Song: Soak up the Sun
Artist: Sheryl Crow
Year: 2002
Album: C’mon, C’mon
Language Feature: Vocabulary
Episode Description
Episode Transcript
<intro>
E: Hi! I’m Ece.
H: And I’m Heather. Welcome to another episode of, “English as a Singing Language.”
E: I’m so happy we have the opportunity to create another season of the podcast.
H: Me too! I love talking about -
E: - and singing!
H: Yes! And singing songs from different genres and time periods.
E: All while practicing English pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary and fluency.
H: It’s so much fun! So, what is the focus of the song in this episode?
E: This song is from the early 2000s, and the focus is on useful vocabulary.
H: That sounds great! I can’t wait to find out what the song is!
E: Me neither! Let’s get started!!
<end intro>
H: <humming “Soak up the Sun”> Oh! Hi Ece! How’s it going? Isn’t it a beautiful day?
E: Wow! Heather, you seem so cheerful today! What’s going on?
H: Have you been outside yet today, Ece? It’s a beautiful, sunny warm day!
E: It is a perfect summer day, for sure. Where are you going? Are you off to soak up some sun?
H: Haha, yes! In fact, that’s the name of the song I was just listening to, Sheryl Crow’s 2002 hit song, “Soak up the Sun.”
E: I thought so. That’s a great song. And it’s perfect for a lovely day like today.
H: In fact, Sheryl Crow and her co-writer, Jeff Trott, got the idea for this song while they were flying from the west coast of the US to the east coast. They were discussing how different the weather was in the two places.
E: And, according to Wikipedia, QUOTE “Crow was recovering from surgery at the time, inspiring her and Trott to write a happy song that would cheer her up. In the song, Crow has no money to afford any luxuries or necessities, but she decides that sadness is not productive, so she reflects on what she currently has and ‘puts on a happy face’ that she plans to spread to others.”
H: In addition to being a cheerful song about appreciating what you have, there is also a lot of really useful vocabulary.
E: That’s right. So, let’s start with the refrain.
H: Ok. It begins, “I'm gonna soak up the sun. I'm gonna tell everyone to lighten up.”
E: There are two great phrasal verbs in that line. “Soak up” means “to absorb,” like a sponge in water.
H: Or here, Sheryl Crow is going to go out into the sun and soak up the warmth and the energy.
E: And then “to lighten up” means to not be so serious.
H: My family always tells me to lighten up. Sometimes I’m too serious.
E: Me too! We need to go out to the park, soak up some sun and lighten up.
H: That sounds great. How about the next line, “I'm gonna tell 'em that I've got no one to blame.”
E: There’s great reduced pronunciation in that line. “I’m gonna tell ‘em.”
H: Instead of, “I am going to tell them,” she sings, “I’m gonna tell ‘em,” which is much more like natural conversation.
E: And she has no one to blame, meaning that she is taking responsibility for her problems or difficulties.
H: Right. It’s easy to blame other people when things go wrong, but it’s important not to blame others for your own mistakes.
E: Agree. And the last line of the refrain is, “For every time I feel lame, I'm looking up.”
H: What does she mean when she says that she feels “lame”?
E: “Lame” has a slang meaning of being “awkward, dull or not interesting.” It was a very popular word in the early 2000s. You don’t hear it so much now.
H: That’s true. It sounds kind of lame to use that word now. And there’s another great phrasal verb, “to look up,” in that line. “Looking up” literally means lifting your head and looking up above you.
E: But “looking up” also means that something is improving or getting better.
H: If I say, “Things are looking up,” it means that it seems like the situation is becoming better.
E: I’d say things are looking up today with the great weather we’re having.
H: I think so, too.
E: Ok. In the first verse, she sings, “My friend, the communist holds meetings in his RV.”
H: There are a lot of interesting words in this line. I guess first of all, what is a “communist”?
E: Well, communism is a form of government where basically everything is shared equally by everyone in the society.
