Our next song is about doing nothing. Sitting at home on a rainy day, waiting, and waiting.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · A2–B1
Lemon Tree
A song about a boring, rainy afternoon: the present continuous for what you are doing now (I’m sitting here), bored or boring (-ed and -ing adjectives), and the vocabulary of waiting, with Marcos, who is very good at being bored.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Finally, a song about my life!
DEMETRIA
Is it a sad song?
SOPHIA
It sounds happy. That’s the strange thing about it. Listen.
Before you listen: the song
Pforzheim, Germany, 1995
Fool’s Garden is a band from a small town in Germany. In 1995, their song “Lemon Tree”, sung in English, became a hit all over Europe and in many other countries. They never had another one as big.
The singer is sitting at home on a rainy Sunday afternoon. He is waiting for someone who doesn’t come. He is bored and lonely; he is turning his head up and down, and nothing happens. He goes out for a drive, but everywhere he looks, he sees only one thing: a yellow lemon tree.
Nobody is quite sure what the lemon tree means. The band says it is simply something bright in a grey, boring day.
I wonder how, I wonder why.
Listen: what is he doing?
PHILO
Listen once. Where is he? What’s the weather like? Who is he waiting for?
SOPHIA
Then listen again for the -ing verbs, and answer Section A.
🍋 Listen to the song: “Lemon Tree” (Fool’s Garden, 1995).Watch the official video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Lemon Tree”, Fool’s Garden.Read the lyrics →
The present continuous: what I’m doing now
MARCOS
I’m sitting here. I’m waiting. I’m looking out of the window. I’m doing nothing.
SOPHIA
I am / I’m + -ing for what you are doing at this moment. Also for temporary situations: I’m staying with my aunt this week. Remember the spelling: sit → sitting, wait → waiting, drive → driving.
Bored or boring?
DEMETRIA
Marcos is bored. Is the afternoon boring?
SOPHIA
Yes! -ed adjectives describe how you feel: bored, tired, interested, excited, worried. -ing adjectives describe what causes the feeling: boring, tiring, interesting, exciting, worrying. Careful: if you say I am boring, you mean other people find you boring!
Sophia’s comparison: the ant and the grasshopper?
SOPHIA
In Aesop, the grasshopper sings all summer and does nothing. But this singer isn’t lazy: he is waiting, and waiting is hard.
PHILO
The Psalms say: wait for the Lord, be strong, and let your heart take courage. Waiting is a kind of courage.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| I’m + -ing | what I am doing now | I’m sitting here. |
| am / is / are + -ing (temporary) | situations around now | I’m staying at home today. |
| bored / boring | feeling / cause | I’m bored. The film is boring. |
| interested / interesting, tired / tiring | -ed and -ing adjectives | The trip was tiring. |
| wait for, look out of, turn round | phrases for waiting | I’m waiting for her. |
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 weather like?
2. Where is he at the start?
3. How does he feel?
4. Who is he waiting for?
5. What does he see everywhere?
6. How does the music sound?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. I’m for my friend. (wait)
8. The film is so ! I want to go home. (bore)
9. I’m very in history. (interest)
10. Spelling: drive →
11. What he doing now?
12. I’m looking out the window.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I am boring. I want to go out.”
14. “She is waiting for the bus.”
15. “I’m very interesting in music.”
16. “This book is exciting.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Mime game. One person mimes an action; the others guess: Are you swimming? Are you cooking?
Discuss. 1. What do you do when you are bored? 2. Is boredom bad, or can it be useful? 3. Why do you think the band chose a lemon tree?
Write (80–120 words). A boring afternoon. Describe a rainy day at home: what you are doing, what you can see, how you feel. Use the present continuous and at least three -ed or -ing adjectives.
Now play the gamebook: Marcos, a rainy afternoon, and nothing to do.Play the gamebook →