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Look at the lyrics, the words, of the song Africa, before you watch this video.
Now I want to talk about the words that are missing from the lyrics.
The lyrics are on the left, and the missing words and phrases are on the right.
Remember that a phrase is a group of words.
We have some words, and some phrases.
You write the words and phrases in the blanks on the lyrics page.
Now let’s look at the first phrase.
Do what’s right. Do what is right.
This phrase is simple. I think you understand.
For example, you have a problem, so what do you do?
You think about the problem. Then you think of an answer to the problem.
The answer is good for you. The answer is good for everybody.
It is the right thing to do.
You always want to do what is right. You want to do the right thing.
Always do the right thing. - That’s it? - That’s it. - I got it, I’m gone.
As if to say – I have to explain this phrase.
The phrase, “as if to say,” means that you don’t say anything.
Maybe you don’t say anything with your mouth. But you can say something with your eyes.
Look at this painting of two sisters by Auguste Renoir.
They are not speaking.
Look at the younger sister. She is standing. She is looking at us.
See her eyes?
What is she thinking?
Is she tired? Is she bored? Maybe she is hungry.
We can make a sentence:
“The little girl looked at us as if to say I’m tired, I’m hungry, let’s go home.”
And the older sister? She is not looking at us.
She is looking away.
What is she thinking?
You decide. You can make your own sentence:
Frightened – means the same as afraid, or scared.
These three words are synonyms.
They mean the same thing.
Whisper can be a noun or a verb.
If whisper is a verb, it means to speak softly.
To speak softly means to speak quietly.
You want to say something to your friend, but you don’t want everybody to hear.
In London there is a famous church called “St. Paul’s Cathedral.”
If you visit London, you can go high up in the church
to a special room called the Whispering Gallery.
The Whispering Gallery is round.
If you whisper here, your friend can hear you over there.
Isn’t that interesting?
There are many Whispering Galleries around the world.
You know the name Africa, and you understand.
But, what is Africa?
Is it a country?
No, it isn’t.
There are many countries in Africa, but Africa is not a country.
The website www.africacheck.org says there are 55 countries in Africa.
What is the word for Africa, Asia, Europe, North and South America, Australia, and Antarctica?
To find out, click on the link in the video description.
Old man is very simple, just like it sounds.
Echo can be a verb or a noun.
I throw a ball, and it bounces back to me.
Sound also bounces.
When a sound bounces, we call that an echo.
If you stand at a well, you can speak into the well,
or you can sing into the well, and you hear the echo.
The song echoes in the well.
Listen to Snow White sing into the wishing well.
I’m wishing (I’m wishing) for the one I love
to find me (to find me) today (today).
I’m hoping (I’m hoping) and I’m dreaming of
the nice things (the nice things) he’ll say (he’ll say).
(Yodeling.)
Snow White here is singing high.
She has a high voice.
She has a high singing voice.
When you speak, the sound you make is your voice.
And when you sing, that is your singing voice.
The prince has a deep singing voice.
Listen to the prince singing.
One song, I have but one song. One song only for you.
All sounds echo, but a deep sound can echo very far.
African elephants have deep voices that you and I cannot hear.
Only the elephants can hear their deep voices.
An African elephant can hear other elephants 2.5 km away.
Today African elephants are dying.
People are killing many elephants.
Does this frighten you?
I think it really should frighten us.
You can visit the website www.elephantvoices.org to learn more.
Read the website in your language.
In the night.
This phrase is simple.
In the night means during the night.
Long here is not an adjective.
Now “long” is a verb.
As a verb, long means want.
A baby longs to be with her mother.
A mother longs to be with her child.
Everybody longs for love, for a friend, for happiness.
We long to be happy. We want to be happy.
A hundred men.
Very simple. 100 men.
You can say one-hundred or a hundred, it is the same.
Very simple, opposite of go.
If you are in Africa, and I am in Vietnam,
maybe tomorrow I visit you.
So today I say “I will GO to Africa.”
But you are in Africa.
You say “Ray will COME to Africa.”
Be careful, because COME and GO are opposites.
You are in Africa, so you cannot say Ray will GO to Africa.
You must say Ray will COME to Africa.
Very simple. You understand “wait” I think.
“Deep inside” can mean, for example …
But, in this song, “deep inside” means a feeling deep inside his heart.
Maybe he has this feeling for many years.
Maybe when he was a small boy he had this feeling in his heart.
Today, he still has this feeling.
It is a big feeling. A strong feeling.
A feeling deep inside.
He has this feeling for the African girl he loves.
Simple. When you turn away from someone, you cannot talk.
You must turn to her.
But you cannot talk until she turns to you.
Sometimes it isn’t easy to wait.
Especially if you have feelings deep inside.
But you wait, and you keep hoping she will turn to you.
When she turns to you, you know she is listening.
Now, you can have a conversation.
“Where do you live?”
“How many people are there in your family?”
“Do you like some chocolate?”
“Gonna” means going to.
We use “going to” with base verb to talk about the future.
When I talk fast, I say “gonna”.
“Gonna” means “going to” – that’s all.
Very simple.
Practice some sentences with “gonna”.
You must practice using “gonna” so when you listen, and hear, you understand.
I don't know if you understand “hope”.
It means you want something. You long for something.
Snow White longs for a prince.
She tries to believe a prince will find her.
That’s hope.
“Hope” means you long for something and you try to believe that you will have it someday.
“Did I frighten you?”
Last word, simple,
stars like we see at night, high, high above us.