In 1968, America was in pain. Martin Luther King was killed in April, and Robert Kennedy in June. In December, Elvis Presley ended his television comeback with this song, dressed all in white.
Learn from Songs · Unit 9a: Zero and first conditionals · B1
If I Can Dream
The song that ended Elvis Presley’s 1968 comeback, written after the deaths of Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy: if with can (If I can dream of a better land…), Why can’t…?, and the language of hope (hope, wish, dream of / about), with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
PHILO
What does he sing?
SOPHIA
He dreams of a better land, where people walk together like brothers. And he asks: if I can dream it, why can’t it come true?
DEMETRIA
A good question.
Before you listen: the song
Burbank, California, 1968
By 1968, Elvis Presley had spent most of the 1960s making films, and many people thought his best years were over. Then NBC filmed a television special, now called the ’68 Comeback Special. Elvis, dressed in black leather, played his old songs with his old friends, and he was brilliant again.
For the end of the show, the producer asked the songwriter Walter Earl Brown for a new song with a message. Brown wrote “If I Can Dream” in one night, with words that echo Martin Luther King’s famous speech. Elvis sang it in a white suit with tremendous feeling. The special was shown on 3 December 1968, and the single reached number 12 in America.
In the song, the singer dreams of a land where everyone walks together in peace. If he can dream of it, he asks, why can’t his dream come true? He believes it will.
If you can dream it, start building it.
Listen: the dream
PHILO
Listen once. What kind of land does he dream of? What is his question?
SOPHIA
Listen to how the song grows bigger and bigger. Then answer Section A.
🌅 Listen to the song: “If I Can Dream” (Walter Earl Brown, 1968), sung by Elvis Presley.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “If I Can Dream”, Elvis Presley.Read the lyrics →
If + can
MARCOS
If I can dream it, it can come true. If you can help, please come.
SOPHIA
If + can + infinitive = if it is possible / if I am able. The result can be can, will or an imperative: If you can come early, help me with the chairs.
Why can’t…?
DEMETRIA
Why can’t my dream come true? Why can’t we live in peace?
SOPHIA
Why can’t + subject + infinitive? is often not a real question: it is a protest, or a suggestion. Why can’t you be on time for once? Why don’t we…? is a suggestion: Why don’t we go together?
Dream of / about, hope, wish
PHILO
I dream of a better land. I hope it will happen. I wish people were kinder.
SOPHIA
dream of / about + noun or -ing: She dreams of becoming a doctor. hope + present or will for real possibilities. wish + past simple for things that are not true now (more in Unit 9d).
Sophia’s comparison: swords into ploughshares
PHILO
The prophet Isaiah dreamed of a day when nations would beat their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks, and nobody would learn war any more. Men have been singing that dream for seven hundred years.
SOPHIA
And Plato dreamed of a perfect city in his Republic. His friends said: it will never exist. He answered that it doesn’t matter: a good man can live by its laws in his own heart.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| If + can + infinitive | if it is possible | If I can dream it, it can come true. |
| Why can’t + subject + infinitive? | protest, complaint | Why can’t we live in peace? |
| Why don’t we…? | suggestion | Why don’t we try? |
| dream of / about + noun or -ing | wishes for the future | She dreams of becoming a doctor. |
| hope + present / will | a real possibility | I hope it will happen. |
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 singer dream of?
2. What is his question?
3. Whose speech do the words echo?
4. What was Elvis wearing when he sang it?
5. Who wrote the song?
6. What had Elvis done during most of the 1960s?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. If I dream it, it can come true.
8. Why my dream come true?
9. Why we go together? (suggestion)
10. She dreams becoming a doctor.
11. I hope it happen soon.
12. If you can come early, me with the chairs. (help, imperative)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “She dreams to become a doctor.”
14. “If you can come, please bring some bread.”
15. “Why can’t we to live in peace?”
16. “I hope you will win.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
A better land. In groups, describe your dream country or city. What will it be like? What can we do to start building it? Use if we can…, why can’t we…?, why don’t we…?
Discuss. 1. Can a song change people’s hearts? 2. What do you dream of? 3. Is it better to dream big or to make small, practical plans?
Write (120–150 words). I dream of… Write a short speech about the world you dream of, using if + can, Why can’t…?, dream of, hope and will.
Now play the gamebook: the bridge between two quarters, and a dream that might come true.Play the gamebook →