Song: Wavin’ Flag Artist: K’Naan Year: 2009 Album: Troubador Language Feature: One-syllable comparative adjectives with -er
Episode Description
This week’s episode is a special edition of the podcast. Like many of you, we both felt sad and helpless after seeing the suffering caused by the devastating earthquakes that hit Türkiye and Syria last month. Therefore, we decided to take our feelings and put them into a podcast episode.
We are shining a bright light on an outstanding organization located in Hatay, Türkiye, called “Be the Voice of Girls.”
The episode introduces the 2009 hit song, “Wavin’ Flag,” by the Somali-Canadian performer, K’naan. The grammar focus is one-syllable comparative adjectives.
Take a moment to listen to the episode and find out about this inspiring organization and the amazing woman behind it.
Donating to the Earthquake Relief Efforts
English Language Fellows with assignments in Türkiye have set up a donation site to make a direct, local impact on the affected areas.
In addition, our contact with Be the Voice of Girls shared two organizations making a significant impact in Gaziantep, which was 20 miles from the epicenter of the February 6 earthquake.
These foundations don't use third party sites to accept donations, so information on how to access the bank information to make a wire transfer is included below.
Empati About Us page in English
Link to the Instagram post for information on how to donate
After clicking the link above, a pop-up window should appear with the bank information.
Episode Transcript
<intro>
H: Hi, I’m Heather.
E: And I’m Ece. We’d like to welcome you to a special edition of the English as a Singing Language Podcast.
H: That’s right. We love bringing people together to learn English through the shared enjoyment of music.
E: And this podcast has also helped us to make connections with people all over the world.
H: But in this special episode, we want to focus on one place, Hatay, Türkiye, which suffered two massive earthquakes on February 6th. We want to tell you about a really amazing person we were just getting to know, and the organization in Hatay that she co-created and was the director of.
E: We hope you’ll enjoy this episode. We feel, as always, that music can help us to heal, to bring people together and make tomorrow seem a little brighter.
H: Let’s get started.
<end intro>
H: (humming Wavin’ Flag) Hi Ece. What are you up to?
E: I’ve been looking at the news reports about the earthquake in Hatay, Türkiye. It’s so terrible.
H: I know. Your family is from Türkiye. Can you tell us a little bit about what you enjoy about the country?
E: Well, I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to many amazing and beautiful countries, but I can honestly say that Türkiye is the most beautiful place I have ever been to. Crossing the Bosphorus in Istanbul on a vapur, which is a boat or ferry used for transportation, seeing the ocean and historical scenery while watching the seagulls flying around and swooping down to eat bites of simit, which is a delicious, savory Turkish pastry - it is truly an unmatched feeling and experience. And how about you, Heather? I know you’ve visited Türkiye before.
H: I only visited the touristy places in Istanbul, but I also found it to be overwhelmingly beautiful. And the food! Every single thing I ate there was delicious. But most of all, I enjoyed meeting the people. Everybody was very friendly, and they were extremely patient when I tried to speak my 5 words of Turkish to them.
E: So, we were both very excited, about two months ago, when we got an email from an organization called, Be the Voice of Girls.
H: We were put in touch with the head of the organization, Fatma Dodurka, who told us a bit more about Be the Voice of Girls.
E: The mission of Be the Voice of Girls is, “to foster ties between Turkey and the USA through teaching of English and Art to 8th grade girls from various backgrounds such as Turks, Syrians, and Kurds.”
H: So, Fatma started the program with an American educator named Carl Holtman, and the funding was provided by the American mission in Türkiye. Fatma had her daughter, Alara, assisting as peer leader, which I think is just lovely. When we met Fatma and Alara on Zoom, it was obvious how close they were and how much love and affection they had for each other.
E: We just love the idea of using art – and that includes music! – to teach English, build connections and empower young women. Fatma and Alara were working with 20 ninth grade girls.
H: We met Carl, Fatma and Alara on a zoom call in January and Fatma was just one of those people who leap out of the screen. She had this palpable warmth and enthusiasm. I think we were both immediately so impressed with her.
E: We were. And she proposed that we meet with the participants in Be the Voice of Girls over the course of 4 weeks in May. We were basically going to do 4 weeks of Language Music Club with the 20 girls in the program. That is the kind of thing we both love to do.
