Tonight’s song imagines a perfect world, if the singer ruled it: every day would be happy, and everyone would be kind.
Learn from Songs · Unit 9b: Second conditional · B1
If I Ruled the World
A warm, hopeful song about an ideal world: the second conditional (If I ruled the world, every day would be…), If I were…, would for imagined decisions, and would versus will (imaginary or real?), with Demetria, Queen of the Festival for one day.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
If I ruled the world, every child would go to school.
MARCOS
If I ruled the world, every day would be a holiday.
SOPHIA
You both already know the grammar. Now let’s hear the song.
Before you listen: the song
London, 1963; New York, 1965
“If I Ruled the World” was written for Pickwick, a 1963 London musical based on Charles Dickens’s first novel, The Pickwick Papers, about a kind, cheerful old gentleman. The music was by Cyril Ornadel and the words by Leslie Bricusse, and it was first sung by the Welsh singer and comedian Harry Secombe.
In 1965, the American singer Tony Bennett recorded it, and it became one of his signature songs. Bennett sang until he was over ninety.
In the song, the singer imagines how the world would be if he ruled it: every day would feel new and bright, and everyone would be free and happy. It’s a song about kindness and hope more than about power.
If I ruled the world…
Listen: the ideal world
PHILO
Listen once. What would the world be like if the singer ruled it?
SOPHIA
Then listen for If I ruled and would. Answer Section A.
👸 Listen to the song: “If I Ruled the World” (Cyril Ornadel and Leslie Bricusse, 1963), sung by Tony Bennett (1965).Find the recording on YouTube →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “If I Ruled the World”, Tony Bennett.Read the lyrics →
Second conditional: an ideal world
DEMETRIA
If I ruled the world, every child would go to school. If I were queen, nobody would go hungry.
SOPHIA
If + past simple, would + verb to imagine a different world. Note: nobody would, everyone would: with these words, the verb is singular and positive.
Would or will?
MARCOS
If I were king, I would build a fountain. Now that I am captain, I will train every day!
SOPHIA
would = imaginary (it isn’t true). will = real (it is true, or very possible). The grammar shows how real the speaker thinks something is.
Talking about rulers
PHILO
to rule, a ruler, a decree, to govern, power, fair, unfair, wise, a kingdom, a reign.
SOPHIA
She ruled wisely. The king issued a decree. He reigned for forty years. And the opposite of a good ruler: a tyrant.
Sophia’s comparison: the philosopher king
SOPHIA
Plato said that the world would only be well governed if philosophers were kings, or if kings became philosophers: people who loved wisdom more than power.
PHILO
And our Torah says the king must write a copy of the law with his own hand, and read it every day, so that his heart will not be lifted up above his brothers.
DEMETRIA
So a good ruler must stay humble. And give the crown back at sunset.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| If + past simple, would + verb | imagining an ideal world | If I ruled the world, everyone would be free. |
| If I were… | were for all persons | If I were queen, I’d build schools. |
| would vs will | imaginary vs real | If I were rich, I would… / When I’m rich, I will… |
| everyone / nobody + would | singular, positive verb | Nobody would go hungry. |
| rule, reign, decree, fair, tyrant | vocabulary of power | She ruled wisely. |
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 imagine?
2. What would every day be like?
3. What is the song really about?
4. Which musical was it written for?
5. Who made it famous in America?
6. How does the song sound?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. If I the world, every child would go to school. (rule)
8. If I were queen, nobody go hungry.
9. If she queen, she’d build a library. (be)
10. Now that I am captain, I train every day! (real)
11. What would you do if you king?
12. A cruel, unfair ruler is a .
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “If I rule the world, everyone would be happy.”
14. “If I were president, I would build more schools.”
15. “If I was queen, nobody wouldn’t be poor.”
16. “She ruled the kingdom wisely.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Decrees. You are ruler of your country for a day. Write five decrees and explain them: If I ruled the country, I would…, because…
Discuss. 1. What would the perfect world be like? 2. Should the people with power be the wisest? 3. What does Plato’s idea of the philosopher king mean today?
Write (100–120 words). If I ruled the world. Describe the world you would create, using would, everyone / nobody would, and If I were…
Now play the gamebook: Demetria, Queen of the Festival for a day.Play the gamebook →