Tonight’s singer is the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin. This is one of the very first songs she recorded, when she was eighteen.
Learn from Songs · Unit 6: The perfect aspect · B1
Today I Sing the Blues
The song that began Aretha Franklin’s career outside the church: the present perfect for results now (I’ve lost, he has gone), present perfect or past simple (Yesterday I had… / Today I’ve…), and already, yet, just, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Eighteen? What is it about?
SOPHIA
Yesterday everything was fine. Today her love has gone, and so she sings the blues. Listen to how she compares yesterday and today.
PHILO
Past and present, side by side.
Before you listen: the song
New York, 1960
Aretha Franklin grew up in Detroit, where her father was a famous preacher, and she sang in his church from childhood. In 1960, at eighteen, she signed with Columbia Records in New York, with the great producer John Hammond.
“Today I Sing the Blues” was written by Curtis Lewis and first recorded by Helen Humes in 1948. Aretha’s version was one of her first singles, and it went into the top ten of the R&B chart. Later she became the Queen of Soul, with songs like “Respect”.
In the song, yesterday she was happy. Today her love has gone, and she has been crying. She hasn’t found a way to forget him yet, so today she sings the blues.
Yesterday is finished. Today is still happening.
Listen: yesterday and today
PHILO
Listen once. What was yesterday like? What has happened today?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
💙 Listen to the song: “Today I Sing the Blues” (Curtis Lewis, 1948), sung by Aretha Franklin.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Today I Sing the Blues”, Aretha Franklin.Read the lyrics →
Present perfect: a result now
MARCOS
He has gone. (He isn’t here now.) She’s lost her love.
SOPHIA
have / has + past participle when a past action has a result now: I’ve lost my keys (I can’t open the door). She’s broken her arm (it’s in plaster).
Past simple or present perfect?
DEMETRIA
Yesterday she was happy. Today she’s been crying.
SOPHIA
Past simple with finished times: yesterday, last week, in 1960. Present perfect with unfinished times (today, this week) or no time: I’ve seen it. Never “I’ve seen it yesterday”.
Already, yet, just
PHILO
He’s just left. She’s already cried. She hasn’t forgotten him yet.
SOPHIA
just = very recently. already = sooner than expected. yet = in negatives and questions, at the end: Have you finished yet?
Sophia’s comparison: David’s lament
PHILO
When King David heard that his son Absalom had died, he went up to the room above the gate and wept: “My son, my son!” Yesterday a king, today a father singing the blues.
SOPHIA
And the Greeks have a word for it: threnos, a song of mourning. Every people sings its blues.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| have / has + past participle | a result now | He’s gone. I’ve lost my keys. |
| past simple | finished time | Yesterday she was happy. |
| present perfect | unfinished time: today, this week | Today I’ve cried a lot. |
| just, already | recently / sooner than expected | He’s just left. |
| yet | negatives and questions | She hasn’t forgotten him yet. |
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. How was yesterday for the singer?
2. What has happened today?
3. What does she do about it?
4. How old was Aretha when she recorded it?
5. Where did she sing as a child?
6. What is Aretha Franklin called?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. He gone. He isn’t here now.
8. Yesterday she happy. (be)
9. I’ve lost my keys! (very recently)
10. She hasn’t forgotten him .
11. He’s finished! That was fast.
12. I saw him week. (finished time)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I’ve seen him yesterday.”
14. “She’s just left.”
15. “Have you finished yet?”
16. “He has went home.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
Yesterday and today. Tell a partner three things that happened yesterday (past simple) and three things you’ve already done today (present perfect).
Discuss. 1. Why do sad songs make some people feel better? 2. What do you do when you have a bad day? 3. Who is the greatest singer you’ve ever heard?
Write (100–120 words). Today I sing the blues. Write about a bad day: what happened in the morning (past simple) and what has happened since then (present perfect, just, already, yet).
Now play the gamebook: the queen’s blue cloth, and a terrible mistake.Play the gamebook →