H: It sure is. Also in that meeting, I remember Carl mentioned that every year in Türkiye, May 19th celebrates a holiday called, “The Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day.” I’m sure you knew that already, Ece. How do you say the name of the holiday in Turkish?
E: Atatürk'ü Anma, Gençlik ve Spor Bayramı. Yes. It’s a very famous day. Young people sing the national anthem, recite poems, hold parades, play sports and host cultural activities like performing folk dances.
H: Since Sports Day is such a big event, we had a special song in mind for the lesson for that day, the 2009 hit song, Wavin’ Flag, by the Somali-Canadian singer, author, rapper and performer Keinan Abdi Warsame, better known by his stage name, K’naan.
E: It’s a really catchy, fun song, but it also has a very powerful message.
H: That’s right. The original version of the song contains lyrics related to K’Naan dealing with the effects of war that he experienced in Somalia as a young boy. He was 13 years old when the Somali civil war began and soon after that, his family emigrated to Canada.
E: Writer David Churchill wrote in his blog, Critics at Large, in March 2010, “K'Naan obviously never knew when he wrote "Wavin' Flag" as a way to come to terms with his own freedoms away from his shattered homeland that the song would morph repeatedly into something that could mean so many different things for so many people all over the world.”
H: Yes. There are at least 22 versions of this song! In fact, the version that we selected for our activity with Be the Voice of Girls was the FIFA World Cup Coca Cola version of the song.
E: That seemed perfect for the tie-in to Sports Day in Türkiye.
H: The song starts out, “Give me freedom.”
E: “Give me fire.”
H: “Give me reason.”
E: “Take me higher.”
H: And there’s our grammar focus, one-syllable comparative adjectives with -er.
E: What?
H: You know when you compare two things, like, “This cat is cuter than that cat.” Although, in my opinion, no cat is cuter than my cat.
E: Or, “This test is harder than that test.” My students might say that about my tests.
H: Right. We’ll see more examples of the grammar in the refrain, but first, the next line, “See the champions take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud.” That really captures the feeling that you have when watching your favorite team get ready to compete.
E: And then, “In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibitions.” I think that’s a really great message for young girls. You should be confident and not be afraid of doing what you want to do.
H: Yes. Don’t let anything, especially inhibitions, stand in your way. Then in the refrain, “When I get older, I will be stronger.” It’s a great use of comparative adjectives, but it’s also an important idea for young people. You could use this sentence to express many ideas.
E: Like, “When I get older, I will be wiser.”
H: Ece, you are already extremely wise! I guess I would say, “When I get older, I will be kinder.” But I think I should hurry up, because I’m not getting any younger!
E: The final line of the refrain is, “They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag.”
H: And that’s a very powerful image, isn’t it? A wavin’ flag. And with the reduced -ing pronunciation, “wavin’” instead of “waving.”
E: It sure is. People wave flags to show love for a sports team.
H: Or their school.
E: Or their country.
H: So, we were really looking forward to spending Sports Day with the 20 girls in Be the Voice of Girls on May 19th - singing this song together via Zoom and talking about what they will be when they get older.
E: And then on February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck Southeast Türkiye near the Syrian border. We know that tens of thousands of lives have been lost and hundreds of thousands of people have been left without homes.
H: In the time since the earthquake hit, I keep going back to the songs we were thinking about singing and discussing with the girls. And do you know what I discovered about Wavin’ Flag?
E: What’s that?
H: Well, one of the many versions of it that have been recorded was by “Young Artists for Haiti.” It was recorded to raise money after the devastating 2010 earthquake that occurred in Haiti on January 12, 2010.
E: According to the Haitian government, 300,000 people died in the 7.0 magnitude earthquake.
H: So, over 50 Canadian artists, including Drake, Justin Bieber, and Avril Lavigne, all got together to record a version of the song with added lyrics especially for Haiti.
E: The special lyrics in this version that we want to share were performed by Drake.
H: We know that we are not Drake, but these lyrics are really poignant and also fitting for the situation in Türkiye and Syria, too.
