Our first song about questions. It’s quiet, it’s slow, and almost every line asks something.
Learn from Songs · Unit 3: Questions · A2
Eternal Flame
A gentle love song made almost entirely of questions: yes/no questions with be and do (Are you…? Do you…? Is it…?), short answers (Yes, I do. No, it isn’t.), and the language of feelings, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria, and a lamp that never goes out.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
What does she ask?
SOPHIA
The most important questions there are: do you feel what I feel? Is this real?
MARCOS
Those are hard questions.
Before you listen: the song
Los Angeles, 1988
The Bangles were an American band of four women from Los Angeles. In 1989, “Eternal Flame” went to number one in the USA, in Britain and in many other countries. It was sung by the band’s guitarist, Susanna Hoffs, who wrote it with two songwriters, Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly.
The idea came from two flames. Billy Steinberg had visited Graceland, Elvis Presley’s home, where a small flame burns beside his grave. And he remembered the synagogue of his childhood, where a lamp called the eternal light always burns above the ark.
In the song, the singer asks the person she loves a series of simple, gentle questions: whether they feel the same as she does, whether she is only dreaming, and whether their love will burn for ever, like an eternal flame.
Is this love a flame that will never go out?
Listen: what does she ask?
PHILO
Listen once. Count the questions. How many can you hear?
SOPHIA
Then listen again: which questions start with Do, and which with Am or Is? Answer Section A.
🕯️ Listen to the song: “Eternal Flame” (Billy Steinberg, Tom Kelly and Susanna Hoffs, 1988), sung by The Bangles.Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Eternal Flame”, The Bangles.Read the lyrics →
Yes/no questions with be
DEMETRIA
Am I dreaming? Is it real? Are you happy?
SOPHIA
With be, just change the order: It is real → Is it real? You are happy → Are you happy? Short answers: Yes, it is. No, I’m not.
Yes/no questions with do
MARCOS
Do you feel the same? Does she love him?
SOPHIA
With other verbs, we need do / does: You feel → Do you feel? She loves → Does she love? (no -s on the verb!). Short answers: Yes, I do. No, she doesn’t.
Sophia’s comparison: a lamp that never goes out
PHILO
In the Tabernacle, God told Moses to keep a lamp of pure olive oil burning always, from evening to morning. In every synagogue there is still a light that is never put out.
SOPHIA
And in Rome, the Vestal Virgins guard the sacred fire of the city: if it ever goes out, it is a terrible sign.
DEMETRIA
So an eternal flame is a promise. That’s what she’s asking: is our love a promise?
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Am I…? Is it…? Are you…? | yes/no questions with be | Are you happy? |
| Do you…? Does he…? | yes/no questions with other verbs | Do you feel the same? |
| Yes, I am. / No, it isn’t. | short answers with be | Is it real? Yes, it is. |
| Yes, I do. / No, she doesn’t. | short answers with do | Does she know? No, she doesn’t. |
| feel, dream, believe, mean | verbs of feeling | I believe you. |
Practice
Listen to the song for Section A, then do the rest. Press “Check my answers” at the end. You can try again as many times as you like.
A · Listen: the song
Listen to the song and choose the best answer.
1. How does the song sound?
2. What kind of sentences are most of the lines?
3. What does the singer want to know?
4. What is she afraid of?
5. What is the “eternal flame”?
6. Who sings the song?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. you happy? (be)
8. you feel the same? (do)
9. she love him? (does)
10. Is it real? Yes, it .
11. Do you believe me? No, I .
12. Am I dreaming? No, you .
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “Do you are happy?”
14. “Does he love her?”
15. “Does she feels the same?”
16. “Yes, I am.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Twenty questions. Think of a famous person. The class asks yes/no questions to guess who: Is he a singer? Does she live in Spain? Is he alive?
Discuss. 1. Why do you think the song is full of questions? 2. Is it easy to ask someone how they really feel? 3. What “eternal flames” do you know?
Write (50–80 words). Ten questions. Write ten yes/no questions you would like to ask a friend, a famous person, or yourself in ten years’ time. Use be and do.