Tonight’s song was written by a young American in London, recording for the Beatles’ own record company. And all he could think about was home.
Learn from Songs · Unit 7: Past habits and memories · B1
Carolina in My Mind
A gentle song of memory and longing: would for repeated actions in the past (Every summer we would swim in the river), used to for past states (There used to be a mill), remember + -ing and remember to, with Demetria, and her mother’s village on the Nile.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Where was home?
SOPHIA
North Carolina, in the south of the United States. Today the song is almost its unofficial anthem.
MARCOS
The Beatles! Did they play on it?
Before you listen: the song
London and Formentera, 1968
James Taylor was twenty when he went to London in 1968 and became the first non-British artist signed to the Beatles’ record company, Apple Records. The Beatles were recording the White Album in the same building. Paul McCartney played bass on the original recording of “Carolina in My Mind”, and George Harrison sang in the background.
But Taylor was homesick. He began the song partly on the Spanish island of Formentera, and finished it in London, thinking of North Carolina, where he had grown up.
In the song, he is far away, but in his mind he is going home: he remembers the landscape, the light, the people. The places he used to know are still there, in his mind.
He re-recorded the song in 1976, and it became one of his best-loved songs. He went on to become one of the most famous American singer-songwriters.
Wherever you go, home goes with you.
Listen: memory
PHILO
Listen once. Where is the singer? Where is he going “in his mind”? How does the music make you feel?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🌾 Listen to the song: “Carolina in My Mind” (James Taylor, 1968).Listen to the official recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Carolina in My Mind”, James Taylor.Read the lyrics →
Would for past habits
DEMETRIA
Every morning we would go down to the river. My sisters would race me.
SOPHIA
would + base verb for repeated actions in the past, especially in memories and stories: When I was little, my grandfather would tell me stories. Short form: ’d.
Used to, not would, for states
MARCOS
There used to be a mill. She used to have long hair.
SOPHIA
For states (be, have, live, like, know) use used to, not would: I used to live there (not I would live there). For actions, both are possible: We used to / would swim every day.
Remember + -ing or + to?
PHILO
I remember swimming in the river. Remember to bring a present!
SOPHIA
remember + -ing = remember something you did in the past. remember + to + verb = don’t forget to do something. Same with forget: I’ll never forget seeing the sea. Don’t forget to call.
Sophia’s comparison: the land of milk and honey
SOPHIA
The poet Ovid, sent into exile at the edge of the Black Sea, wrote letter after letter remembering Rome, the city he would never see again.
PHILO
And our people in Babylon remembered Jerusalem: if I forget you, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget its skill.
DEMETRIA
So you can carry a place inside you.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| would + base verb | repeated past actions (memories) | We would swim every summer. |
| used to (not would) | past states | There used to be a mill. |
| Did you use to…? | questions about the past | Did you use to climb trees? |
| remember + -ing | a memory of the past | I remember swimming there. |
| remember + to + verb | don’t forget | Remember to write! |
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. Where was James Taylor when he wrote it?
2. Where is he going “in his mind”?
3. How does the song sound?
4. Which famous band’s record company did he record for?
5. Who played bass on the original recording?
6. What is the song today for North Carolina?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. Every summer we swim in the river. (repeated action)
8. There to be a mill by the river. (state)
9. I remember in the river as a child. (swim)
10. Remember bring your umbrella!
11. Did you to have long hair?
12. My grandfather would me stories every night. (tell)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I would have a dog when I was little.”
14. “Every evening my father would play the flute.”
15. “I remember to go there when I was five.”
16. “Don’t forget to call your grandmother.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Childhood memories. Tell your partner about a place you remember from childhood: We would…, there used to be…, I remember…
Discuss. 1. Is there a place you carry “in your mind”? 2. Can you ever really go back to a place from your childhood? 3. Why do people feel homesick?
Write (100–120 words). A place in my mind. Describe a place from your past, using would for repeated actions, used to for states, and remember + -ing.
Now play the gamebook: Demetria and her mother’s village on the Nile.Play the gamebook →