Tonight’s singer sings in two languages: English and Spanish. He was from Texas, near the border with Mexico.
Learn from Songs · Unit 7: Past habits and memories · B1
Wasted Days and Wasted Nights
A Tex-Mex love song, half in English and half in Spanish, about years spent waiting for the wrong person: used to and would for past habits (I used to wait, I would cry), didn’t use to, and the past simple for single events, with Philo, Sophia, Marcos and Demetria.
SOPHIA
DEMETRIA
Two languages in one song? Like us, with Greek and Hebrew!
SOPHIA
Exactly. And the song is about the past: all the days and nights he used to spend waiting for someone who didn’t care.
MARCOS
So he wasted them.
Before you listen: the song
San Benito, Texas, 1959 and 1975
Freddy Fender was born Baldemar Huerta in San Benito, Texas, in 1937, to a Mexican-American family. As a boy he worked in the fields with his family and played the guitar. He chose the name “Fender” from the famous guitar.
He first recorded “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” in 1959, but his career was interrupted, and he was almost forgotten. In 1975 he recorded the song again, and this time it was a huge hit, in both the country and the pop charts. He sang a verse in Spanish, which was very unusual on American radio.
In the song, the singer used to wait for someone night after night. He would sit alone and cry. Those were wasted days and wasted nights. Now he has decided: it is over, and he is not going to wait any more.
What are you waiting for?
Listen: two languages
PHILO
Listen once. What did he use to do? How does he feel now? Which part is in Spanish?
SOPHIA
Then answer Section A.
🎸 Listen to the song: “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” (Freddy Fender and Wayne Duncan, 1959), sung by Freddy Fender.Find the recording →
📜 Read the words while you listen: “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights”, Freddy Fender.Read the lyrics →
Used to
MARCOS
He used to wait for her every night. He didn’t use to go out.
SOPHIA
used to + verb for past habits and states that are not true now. Negative: didn’t use to. Question: Did you use to…? (no -d after did).
Would for past habits
DEMETRIA
Every night he would sit by the window and cry.
SOPHIA
would + verb also describes repeated past actions, especially in stories: Every summer we would go to the sea. But only for actions, not states: I used to have a dog, never “I would have a dog”.
Past habits or one event?
PHILO
He used to wait every night. One night he decided to stop.
SOPHIA
used to / would for repeated past habits. Past simple for one event: One day she left. Past simple can also be a habit with a time phrase: I waited every night.
Sophia’s comparison: Jacob and Laban
PHILO
Jacob worked seven years for Rachel, and on the wedding night Laban gave him Leah instead. So he worked seven more years.
SOPHIA
And Calypso kept Odysseus on her island for seven years. He used to sit on the shore every day, crying and looking at the sea.
MARCOS
Fourteen years! Those are wasted days and wasted nights.
Sophia’s summary
| Words and forms | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| used to + verb | past habits and states | He used to wait for her. |
| didn’t use to / Did you use to…? | negatives and questions | I didn’t use to like coffee. |
| would + verb | repeated past actions (not states) | Every night he would cry. |
| past simple | one past event | One night he decided to stop. |
| used to have (NOT would have) | states only with used to | I used to have a guitar. |
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 did the singer use to do?
2. How does he describe those days and nights?
3. What has he decided now?
4. What was Freddy Fender’s real name?
5. When did the song become a big hit?
6. What was unusual about the song?
B · Grammar and vocabulary
Write the missing word or words.
7. He to wait for her every night.
8. Every night he sit by the window. (habit, story)
9. I didn’t to like coffee.
10. Did you use play the guitar?
11. One night, he to stop waiting. (decide)
12. I used to a dog. (state)
C · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct English?
13. “I would have a red bicycle when I was a child.”
14. “Every summer we would go to the beach.”
15. “Did you used to live here?”
16. “He used to wait for her every night.”
Talk and write
Discussion and writing
When I was a child… Tell a partner five things you used to do and two you didn’t use to do. Then tell a short story with would: Every Sunday my grandfather would…
Discuss. 1. Why do you think Freddy Fender sang in two languages? 2. Is waiting for someone always a waste of time? 3. What do you wish you had spent less time on?
Write (100–120 words). Wasted days. Write about a habit you used to have and stopped. Use used to, would and one past simple event.
Now play the gamebook: an old musician who wants to play again.Play the gamebook →