Tonight’s singer is Al Green, one of the great voices of soul music. He sang love songs, and then he sang this.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · A2–B1
Jesus Is Waiting
A soul singer who would one day become a pastor sings about someone who is always waiting: the present continuous for now (he is waiting, I’m coming) and for temporary situations, and the present simple for things that are always true, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
PHILO
What is it about?
SOPHIA
About someone who is waiting with open arms, however far you have gone away. Listen to the word “waiting”: it never stops.
DEMETRIA
Like a parent at the door.
Before you listen: the song
Memphis, Tennessee, 1973
Al Green grew up in Arkansas and Michigan, singing gospel with his brothers. In the early 1970s, in Memphis, he became one of the biggest soul stars in the world, with love songs like “Let’s Stay Together”.
“Jesus Is Waiting” was on his album Call Me (1973), among the love songs. A few years later, in 1976, Al Green became a pastor and opened his own church in Memphis, the Full Gospel Tabernacle, where he has preached for decades.
In the song, the singer is tired and far from home. But he knows that someone is waiting for him. He doesn’t have to be perfect: the door is always open, and he is coming back.
Who is waiting for you?
Listen: waiting
PHILO
Listen once. Who is waiting? How does the singer feel? Is he going back?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A. Count how many times you hear “waiting”.
🕯️ Listen to the song: “Jesus Is Waiting” (Al Green, 1973), sung by Al Green.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Jesus Is Waiting”, Al Green.Read the lyrics →
Present continuous: now and around now
MARCOS
Someone is waiting for him. He’s coming home.
SOPHIA
am / is / are + -ing for now, and for temporary situations: I’m staying with my aunt this month. Also for movement towards a place: I’m coming! We’re going home.
Present simple: always true
DEMETRIA
The door is always open. He knows that. He doesn’t have to be perfect.
SOPHIA
Present simple for facts, habits and things that are always true: The sun rises in the east. She always waits for me. Notice: always + present simple.
Sophia’s comparison: the father who waited
PHILO
In the story the rabbis tell, a king’s son went far away, and the king sent word: “Come back as far as you can, and I will come the rest of the way to you.”
SOPHIA
And Odysseus’s old dog Argos waited twenty years on a dung heap by the door, and was the only one who knew him when he came home.
MARCOS
Now I’m sad about the dog.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| am / is / are + -ing | now | He’s waiting at the door. |
| present continuous | temporary situations | I’m staying with my aunt this month. |
| I’m coming! We’re going | movement towards somewhere | I’m coming home. |
| present simple | facts, habits, always true | The door is always open. |
| always + present simple | permanent habits | She always waits for me. |
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. Who is waiting in the song?
2. How does the singer feel at the start?
3. Does he have to be perfect to come back?
4. What is Al Green also famous for?
5. What did he become in 1976?
6. Where is his church?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. Someone waiting for him. (be)
8. I’m ! Wait for me! (come)
9. The door always open.
10. She always for me after school. (wait)
11. We’re home now. (go)
12. He that someone loves him. (know)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “He is always wait for me.”
14. “I’m staying with my grandmother this week.”
15. “She knowing the answer.”
16. “We’re coming home tonight.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Waiting. Who is waiting for you right now? (a friend, a family member, a dog!) Tell a partner: My mother is waiting for me. She always…
Discuss. 1. Why do you think Al Green changed from love songs to gospel? 2. Is it hard to go back after a mistake? 3. What makes a place feel like home?
Write (80–100 words). Coming home. Describe someone waiting for you at home: what are they doing right now, and what do they always do when you arrive?
Now play the gamebook: the boy who ran away, and the father at the gate.Play the gamebook →