Tonight’s song is sung by a young man who is still meant to be at school. He has fallen for an older woman, Maggie, and it is late September, and he knows he should go back to his books and his own life.
Learn from Songs · Unit 8: Modals · B1–B2
Maggie May
Rod Stewart’s famous song of a young man who knows he should leave: should for what is right (he should go back to school), could for possibilities (I could join a band), wish + past perfect for regrets (I wish I’d never met her), and suppose, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
So he knows it’s wrong for him.
SOPHIA
He does. The whole song is him arguing with himself: I should go back, I could do this, I could do that, I wish I’d never met you. It is full of the most useful modal verbs in English.
PHILO
Should, could, wish. The grammar of a young man making up his mind.
Before you listen: the song
London, 1971
Rod Stewart (born 1945) is a British singer with a famously rough, warm voice. He wrote “Maggie May” with the guitarist Martin Quittenton for his album Every Picture Tells a Story (1971). He later said it was partly based on an experience of his own as a teenager.
At first the record company put it on the B-side of another single, but radio presenters preferred it and played it instead. In October 1971 the song and the album were number one in both Britain and America at the same time. The mandolin at the end was played by Ray Jackson of the band Lindisfarne.
In the song, the young man tells Maggie that he should be back at school. He has realised that she has used him to avoid being alone. He could go back to school, he says, or join a band; he wishes he had never met her.
Knowing what you should do is the first step; doing it is the second.
Listen: the young man’s choice
PHILO
Listen once. Where should he be? What does he say Maggie has done? What could he do now?
SOPHIA
Listen to the mandolin at the end. Then answer Section A.
🪕 Listen to the song: “Maggie May” (Rod Stewart and Martin Quittenton, 1971), by Rod Stewart.Find the video →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Maggie May”, Rod Stewart.Read the lyrics →
Should for what is right
MARCOS
He should go back to school. You shouldn’t have done that. We should leave now.
SOPHIA
should + verb = the right thing to do (often something we aren’t doing). should have + past participle = it was the right thing, but it didn’t happen: I should have listened.
Could for possibilities
DEMETRIA
I suppose I could go back to my studies. Or I could join a band.
SOPHIA
could + verb for possibilities and suggestions: We could go to the beach. I suppose = I think, without much enthusiasm. A list of could’s helps you think through choices.
Wish + past perfect for regrets
PHILO
I wish I’d never met her. I wish I hadn’t left school.
SOPHIA
wish + past perfect = regret about the past (it happened, and I’m sorry). wish + past simple = I want the present to be different: I wish I were at home now.
Sophia’s comparison: Odysseus and Calypso
SOPHIA
The nymph Calypso kept Odysseus on her island for seven years. She offered him everything, even to live for ever. But every day he sat on the shore looking towards home, until he built a raft and sailed back to his own life.
PHILO
And Proverbs says: my son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother. The young man in the song knows where he should be. The question is whether he will go.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| should + verb | the right thing | He should go back to school. |
| should have + past participle | right, but it didn’t happen | I should have listened. |
| could + verb | possibilities | I could join a band. |
| I suppose | I think (without enthusiasm) | I suppose I could go. |
| wish + past perfect | regret about the past | I wish I’d never met 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 month is it in the song?
2. Where does he say he should be?
3. What could he do, he says?
4. What does he regret?
5. Who wrote the song with Rod Stewart?
6. What happened in October 1971?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. He really go back to school.
8. I suppose I join a band. (possibility)
9. I wish I’d never her. (meet)
10. You should have me. (tell)
11. I wish I at home now. (be)
12. We go to the beach. (suggestion)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I should to go back to school.”
14. “I wish I had never met him.”
15. “I wish I didn’t see that film yesterday.”
16. “I suppose we could try again.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Choices. Imagine a friend who is wasting their time. In pairs, give them advice with should and possibilities with could.
Discuss. 1. Why is it hard to leave something you know is bad for you? 2. What should the young man do? 3. Is it fair that a song makes this story sound romantic?
Write (100–120 words). A letter to my younger self. Use should, should have, could and wish + past perfect.
Now play the gamebook: an apprentice who should be at his lessons, and a choice to make.Play the gamebook →