Do you remember the man on the dock of the bay, watching the ships? Tonight there is another man by the sea.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · A2–B1
I Cover the Waterfront
A man stands by the sea, watching and waiting for the one he loves to come back: the present continuous for now (I’m watching, I’m waiting), verbs with prepositions (wait for, look at, look for), and the two meanings of cover, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Is he wasting time too?
SOPHIA
No. He is waiting. Someone he loves has gone away across the water, and he is watching for her to come back.
DEMETRIA
Every day?
Before you listen: the song
San Diego, 1932, and San Francisco, 1991
In 1932, a newspaper reporter called Max Miller wrote a book called I Cover the Waterfront, about his job in San Diego: every day he walked along the harbour looking for stories. In English, a journalist covers a place or a story when he reports on it.
In 1933 the book became a film, and the songwriters Johnny Green and Edward Heyman wrote a song with the same title. In their song, the man who covers the waterfront is not a journalist: he is watching the sea, waiting for the person he loves. Billie Holiday made it famous in the 1940s.
The great blues singer John Lee Hooker turned it into a slow, deep blues. He recorded it with Van Morrison on his album Mr. Lucky (1991). In the song, the singer is standing by the water. He is watching the sea and waiting for his love. He is lonely, but he doesn’t stop looking.
Who are you waiting for?
Listen: by the water
PHILO
Listen once. Where is the singer? What is he doing? Who is he waiting for?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A. Listen to how slowly Hooker sings: he has all the time in the world.
🌊 Listen to the song: “I Cover the Waterfront” (Johnny Green and Edward Heyman, 1933), sung by John Lee Hooker.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “I Cover the Waterfront”, John Lee Hooker.Read the lyrics →
The present continuous: now
DEMETRIA
He is standing by the water. He’s watching the sea. He isn’t sleeping.
SOPHIA
am / is / are + -ing for things happening now, or around now: I’m waiting for a letter these days. Questions: What are you doing? Who is he waiting for?
Verbs with prepositions
MARCOS
He’s waiting for her. He’s looking at the sea. He’s looking for a sail.
SOPHIA
wait for someone, look at (with your eyes, now), look for (try to find), listen to, think about. The preposition stays with the verb: Who are you waiting for?
Two meanings of cover
PHILO
Max Miller covered the waterfront: he reported on it. The singer covers the waterfront: he watches all of it.
SOPHIA
cover = put something over: cover the bread. cover = report on, for a journalist: She covers sport. And a cover = a new version of an old song: Hooker’s song is a cover!
Sophia’s comparison: Penelope and Jacob
SOPHIA
Penelope waited twenty years for Odysseus, and every day she looked out to sea from Ithaca.
PHILO
And Jacob waited for Rachel for seven years, and they seemed to him only a few days, because he loved her.
DEMETRIA
So waiting is a kind of love.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| am / is / are + -ing | happening now | He’s watching the sea. |
| What are you doing? | present continuous questions | Who is he waiting for? |
| wait for, look at, look for | verbs with prepositions | He’s looking for a sail. |
| listen to, think about | more verbs + prepositions | I’m thinking about you. |
| cover | put over / report on / a new version | Hooker’s song is a cover. |
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 singer?
2. What is he doing?
3. Who is he waiting for?
4. Who wrote the book I Cover the Waterfront?
5. What does a journalist do when he “covers” a story?
6. Who recorded it with John Lee Hooker?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. He standing by the water.
8. They watching the ships.
9. He’s waiting her.
10. Look the sea! It’s beautiful.
11. I’m looking my keys. Have you seen them?
12. Who are you for? (wait)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “He is waiting her.”
14. “What are you looking at?”
15. “She watching the sea.”
16. “I’m looking for my glasses.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
What are they doing? Look at a busy picture (a harbour, a market, a station). Say what five people are doing, and who or what they are waiting for or looking at.
Discuss. 1. Have you ever waited a long time for someone? 2. Is waiting easier or harder now that we have phones? 3. Why are there so many songs about the sea?
Write (80–100 words). By the water. You are standing by the sea or a river. Write what is happening around you, what you are looking at, and who you are waiting for.
Now play the gamebook: a mother waiting for her son’s ship, and Philo covering the harbour.Play the gamebook →