Tonight’s song is an advertisement. Well, a joke advertisement, for a deodorant.
Learn from Songs · Unit 2: Past time · B1
Odorono
A short, funny, sad story from a fake advertisement: the past perfect (she had sung, he had gone), past simple and past perfect together, and should have / shouldn’t have for regrets, with Demetria, a nervous singer, and the tricks of advertising.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
A song about deodorant? That’s ridiculous!
SOPHIA
That’s the joke. But listen to the story: it’s sadder than you’d think.
DEMETRIA
Advertising always makes me feel I need something I don’t have.
Before you listen: the song
London, 1967
In 1967, The Who made an album called The Who Sell Out. It pretends to be a pirate radio station: between the songs there are jingles and joke adverts, for baked beans, spot cream and more. On the cover, the guitarist Pete Townshend holds a giant deodorant stick.
“Odorono” was named after a real American deodorant. In the song, a young singer had just given the best performance of her life. A handsome, important man came to see her, and she was happier than she had ever been. But when he leaned closer, his face changed. He suddenly remembered an appointment, and left.
She tore her beautiful dress, and couldn’t face another show. And the advert’s moral: her deodorant had let her down. She should have used Odorono!
When The Who’s managers asked the real Odorono company for some money for the “advert”, the company was not amused.
She should have used Odorono!
Listen: the story
PHILO
Listen once. What had she just done? How did she feel? What happened next?
SOPHIA
Listen for had + past participle, and for should have. Then answer Section A.
🎭 Listen to the song: “Odorono” (Pete Townshend, The Who, 1967).Listen to the official recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Odorono”, The Who.Read the lyrics →
The past perfect: the earlier past
DEMETRIA
She had just sung beautifully. She was happier than she had ever been.
SOPHIA
had + past participle shows that something happened before another past moment. When he arrived, she had finished the song. (First she finished, then he arrived.) Negative: hadn’t; question: Had she…?
Should have, shouldn’t have
MARCOS
She should have used Odorono!
SOPHIA
should have + past participle = it was a good idea, but she didn’t do it (a regret or criticism). shouldn’t have + past participle = she did it, but it was a bad idea: She shouldn’t have torn her dress. Careful: should have, not should of!
The language of advertising
PHILO
First the advert shows you a problem. Then it says: buy this, and the problem disappears.
SOPHIA
Exactly. Notice the words: Don’t let… ruin your…, the secret of…, you deserve…, new, improved, only. Adverts often make us insecure first, so that we buy the cure.
Sophia’s comparison: adverts on the walls
SOPHIA
Adverts are not new. In the Roman town of Pompeii, the walls are painted with them: gladiator games, politicians asking for votes, and inns promising the best wine in town.
DEMETRIA
And perfume sellers in our market shout that their rose water will make any girl a queen.
MARCOS
Does it?
DEMETRIA
Not yet.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| had + past participle | the earlier past | She had just sung beautifully. |
| than she had ever been | the happiest moment until then | She was happier than she had ever been. |
| should have + past participle | regret: a good idea not done | She should have used Odorono. |
| shouldn’t have + past participle | criticism: a bad idea done | He shouldn’t have left. |
| advertising language | creating a problem, selling the cure | Don’t let a bad smell ruin your night! |
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 song really?
2. What had the singer just done?
3. How did she feel when the man came?
4. What did the man do?
5. What did she do afterwards?
6. What is the advert’s “moral”?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. When he arrived, she already finished. (had)
8. She was happier than she had ever . (be)
9. She should used it. (should + have + past participle)
10. He shouldn’t have so suddenly. (leave)
11. By the time we got there, the show started. (had)
12. I’m sorry. I have told you earlier. (regret)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “She should of practised more.”
14. “When I arrived, the film had already started.”
15. “He had went home before the party.”
16. “You shouldn’t have said that.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Make a fake advert. In pairs, invent a product, a problem it solves, and a jingle. Present it to the class. Use Don’t let… ruin your…!
Discuss. 1. Do adverts make you feel insecure? Which ones? 2. Is advertising ever honest? 3. Why do you think the singer blamed herself?
Write (80–120 words). A day I’ll never forget. Something had gone very well, and then something went wrong. Use the past perfect, the past simple, and should have / shouldn’t have.
Now play the gamebook: Demetria, a nervous singer, and the theatre at Canopus.Play the gamebook →