Tonight’s song is very old. Nobody knows who wrote it. It was sung in America by enslaved people and their children, and its message is simple: keep your hand on the plough, and hold on.
Learn from Songs · Unit 8: Modals · B1
Hold On
An old spiritual in Odetta’s mighty voice: imperatives (keep going, don’t look back), must / mustn’t, should, have to / don’t have to, and phrasal verbs of not giving up (hold on, keep on, carry on), with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
What’s a plough got to do with it?
SOPHIA
If you look back while you are ploughing, your line goes crooked. You must keep looking forward.
PHILO
That sounds like advice from the prophets.
Before you listen: the song
America, a traditional spiritual
Odetta (Odetta Holmes, 1930–2008) was born in Birmingham, Alabama, and grew up in Los Angeles. She trained as a classical singer, then fell in love with folk songs, work songs and spirituals. Her deep, powerful voice inspired Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and many others.
In 1963 she sang at the great March on Washington, where Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech, and he called her the queen of American folk music. “Hold On”, also known as “Keep Your Hand on the Plow”, is a traditional spiritual. During the civil rights movement, people changed the words to “Keep Your Eyes on the Prize”.
In the song, the singer tells us what we must do: keep your hand on the plough, don’t look back, hold on. The road is hard, but you mustn’t give up.
Keep your hand on the plough, and don’t look back.
Listen: the instructions
PHILO
Listen once. What must we do? What mustn’t we do?
SOPHIA
Listen to how Odetta’s voice grows. Then answer Section A.
✊ Listen to the song: “Hold On” (traditional spiritual), sung by Odetta.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Hold On”, Odetta.Read the lyrics →
Imperatives
MARCOS
Keep your hand on the plough. Hold on. Don’t look back. Don’t give up.
SOPHIA
The imperative is the infinitive without to; the negative is don’t + infinitive. We use it for instructions, advice and encouragement. Let’s… includes the speaker: Let’s keep going.
Must and mustn’t
DEMETRIA
You must keep going. You mustn’t look back.
SOPHIA
must = it is necessary, often the speaker’s strong feeling. mustn’t = it is not allowed, don’t do it! You mustn’t touch the fire.
Have to and don’t have to
PHILO
Farmers have to plough before the flood goes down. On the Sabbath you don’t have to work.
SOPHIA
have to = necessary, often because of rules or situations. don’t have to = not necessary, you can choose. Careful: you mustn’t (don’t!) is very different from you don’t have to (no need).
Should for advice; keep on, carry on
MARCOS
You should rest a little. But you shouldn’t stop. Keep on walking. Carry on.
SOPHIA
should / shouldn’t = advice, softer than must. keep (on) + -ing, carry on + -ing, hold on = don’t stop, don’t let go.
Sophia’s comparison: the straight furrow
PHILO
When Elijah called Elisha, Elisha was ploughing with twelve pairs of oxen. He asked to kiss his parents goodbye, and then he left the plough and followed the prophet, and never went back.
SOPHIA
And Hesiod says that a good ploughman keeps his mind on his work and drives a straight furrow; he doesn’t look around at his friends. The young ones, he says, are always looking around.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| infinitive / don’t + infinitive | imperatives | Hold on! Don’t look back. |
| must / mustn’t | necessary / not allowed | You mustn’t give up. |
| have to / don’t have to | necessary / not necessary | You don’t have to come. |
| should / shouldn’t | advice | You should rest. |
| keep on / carry on + -ing, hold on | not giving up | Keep on walking. |
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 does the song tell us to keep on the plough?
2. What mustn’t we do?
3. Who wrote the song?
4. What did the civil rights movement change the words to?
5. What did Martin Luther King call Odetta?
6. How did Odetta train first?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. look back! (negative imperative)
8. You give up. It’s not allowed!
9. It’s a holiday. You don’t to come.
10. You look tired. You rest a little. (advice)
11. Keep ! You’re nearly there. (walk)
12. Hold ! Don’t let go of the rope.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “You mustn’t to look back.”
14. “Don’t give up!”
15. “It’s Sunday, so I mustn’t go to school.” (= no need)
16. “Carry on singing.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Rules and advice. In groups, write the rules for a team that never gives up: four imperatives, two with must / mustn’t, two with have to / don’t have to, and two with should.
Discuss. 1. Why do people sing when they work or when things are hard? 2. When is it right to look back, and when isn’t it? 3. What helps you to keep going?
Write (100–120 words). Advice to someone starting something hard. Use imperatives, must, mustn’t, don’t have to and should.
Now play the gamebook: a widow’s field, and a furrow that must be straight.Play the gamebook →