Tonight’s song is about searching. The singer has done everything and been everywhere, and he still hasn’t found what he’s looking for.
Learn from Songs · Unit 6: The perfect aspect · B1
I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For
A song about searching: the present perfect with still, yet and already (I still haven’t found it, Have you found it yet? I’ve already looked), present perfect for experiences, and the present continuous for an ongoing search, with Philo, and his grandfather’s lost scroll.
SOPHIA
PHILO
That sounds like me in the Library.
SOPHIA
It’s about something bigger than a scroll, Philo. But you’re right, it works for scrolls too.
MARCOS
U2! From Ireland!
Before you listen: the song
Dublin, 1986–1987
U2 are a rock band from Dublin, in Ireland: Bono, the Edge, Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen Jr. This song comes from their 1987 album The Joshua Tree, one of the best-selling albums of all time. It went to number one in the USA.
Bono wrote the words after the band had recorded the music; he remembered a phrase he had written in a notebook that morning. The song is influenced by American gospel music, and he called it a song of doubt more than of faith.
In the song, the singer lists everything he has done in his search: he has travelled far, he has tried everything, he has believed. And yet he still hasn’t found what he is looking for.
The video was filmed on the streets of Las Vegas, with the band walking among the crowds while the Edge plays an acoustic guitar.
Still searching.
Listen: the search
PHILO
Listen once. What has the singer done? Has he found what he’s looking for?
SOPHIA
Then listen for I have and still. Answer Section A.
📜 Listen to the song: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (U2, 1987).Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, U2.Read the lyrics →
Still, yet and already
DEMETRIA
I still haven’t found it. Have you found it yet? I’ve already looked there.
SOPHIA
still + negative = it hasn’t happened, and we expected it to (still before haven’t). yet = in questions and negatives, at the end. already = sooner than expected, in positive sentences, before the participle.
Present perfect for experiences
MARCOS
I’ve travelled far. I’ve asked everyone. I’ve tried everything!
SOPHIA
A list of experiences in the present perfect: no time is given, because what matters is that he has done them, up to now. Careful with irregulars: go → gone, find → found, seek → sought.
Looking for, the present continuous
PHILO
What are you looking for? I’m looking for my grandfather’s scroll.
SOPHIA
look for = search for. look at = direct your eyes. look after = take care of. look forward to = feel happy about something in the future.
Sophia’s comparison: the search
SOPHIA
Diogenes walked through Athens in daylight carrying a lamp. When people asked why, he said: I’m looking for an honest man. He never found one, he said.
PHILO
And the psalmist: as the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.
DEMETRIA
So the search is very old. And maybe the searching is part of the answer.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| still + haven’t / hasn’t | something expected hasn’t happened | I still haven’t found it. |
| …yet? / not… yet | questions and negatives | Have you finished yet? |
| already | sooner than expected (positive) | I’ve already looked there. |
| present perfect lists | experiences up to now | I’ve tried everything. |
| look for / at / after / forward to | phrasal verbs with look | I’m looking for my keys. |
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 is the singer doing?
2. Has he found it?
3. What has he done in his search?
4. What kind of music influenced the song?
5. How did Bono describe it?
6. Where was the video filmed?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. I haven’t found it. (still)
8. Have you finished ?
9. I’ve looked there. (sooner than expected)
10. What are you looking ?
11. He’s everywhere. (search)
12. I haven’t found it .
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I haven’t still finished.”
14. “Have you found your keys yet?”
15. “I’ve yet done it.”
16. “She’s already left.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Still, yet, already. Make three lists: things you’ve already done this year, things you haven’t done yet, and things you still haven’t done even though you wanted to. Compare with a partner.
Discuss. 1. What do you think the singer is looking for? 2. Is it good to keep searching, or better to be satisfied? 3. What are you looking for in your life?
Write (100–120 words). The search. Write about something you’ve been looking for (an object, a place, an answer): where you’ve already looked, what you haven’t tried yet, and whether you’ve found it.
Now play the gamebook: Philo searches for his grandfather’s lost scroll.Play the gamebook →