H: Interesting, so why do you think she mentions that her friend is a “communist”?
E: Actually, some people think that “Soak up the Sun” is not just a song about being positive, but it’s also talking about income inequality. You know, how a few people have a LOT of money, while most others don’t have enough money.
H: Huh. So, maybe that is why her friend has his meetings in an “RV”?
E: Haha, maybe. “RV” stands for “recreational vehicle.” It’s a very large car, like a bus, that has a little kitchen, a sofa and a bed in it. You can travel long distances and actually live in it.
H: Hmmm…so he doesn’t have enough money to have a house or an office, so he holds meetings in his RV.
E: Right. And next she sings, “So, I'm stuck here watching TV. I don't have digital. I don't have diddly squat.”H: Haha, “diddly squat,” I haven’t heard that expression in a long time.
E: Me neither. It’s a very funny word that means “absolutely nothing.”
H: For example, my son might say, “Mom! What’s going on? There’s diddly squat to eat in this house.”
E: Or, if you asked me about a question on a test, I could say, “I don’t know the answer. I’ve got diddly squat for question number two.”
H: I really like the next two lines, “It's not having what you want, it's wanting what you've got.” Do you think that’s true, Ece?
E: I do. We often find ourselves wanting more, more, more all the time.
H: And maybe if we focused on what we do have, we would be happier.
E: I definitely think that’s true.
H: In the second verse she sings, “I've got a crummy job.”
E: “Crummy” is a great adjective.
H: It is. “Crummy” means “really bad” or “of poor quality.” I could say, “I can’t drive too far in my crummy car. It’s old and I’m afraid it will break down.”
E: Or, “Agh! This crummy pencil keeps breaking and I can’t write with it.”
H: That’s a good one. And the next line, “It don't pay near enough to win me some of your love.”
E: Heather, I feel like you’re going to say something about the grammar of the sentence, “It don’t pay near enough.”
H: You know me so well, Ece. We should point out that the grammar we would teach in class is, “It doesn’t pay nearly enough.”
E: But you will hear, “It don’t pay near enough,” in conversation, and it fits the lyrics here perfectly.
H: And I think it’s interesting that she feels like she needs to have more money to be able to get love from another person.
E: Yeah, that’s not good. She should find someone who loves her for who she is, not for what she has.
H: I agree. In the refrain for this verse she adds, “I'm gonna soak up the sun while it's still free.”
E: “I'm gonna soak up the sun before it goes out on me.”
H: Some people have said that this is another comment that Sheryl Crow is making about how difficult it is to make money and how things are not fair economically.
E: It seems like she’s saying that people might have to pay for the sun in the future.
H: Right. And the sun might even go out in the future, so she should enjoy it now.
E: Interesting. Now the third verse goes, “Don't have no master suite, but I'm still the king of me.”
H: A “master suite” is the largest bedroom in a house, and since it is a “suite,” that means it has a bathroom attached to it.
E: We should mention that the term, “master suite” isn’t used in real estate anymore. It has been replaced by the term, “primary bedroom.”
H: So, you won’t hear the term, “master suite,” to talk about a house too much anymore.
In the song, though, she “doesn’t have” a master suite, but she’s still in charge.
E: I like that expression, “I’m the king of me.”
H: It means you control your own life and make your own decisions.
E: How about the next line, “You have a fancy ride, but baby, I'm the one who has the key.”
H: A “fancy ride” is another way to say, “a very nice car.”
E: Hmmmm…so maybe the other person has a great car, a fancy ride, but she still has some control, some power because she has the key to the car.
H: You can’t drive a car without a key.
E: The last lines to talk about are, “Every time I turn around, I'm looking up, you're looking down.”
H: I use the expression, “every time I turn around,” all the time.
E: Yes. It means, “extremely often,” or “all the time.”
H: For example, I feel like every time I turn around, I have to buy milk. We use a lot of milk at our house.
E: Same. And what do you think it means when she says, “I’m looking up, you’re looking down.”
