Our next song. It is slow, it is simple, and almost everybody in the world knows it.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · A1–A2
What a Wonderful World
The happiest song in the world, and the easiest: the present simple with I (I see, I hear, I think), colours and nature words, and there is / there are, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria, and the first page of the Bible.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Is it about something exciting?
SOPHIA
It’s about trees, and the sky, and people saying hello. Nothing exciting. And everything.
DEMETRIA
I like it already.
Before you listen: the song
New York, 1967
Louis Armstrong (1901–1971) was a jazz trumpet player and singer from New Orleans. He had a famous deep, rough voice, and a famous big smile.
In 1967, life in the USA was difficult: there was a war in Vietnam and there were riots in many cities. Two songwriters, Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, wanted to write a different kind of song: a song about the good things in the world.
In the song, the singer looks around him. He sees green trees, red roses, blue skies and white clouds. He sees friends shaking hands and saying hello, and he hears babies crying. And he thinks: what a wonderful world.
At first, the song was not a big hit in America. But in Britain it went to number one, and today it is one of the most loved songs ever recorded.
And I think to myself: what a wonderful world.
Listen: what does he see?
PHILO
Listen once. Write down all the colours you hear. Then all the things he sees.
SOPHIA
Then listen again and answer Section A.
🌈 Listen to the song: “What a Wonderful World” (Bob Thiele and George David Weiss, 1967), sung by Louis Armstrong.Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “What a Wonderful World”, Louis Armstrong.Read the lyrics →
The present simple: I see, I hear, I think
DEMETRIA
I see trees. I hear babies. I think it’s wonderful.
SOPHIA
The present simple: I / you / we / they see; he / she / it sees (add -s). Negative: I don’t see, she doesn’t see. Question: Do you see…? Does he see…? We use it for facts, feelings and things that are always true.
Colours and nature
MARCOS
Green trees, red roses, blue sky, white clouds… and a rainbow!
SOPHIA
In English, the colour comes before the noun: a red rose, not a rose red. (The song says trees of green because it’s poetry!) And colours have no plural: red roses, not reds roses.
There is, there are
PHILO
There are trees. There is a rainbow. There are friends and babies.
SOPHIA
There is + one thing; there are + more than one. Remember Aesop Part 2! Questions: Is there…? Are there…?
Sophia’s comparison: “and God saw that it was good”
PHILO
This song is like the first page of Genesis. God makes the light, the sky, the sea, the trees, the animals… and every time, he sees that it is good.
SOPHIA
Exactly, Philo. And the Greeks had a word for the whole beautiful world: kosmos, which means “order” and “beauty” at the same time.
MARCOS
So the song is about the kosmos.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I see / he sees | present simple: facts and feelings | I see trees of green. |
| I don’t / he doesn’t | negative present simple | He doesn’t see the problems. |
| Do you…? / Does he…? | questions | Do you see the rainbow? |
| a red rose, blue skies | colour + noun | Red roses and white clouds. |
| there is / there are | one thing / more than one | There are friends shaking hands. |
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. What colour are the trees in the song?
2. What colour are the roses?
3. What are the friends doing?
4. What does he hear?
5. How does the singer feel?
6. What does he think?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. I the sky. (see)
8. He the babies. (hear)
9. There three trees in the garden.
10. She like cold weather. (negative)
11. you like this song? (question)
12. I have a car. (colour: red)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I have a car red.”
14. “He sees the rainbow.”
15. “There is two birds.”
16. “She doesn’t like rain.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Look out of the window. What do you see? Make five sentences: I see…, There is…, There are…
Discuss. 1. What is wonderful in your world? 2. Why do you think people love this song so much? 3. Is the world really wonderful?
Write (50–80 words). My wonderful world. Write about the things you see, hear and love every day. Use I see, I hear, I love, there is, there are, and at least five colours.