Tonight’s song is about someone who has gone far away, across the world. The singer has only just met him, and already she misses him. Come back, she sings. Be here.
Learn from Songs · Unit 9d: Wishes, regrets and preferences · B1
Come Back… Be Here
Taylor Swift’s song about missing someone who is far away: imperatives (come back, be here), I wish you were here, miss / lose / lack, and the present continuous for temporary situations, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
That’s how I felt when my brother went to Rome.
SOPHIA
Then you’ll understand the song. And its grammar: imperatives, wishes, and the verb miss.
MARCOS
I miss my lunch.
Before you listen: the song
Los Angeles, 2012
“Come Back… Be Here” is on Taylor Swift’s album Red (2012). She wrote it with Dan Wilson, the singer of the band Semisonic, who also wrote songs with Adele.
Swift said she wrote it about the strange feeling of meeting someone you like and then having to say goodbye because one of you is travelling to the other side of the world. The song is in the “deluxe” edition of the album, and many fans think it is one of her most honest songs.
In the song, the person she likes is far away. She misses him and wishes he were here. She asks him to come back.
Distance can’t stop the heart.
Listen: far away
PHILO
Listen once. Where is the person she likes? What does she ask him to do?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
✈️ Listen to the song: “Come Back… Be Here” (Taylor Swift and Dan Wilson, 2012), by Taylor Swift.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Come Back… Be Here”, Taylor Swift.Read the lyrics →
Imperatives
MARCOS
Come back. Be here. Don’t go. Stay with me.
SOPHIA
The imperative is the infinitive without to; the negative is Don’t + infinitive. Be is used too: Be careful! Be quiet! Don’t be late!
I wish you were here
DEMETRIA
I wish you were here. I wish I could see you. I wish you didn’t live so far away.
SOPHIA
wish + past simple / were for the present: I wish you were here (but you aren’t). Wish you were here is a common phrase on postcards!
Miss, lose, lack
PHILO
I miss you. (I feel sad you’re not here.) I missed the boat. (I was too late.) I lost my ring. (I can’t find it.)
SOPHIA
miss = feel sad without someone / be too late for / fail to hit. lose = not have any more. lack = not have enough. Spanish speakers: “I miss you” is te echo de menos, not te pierdo!
Present continuous for temporary situations
MARCOS
He’s living in Rome this year. She’s staying with her aunt. I’m working nights this month.
SOPHIA
be + -ing for temporary situations around now: He’s living in Rome (for a while). Compare: He lives in Rome (permanently).
Sophia’s comparison: the songs of exile
PHILO
By the rivers of Babylon, the psalmist says, we sat down and wept when we remembered Zion. We hung our harps on the willows. How can we sing the Lord’s song in a strange land?
SOPHIA
And Ovid, the poet, has just been sent away by Augustus to Tomis, on the Black Sea, far from Rome. They say he writes letters in verse every month, begging to come back.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| infinitive / Don’t + infinitive | imperatives | Come back! Don’t go! |
| wish + were / past simple | the present | I wish you were here. |
| miss | feel sad without / be too late for | I miss you. I missed the boat. |
| lose / lack | not have any more / not have enough | I lost my keys. |
| be + -ing | temporary situations | He’s living in Rome this year. |
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 is the person she likes?
2. What does she ask him to do?
3. How long has she known him?
4. Who wrote the song with her?
5. Which album is it on?
6. Which edition of the album is it on?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. back! (imperative)
8. I wish you here. (be)
9. I you so much. (feel sad without you)
10. I’m sorry I’m late. I the boat. (was too late for)
11. He’s in Rome this year. (live, temporary)
12. be late! (negative imperative)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I lose you very much.” (= I feel sad without you)
14. “Don’t be late!”
15. “I wish you are here.”
16. “She’s staying with her aunt this month.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Postcard. Write a postcard to someone far away: where you are, what you’re doing (present continuous), and wish you were here.
Discuss. 1. Have you ever missed someone who was far away? 2. Is it easier to stay in touch today than in the past? 3. Which is harder: leaving or being left?
Write (100–120 words). A letter to someone far away. Use three imperatives, I wish you were…, miss, and the present continuous for temporary situations.
Now play the gamebook: a brother in Rome, and a letter that must get through.Play the gamebook →