H: I think she’s trying to express that they don’t agree on anything.
E: Or maybe they have different interests or different goals.
H: That’s what it seems like to me.
E: And the last lines, “Maybe something's wrong with you that makes you act the way you do,” makes me think that she feels like they really do have different ideas.
H: Saying that there is something wrong with someone or something is a pretty strong thing to say.
E: Like I could say, “What’s wrong with you today, Heather? You’ve made 5 mistakes already in this recording!”
H: Haha. And I would just say, “I want you to have lots of material for the Season 3 Bloopers episode, Ece!”
E: That’s very thoughtful of you, Heather. And if you’d like to hear the funny mistakes we make while recording, listeners you can check out the Blooper episodes from Seasons 1 and 2.
H: They’re pretty funny. And then she sings, “Maybe I am crazy too.”
E: Maybe it’s not all about the way the other person is acting, maybe it’s partially her responsibility.
H: Remember, she’s got no one to blame.
E: Right. Are we ready to sing?
H: I think we are! Listeners, there’s a link to Sheryl Crow’s 2002 hit, “Soak up the Sun” in the episode notes.
E: Remember to sing out loud and pay attention to the interesting vocabulary and expressions in this song.
E + H: “We’re gonna soak up the sun!”
<outro>
E: What a great song!
H: It’s so upbeat and it’s perfect for a sunny summer day.
E: Are you ready to go “soak up some sun” in the park?
H: Absolutely! Before we go though, let’s remind listeners to like and subscribe to the podcast wherever they listen to us.
E: Great idea! And listeners, you should follow us on Instagram to find out when new episodes will be released.
H: And there are useful resources like transcripts on the Singing Languages website.
E: Finally, you can get in touch with us at singinglanguages@gmail.com.
H: We’d love to hear from you. What songs are you listening to?
E: Which songs help you to learn English? Let us know!
H: Until next time, have fun and…
E + H: …just keep singing!!
Official YouTube Video
Complete Lyrics
My friend, the communist
Holds meetings in his RV
I can't afford his gas
So, I'm stuck here watching TV
I don't have digital
I don't have diddly squat
It's not having what you want
It's wanting what you've got
Refrain:
I'm gonna soak up the sun
I'm gonna tell everyone to lighten up
I'm gonna tell 'em that I've got no one to blame
For every time I feel lame I'm looking up
I'm gonna soak up the sun
I'm gonna soak up the sun
I've got a crummy job
It don't pay near enough
To buy the things it takes
To win me some of your love
Every time I turn around
I'm looking up, you're looking down
Maybe something's wrong with you
That makes you act the way you do
Refrain:
I'm, I'm gonna soak up the sun
I'm gonna tell everyone to lighten up
I'm gonna tell 'em that I've got no one to blame
For every time I feel lame I'm looking up
I'm gonna soak up the sun
While it's still free
I'm gonna soak up the sun
Before it goes out on me
Don't have no master suite
But I'm still the king of me
You have a fancy ride
But baby, I'm the one who has the key
Every time I turn around
I'm looking up, you're looking down
Maybe something's wrong with you
That makes you act the way you do
Maybe I am crazy too
Refrain:
I'm gonna soak up the sun
I'm gonna tell everyone to lighten up
I'm gonna tell 'em that I've got no one to blame
For every time I feel lame I'm looking up
I'm gonna soak up the sun
I'm gonna tell everyone to lighten up (to lighten up)
I'm gonna tell 'em that I've got no one to blame
For every time I feel lame I'm looking up (I'm looking up)
I'm gonna soak up the sun
I got my 45 on
So I can rock on
Songwriters: Sheryl Crow / Jeff Trott
Soak Up the Sun lyrics © Chrysalis One Music Publishing Group Ireland, Reservoir 416, Cyrillic Soup, Reservoir Media Management (ireland) Limited, Trottsky Music, Ole Media Management Lp Ii, Anthem Music Publishing
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