songswithstories - Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2-c0vZbPsQ

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1) You are going to listen to a song called Johnny B. Goode which was first written and performed

in 1958 by Chuck Berry. It describes the early life of a talented young man. Listen to the song:

What was Johnny B. Goode’s talent?

2) The pictures below represent words from the song. Discuss and label each picture (your

teacher will give you the specific vocabulary used in the song).

3) Listen to the song again and number the pictures 1-8 in the order they appear in the song.

a b

c d

e f

g h

songswithstories - Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2-c0vZbPsQ

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4) Look at the words in the box. Check the meanings of words you don’t understand.

sit (x2) lead come close back deep made be used pass go learn strum 5) Listen to the song again and complete the lyrics with the words from the box (remember to

change the form where necessary).

"Johnny B. Goode"

____________ down in Louisiana ____________ to New Orleans, Way ____________ up in the woods among the evergreens There stood a log cabin ____________ of earth and wood, Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode Who never ever ____________ to read or write so well, But he could play a guitar just like a ringing a bell. [Chorus:] Go Go Go, Johnny, go, go Go, Johnny, go, go Go, Johnny, go, go Go, Johnny, go, go Johnny B. Goode

He ____________ to carry his guitar in a gunny sack Or ____________ beneath the tree by the railroad track. Oh, the engineers would see him ____________ in the shade, ____________ with the rhythm that the drivers made. The people ____________ by, they would stop and say, "Oh, my, but that little country boy could play!" [Chorus] His mother told him, "Someday you will be a man, And you will be the ____________ of a big old band. Many people ____________ from miles around To hear you play your music when the sun ____________ down. Maybe someday your name will ____________ in lights Saying 'Johnny B. Goode tonight!’." [Chorus]

6) In the lyrics find examples of:

past simple irregular verbs: __________/__________/___________

past simple regular verbs: ____________/____________

a past modal verb of ability: ___________

an expression used to describe a habit or repeated action in the past that is no longer true: ___________

a modal verb used to describe a habit or repeated action in the past that is no longer true: ___________

the future simple: ____________

7) With a partner, using the pictures from exercise 2 and the language from exercise 6, re-tell the

story of Jonny B. Goode.

songswithstories - Johnny B. Goode - Chuck Berry https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2-c0vZbPsQ

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Teacher’s Notes about the Song

"Johnny B. Goode" is a heartfelt story of a kid who comes up through a hard life and succeeds based on talent and drive — the feeling

summed up by the refrain "go, Johnny go!" Berry challenged one version of the American dream, but he helped create another:

Johnny B. Goode's flashy hopes are a rock n' roll version of the hopes and fears of a kid who wants to "make it" somehow. Instead of

growing up to be a middle-class businessman or a civil servant with a pension, now kids could day-dream about being celebrities,

singing to crowds in Vegas, and having their faces on TV. It was the 1950s and the rock star was on the rise.

http://www.shmoop.com/johnny-b-goode/meaning.html

Answers

1) He can play the guitar very well

2) a: Train Drivers, b: A map of Louisiana/New Orleans, c: Train/Railroad Track, d: a Bell, e: a Sign/Name in Lights, g: a Big

Band, f: a Gunny Sack (Basically, a type of sack - the "gunny" portion of the name descends from ‘Goni’ (from the Indian dialect of

tulu, spoken in Mangalore) meaning "thread” or “fibre", and was changed by way of imperial British influence of the word's

descendants in later Indian languages) h: Log Cabin (N.B. you can use the trees in this picture to explain ‘evergreens’. Or explain

that an evergreen is a plant that has leaves throughout the year i.e. forever green),

3) 1 - b, 2 - h, 3 - d, 4 - f, 5 - c, 6 - a, 7 - g, 8 - e

5)

"Johnny B. Goode"

Deep down in Louisiana close to New Orleans,

Way back up in the woods among the evergreens There stood a log cabin made of earth and wood,

Where lived a country boy named Johnny B. Goode Who never ever learned to read or write so well, But he could play a guitar just like a ringing a bell.

[Chorus:]

Go Go

Go, Johnny, go, go Go, Johnny, go, go Go, Johnny, go, go Go, Johnny, go, go Johnny B. Goode

He used to carry his guitar in a gunny sack Or sit beneath the tree by the railroad track.

Oh, the engineers would see him sitting in the shade, Strumming with the rhythm that the drivers made.

The people passing by, they would stop and say, "Oh, my, but that little country boy could play!"

[Chorus]

His mother told him, "Someday you will be a man,

And you will be the leader of a big old band. Many people coming from miles around

To hear you play your music when the sun go down. Maybe someday your name will be in lights

Saying 'Johnny B. Goode tonight'."

[Chorus]

6) In the lyrics find examples of:

past simple irregular verbs: stood/made/told

past simple regular verbs: lived/learned (named is a participle used as part of a reduced relative clause)

a past modal verb of ability: could

an expression used to describe a habit or repeated action in the past that is no longer true: used to

a modal verb used to describe a habit or repeated action in the past that is no longer true: would

the future simple: will be (will + inf) (future prediction)