Our fourth midwinter lesson is a quiet one. Everyone around the singer is getting ready for Christmas. But she is sad. A relationship has ended, and she dreams of skating away from it all on a frozen river.
Learn from Songs · Festivals: The Winter Solstice and Christmas · Part 4 of 4 · B1–B2
River
Part 4: the quiet side of Christmas. Joni Mitchell’s song about feeling sad and alone while everyone else celebrates: I wish I had… and If only… for wishes about now, the present continuous for a scene (they’re cutting down trees), the second conditional, and how to look after people who are lonely at Christmas, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
Not everyone is happy at Christmas.
SOPHIA
That’s true, Marcos, and it’s important to remember. Listen to the piano at the start: it plays “Jingle Bells”, but slowly and sadly.
DEMETRIA
Christmas music, turned blue.
Before you listen: the song
Los Angeles, 1971
Joni Mitchell (born 1943) is a Canadian singer, songwriter and painter who grew up on the snowy prairies of Saskatchewan, one of the most admired songwriters of her generation. “River” is on her album Blue (1971), which is often voted one of the greatest albums ever made.
Living in sunny California, she sings about missing the frozen rivers of her Canadian childhood, after the end of a relationship. It was never released as a single, but it has become a modern Christmas classic and has been recorded by hundreds of singers.
In the song, Christmas is coming: people around her are getting ready to celebrate. But the singer wishes she could escape, skating away on a long frozen river. She blames herself for the end of the love she has lost.
At the happiest time of year, look out for the people who are not happy.
Listen: the frozen river
PHILO
Listen once. What are people doing around her? What does she wish? How does the piano begin?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🎹 Listen to the song: “River” (Joni Mitchell, 1971), by Joni Mitchell.Listen to the official recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “River”, Joni Mitchell.Read the lyrics →
The present continuous for a scene
MARCOS
Christmas is coming. People are buying trees. Children are putting up decorations.
SOPHIA
The present continuous paints what is happening around the singer, like a film. It’s coming up to Christmas = Christmas is getting near.
I wish + past, If only…
DEMETRIA
I wish I were at home. I wish I could see the snow. If only it would snow!
SOPHIA
wish / if only + past simple = I want the present to be different: I wish I lived near the sea. wish + could = ability. wish + would = I want something or someone to change: I wish you would call.
The second conditional
PHILO
If I had a boat, I would sail home. If it snowed here, the children would be happy.
SOPHIA
If + past simple, would + verb for imaginary situations now. The wish and the second conditional are close friends: I wish I had time → If I had time, I would come.
Sophia’s comparison: Demeter, and a time to mourn
SOPHIA
When Persephone was taken to the underworld, her mother Demeter mourned so deeply that the earth grew cold and nothing grew. That, we Greeks say, is why there is winter. Grief can make a whole world feel frozen.
PHILO
And Ecclesiastes says: to everything there is a season; a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. At Christmas, some people are in their time to weep. The kind thing is to notice.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| present continuous | a scene happening around you | People are buying trees. |
| wish / if only + past simple | wishes about now | I wish I were at home. |
| wish + could / would | ability / wanting change | I wish I could see the snow. |
| if + past, would + verb | second conditional | If I had a boat, I’d sail home. |
| it’s coming up to Christmas | Christmas is getting near | It’s coming up to Christmas. |
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 are people doing around the singer?
2. What does she wish for?
3. What tune does the piano play at the start?
4. Where is Joni Mitchell from?
5. Which album is the song on?
6. Why does she want a frozen river?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. People are trees. (buy)
8. I wish I at home. (be)
9. I wish I see the snow. (ability)
10. If I had a boat, I sail home.
11. If only it snow!
12. It’s coming up Christmas.
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I wish I have more time.”
14. “If I had a boat, I would sail home.”
15. “If I would have a car, I would drive home.”
16. “Children are putting up decorations.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Wishes. In pairs, make three wishes for now with I wish + past, then turn each into a second conditional.
Discuss. 1. Why can Christmas be a hard time for some people? 2. What can families and neighbours do for people who are alone? 3. Do you prefer happy or sad Christmas songs?
Write (100–120 words). A Christmas card for someone who is alone. Write a kind message. Use the present continuous to describe the scene and one wish.
Now play the gamebook: a singer far from home in Alexandria, and the longest night of the year.Play the gamebook →