E: See we don't have to wait for things to break apart
H: If you weren't involved before, it's never too late to start
E: You probably think that it's too far to even have to care
H: Well, take a look at where you live, what if it happened there?
E: You have to know the urge to make a change lies within
H: And we can be the reason that they see the flag rise again.
E: It’s time to sing. You’ll find links to the original version, the FIFA World Cup Version, and the Young Artists for Haiti version in the episode notes.
H: Please raise your voice and sing out loud as you listen.
<conclusion>
E: Thank you for joining us on this special episode.
H: We’ve gotten to make connections with so many incredible people just by doing this podcast.
E: Unfortunately, our new friends, Fatma Dodurka and her daughter Alara, did not survive the earthquake.
H: And sadly, neither did several of the wonderful girls who were participating in Be the Voice of Girls. In the words of her friend and colleague, Carl, Fatma was described in the following way: “I think one of the most important things to remember is that she was the type of person that could impact someone even after just a brief meeting. Everyone was keenly interested in Be the Voice of Girls and in working with her to create new projects. She had an energy and passion that was unmatched. She had an ability to bring together others from around the world.”
E: I think that describes her perfectly. If you haven’t done so already, please consider making a donation to the relief efforts in Türkiye and Syria. There are links in the episode notes.
H: We also encourage you to check out the “Be the Voice of Girls” website and watch some of the videos they have posted on Instagram @bethevoiceofgirls. They’re really informative and inspiring.
E: It’s wonderful to see the kind of positive results that come from collaboration and a shared desire to make the world a kinder, more inclusive place.
H: We look forward to the day when we will be able to learn English and sing and celebrate together with Be the Voice of Girls. Until then, have faith,
E: be strong, and…
E + H: …just keep singing.
E + H: “When I get older, I will be stronger, They’ll call us freedom, just like a wavin’ flag.”
Official YouTube Video of the Original Version
Official YouTube Video of the 2010 FIFA World Cup Version
Official YouTube Video of the Young Artists for Haiti Version
Listening Activity for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Version
Directions: Complete the lyrics with the one-syllable comparative adjectives with -er.
Ooh woo, ooh woo
Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me ____________________
See the champions take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibitions,
Celebration, it surrounds us, every nation, all around us
Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Let’s rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say
When I get ____________________ I will be ____________________
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
When I get ____________________ I will be ____________________
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
Now wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Ooh, ooh ooh, ooh woo
Give you freedom, give you fire, give you reason, take you ____________________
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration, it surrounds us, every nation, all around us
Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say
When I get ____________________ I will be ____________________
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
When I get ____________________ I will be ____________________
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
Now wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Ooh ooh woo
Oh oh ooh
Woo ho ooh
We all say
When I get ____________________ I will be ____________________
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
When I get ____________________ I will be ____________________
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
Now wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Ooh woo woo ooh woo ooh ooh oh
And everybody will be singing it
Ooh woo woo ooh woo ooh ooh oh
And we all will be singing it
Complete Lyrics for the 2010 FIFA World Cup Version
Ooh woo, ooh woo
Give me freedom, give me fire, give me reason, take me higher
See the champions take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibitions,
Celebration, it surrounds us, every nation, all around us
Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Let’s rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say
When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
Now wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Ooh, ooh ooh, ooh woo
Give you freedom, give you fire, give you reason, take you higher
See the champions, take the field now, you define us, make us feel proud
In the streets our heads are lifting, as we lose our inhibition,
Celebration, it surrounds us, every nation, all around us
Singing forever young, singing songs underneath that sun
Lets rejoice in the beautiful game,
And together at the end of the day.
We all say
When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
Now wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Ooh ooh woo
Oh oh ooh
Woo ho ooh
We all say
When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
When I get older I will be stronger
They'll call me freedom, just like a wavin' flag
Now wave your flag, now wave your flag, now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Now wave your flag
Ooh woo woo ooh woo ooh ooh oh
And everybody will be singing it
Ooh woo woo ooh woo ooh ooh oh
And we all will be singing it
Songwriters: Jean Guillaume Daval / Keinan Abdi Warsame / Peter Gene Hernandez / Philip Martin Lawrence Ii
Wavin' Flag lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Vietnam Center for Protection of Music Copyright (VCPMC), Warner Chappell Music, Inc
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