wow! I love her use of “blasting” here. She doesn’t just say, “The sun is very hot.”
E: No, a “blast” is a very strong or powerful burst of something, like an explosion.
H: So, could I say, “My neighbors were blasting their music last night?”
E: Yes, that’s a good example. Were they blasting Ariana Grande by any chance?
H: No, I think I wouldn’t mind if they blasted this song!
E: And she uses the word, “visualize,” which is similar to “imagine.”
H: It has the root, “vis” which means, “to see.”
E: There are lots of words like, visible, vision, and visit that all have to do with “seeing.”
H: Hmmmm..so she is visualizing being in a cold, wintery place with her special person.
E: And I guess if Ariana Grande can visualize being in a cold place, maybe you and I can imagine being somewhere warm, with the sun blasting.
H: Oooooh! That sounds perfect. But, before we start imagining ourselves at the beach, I think we should get ready to sing!
E: Absolutely! Ok listeners, there is a link to Ariana Grande’s 2015 song, “Winter Things,” in the episode notes.
H: As you sing, you can practice the useful vocabulary and the conversational English phrases.
E: Ok Heather, are you ready?
H: I am.
H + E: We’re gonna do some winter things!
<outtro>
E: So, Heather, how do you feel about winter after singing, “Winter Things”?
H: Well, I like the idea that I can visualize myself anywhere in the world.
E: We can pretend we’re at the North Pole!
H: Or, how about a cabin by the fireside?
E: That sounds great.
H: Ok, don’t forget to like and subscribe to the podcast.
E: And tell your friends and family about, “English as a Singing Language!”
H: Definitely! You can also follow us on Instagram, @singinglanguages.
E: And then, we have a YouTube channel. We’re in the process of adding all of our previous episodes to the channel, and all the new episodes will be there as soon as they are released.
H: Yep. And you can also listen to the podcast wherever you usually listen to podcasts.
E: Until next time, stay warm, have fun and…
E + H …just keep singing.
Official YouTube Video
Complete Lyrics
It ain't even cold outside, not where I'm from
Feeling like it's mid-July under the sun
My jacket don't get no love, no hats and no gloves, not even a chance to rain
But my baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things
Hey-oh, I wanna pretend we're at the North Pole
Turning the heat into an ice cold holiday
Made just for me and my baby
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
My baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things, hey
Take me to the ice-skating rink downtown (no, no, no, downtown)
Even though it's 100 degrees, gotta get out, ohh
Ain't no ice or no chills, no snowmen to build, most of our friends at the beach
But my baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things, hey yeah
Hey-oh, I wanna pretend we're at the North Pole
Turning the heat into an ice cold holiday
Made just for me and my baby
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
My baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things, hey, yeah
Just imagine that we're laughing
In my cabin, chilling by the fireside
Even though this sun is blasting
We can be wherever if we visualize
Hey-oh, I wanna pretend we're at the North Pole
Turning the heat into an ice cold holiday
Made just for me and my baby
Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
Ooh-ooh-ooh, ooh-ooh
My baby's in town and we're gonna do some winter things, hey, yeah
Songwriters: Victoria Mccants / Travis Sayles / Thomas Lee Brown / Ariana Grande / Steven Franks / Peter Lee Johnson
Winter Things lyrics © Reservoir Media Music, Emi April Music Inc., Universal Tunes, Darkchild Songs, Tbhits, Tsayles, Songs Of Universal Inc., Champagne Therapy Publishing, Pretty Suspect