Tonight, two songs for the price of one. Both are called “Here I Go Again”, both came out in 1969, and they sound completely different. One is fast Philadelphia soul, the other is a gentle country song.
Learn from Songs · Unit 12: Review · B1
Here I Go Again (Two Songs)
Two songs with the same title from the same year: Archie Bell & the Drells’ Philadelphia soul hit and Country Joe and the Fish’s gentle country song. Again and back, Here I go / Here we go / There you go, used to and be used to, and comparing two things, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
PHILO
Two songs with one name. Like twins who don’t look alike.
SOPHIA
Exactly. We will compare them. And the title itself is a useful expression: here I go again means I’m doing the same thing once more.
MARCOS
Here we go again: another lesson!
Before you listen: the song
Philadelphia and Berkeley, 1969
Archie Bell & the Drells were a soul group from Houston, Texas, famous for “Tighten Up”. Their “Here I Go Again” was written and produced in Philadelphia by Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, who later created the “Philadelphia sound”. It is only about two and a quarter minutes long. In America it was hardly noticed, but in 1972 Northern Soul dancers in England discovered it, and it reached number 11 in Britain.
Country Joe and the Fish were a band from Berkeley, California, famous for playing at the Woodstock festival in 1969. That year Country Joe McDonald wrote “Here I Go Again” for their album Here We Are Again. It is a relaxed song with a country sound, and the model and singer Twiggy had a hit with it in Britain in 1976.
Both songs use the same idea: once again, the singer finds himself doing the same thing, feeling the same way, falling into the same old pattern.
Learn from the past, or you’ll repeat it.
Listen: two songs
PHILO
Listen to both songs. Which is faster? Which instruments do you hear? Which do you prefer?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🔁 Listen to the song: “Here I Go Again” (Kenny Gamble and Leon Huff, 1969), sung by Archie Bell & the Drells.Find the recording →
🎸 And listen to: “Here I Go Again” (Country Joe McDonald, 1969), by Country Joe and the Fish.Find the recording →
Here I go again, there you go
MARCOS
Here I go again: I’m doing it again! Here we go: let’s start! There you go: here it is / I told you so.
SOPHIA
Here I go again = I’m repeating something (often a mistake). Here we go = we’re starting. Here we go again = oh no, not again! There you go = here you are (giving something), or “you see?”
Again or back?
DEMETRIA
Say it again. (once more) Come back! (return) Give it back. (return it) We’re together again.
SOPHIA
again = one more time. back = return to a place, person or state: go back, come back, give back, call back. He went back home again = he returned home once more.
Used to or be used to?
PHILO
I used to fall in love every week. (past habit) I’m used to falling in love. (it’s normal for me)
SOPHIA
used to + infinitive = past habit, not now. be / get used to + -ing or noun = be accustomed to: I’m used to getting up early. She got used to the noise.
Comparing two things
MARCOS
The soul song is faster than the country one. The country song is not as fast as the soul one. Both came out in 1969. Neither was a hit in America.
SOPHIA
For comparing: -er than / more… than, not as… as, both… and, neither… nor, whereas / while: One is fast, whereas the other is gentle.
Sophia’s comparison: Israel in the wilderness
PHILO
In the wilderness, the people of Israel complained, and were forgiven, and complained again, and again. Moses must have said: here we go again.
SOPHIA
And Sisyphus pushed his stone up the hill, and every time it rolled down again, and he went back down to push it again. Some people think he was happy, because he knew what he was doing.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Here I go again / Here we go again | repeating something | Here we go again: another argument! |
| again / back | one more time / return | Come back. Say it again. |
| used to + infinitive | past habit | I used to live there. |
| be / get used to + -ing | be accustomed to | I’m used to getting up early. |
| both… and / neither… nor / whereas | comparing | One is fast, whereas the other is gentle. |
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 do the two songs have in common?
2. Which song is faster?
3. Who wrote the Archie Bell song?
4. How did the Archie Bell song become a hit in Britain?
5. Which festival did Country Joe and the Fish play?
6. Who had a hit with Country Joe’s song in 1976?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. Here I go ! I’ve lost my keys again.
8. Come ! Don’t go.
9. Say it , please. I didn’t hear.
10. I’m used to up early. (get)
11. I to live in Houston. (past habit)
12. One song is fast, the other is gentle.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I’m used to get up early.”
14. “Give it back to me.”
15. “Both songs came out in 1969.”
16. “Neither song were a hit in America.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Compare. In pairs, make a table comparing the two songs (speed, instruments, mood, history). Then present it using both, neither, whereas and comparatives.
Discuss. 1. Which version did you prefer, and why? 2. What mistakes do people repeat again and again? 3. What are you used to now that was difficult at first?
Write (120–150 words). Here I go again. Write about a habit or mistake you keep repeating. Use again, back, used to and be used to correctly.
Now play the gamebook: Marcos, about to make the same mistake again.Play the gamebook →