I was walking down the road the other day
When a woman appeared in front of me
She wanted to know where I was going
She wanted to know my name
I asked her why she wanted to know
But she didn’t say
I told her I didn’t want to answer
I asked her to leave me alone
Then I walked past her and continued along the road
But when I looked over my shoulder, she wasn’t there
One minute she was talking to me
Then she disappeared into thin air
Was she real or just in my imagination?
Did she speak to me or was it all a dream?
Was she real or just in my imagination?
Did she speak to me or was it all a dream?
I told my story to a policeman
He asked me if I was feeling OK
I could see he didn’t believe me so I began to walk away
But when I looked over my shoulder, he wasn’t there
One minute he was talking to me
Then he disappeared into thin air
Was he real or just in my imagination?
Did he speak to me or was it all a dream?
Were they real or just in my imagination?
Did they speak to me or was it all a dream?
All a dream
Words and tune by Ken Wilson
Musical arrangement and instrumentation by Richard Vranch
Vocals: Matthew Devitt
Note about the song
The song illustrates various forms of reported speech, and there’s also a chance to talk about ghosts and related topics.
Before I suggest an activity, I want to tell you something about the writing. The original lyric at the end of the first verse was:
I asked her why she wanted to know
But she wouldn’t say
For some reason, the editor persuaded me to change it to
But she didn’t say
The difference in meaning between those two phrases is enormous. She wouldn’t say indicates a reluctance to give the information. She didn’t say makes it sound much less important. In the context of the song, the original lyric would have been much better.
If you use the song with a class, I’d be happy if you tell them about that change and, if necessary, explain the difference between the two expressions.
Idea for using the song
Before listening to the song, I recommend asking the students to turn the examples of reported speech into direct speech. You can give them the first one and ask them to work out the rest themselves. Remember that She wanted to know is a disguised question:
She wanted to know where I was going
Where are you going?
This exercise isn’t as easy as it looks. There’s a reported command hidden in there:
I asked her to leave me alone.
Listening to the song
If students have already done the grammar-oriented exercise, they can forget about the grammar and think about the story when they listen. Is it a ghost story? Is it a dream? Is the singer having some kind of breakdown?? Ask the students to discuss the location and try to describe the characters.