Tonight we learn the days of the week, with a blues singer who has a very bad week.
Learn from Songs · Unit 1: Present time · A1–A2
Stormy Monday
A blues about a bad week, day by day: the days of the week, on Monday, the present simple for routines, and / but, and adjectives for weather and feelings (stormy, sad, bad), with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
MARCOS
How bad?
SOPHIA
Monday is stormy. Tuesday is just as bad. Wednesday is worse. Thursday is sad. But wait for the weekend!
DEMETRIA
Every week is like that.
Before you listen: the song
Los Angeles, 1947
T-Bone Walker was one of the first great electric guitar players. He was born in Texas in 1910, and as a boy he led the blind blues singer Blind Lemon Jefferson around the streets.
He recorded “Call It Stormy Monday” in 1947. Many other singers played it later, especially the Allman Brothers Band. Guitarists like B.B. King and Chuck Berry said T-Bone Walker was their teacher.
In the song, every day of the week is bad. On Monday it is stormy, and Tuesday is just as bad. Wednesday is worse, and Thursday is sad. The eagle flies on Friday (that means people get paid!), and on Saturday he goes out. On Sunday he goes to church, and he prays.
Every week has a Sunday.
Listen: the week
PHILO
Listen once. Write the days you hear. What happens on Friday? What does he do on Sunday?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🌧️ Listen to the song: “Call It Stormy Monday (But Tuesday Is Just as Bad)” (T-Bone Walker, 1947), sung by T-Bone Walker.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Stormy Monday”, T-Bone Walker.Read the lyrics →
The days of the week
DEMETRIA
Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
SOPHIA
Days always start with a capital letter. on + day: on Monday, on Friday night. at the weekend (British), on the weekend (American).
Present simple: routines
MARCOS
On Friday he gets paid. On Sunday he goes to church.
SOPHIA
For routines: I / you / we / they go, he / she / it goes. Add -s or -es for he, she, it: gets, goes, watches, flies.
Weather and feelings
PHILO
Monday is stormy. Thursday is sad. It’s sunny on Saturday!
SOPHIA
Weather: sunny, cloudy, rainy, windy, stormy, cold, hot. Feelings: happy, sad, tired, bad, good. Comparing: Tuesday is just as bad. Wednesday is worse.
Sophia’s comparison: the seven days
PHILO
In the Torah, God makes the world in six days, and on the seventh day he rests. That is the Sabbath.
SOPHIA
The Greeks and Romans named the days after the sun, the moon and the five planets: Saturday is still Saturn’s day, and Sunday is the sun’s day.
MARCOS
And Monday is the moon’s day. Stormy moon.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Monday… Sunday | the days of the week | Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday… |
| on + day | with days | on Friday, on Sunday morning |
| he / she / it + -s | present simple routines | On Friday he gets paid. |
| sunny, rainy, stormy | weather | Monday is stormy. |
| just as bad, worse | simple comparisons | Tuesday is just as bad. |
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 Monday like?
2. And Tuesday?
3. What happens on Friday?
4. What does he do on Sunday?
5. What did T-Bone Walker play?
6. Which day is named after the sun?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. It’s stormy Monday.
8. On Friday he paid. (get)
9. On Sunday she to church. (go)
10. Today is Monday, tomorrow is .
11. It’s sunny and . (the opposite of cold)
12. The last day of the week is .
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “He go to church on Sunday.”
14. “I work on Monday.”
15. “It’s rainy in tuesday.”
16. “She watches TV on Friday night.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
My week. Tell a partner one thing you do every day of the week: On Monday I go to school. On Tuesday I play football…
Discuss. 1. What is your favourite day? Why? 2. What is the weather like today? 3. Is Monday a bad day for you?
Write (40–60 words). My blues week. Write a funny week, like the song: On Monday it’s rainy. On Tuesday my cat is sad…
Now play the gamebook: a week of bread deliveries in Alexandria.Play the gamebook →