47) We're Going to Be Friends

Hello and welcome to Learning English with Lyrics! I am your host Jake, and today we are going to discuss the wonderful little song, "We're Going to Be Friends", by The White Stripes. It's hard to avoid having heard a song by The White Stripes, as they have produced so many instant classics. In the northern hemisphere, September signals the beginning of "autumn" or "fall", and that means the end of summer vacation. Cooler weather arrives, but with it, so does school. While many of us didn't particularly like school, for young children, school is a magical time, filled with learning new things, making new friends, and playing playing playing. This song tries to capture the idea of a young child going to school in the fall, and the wonders and friendship that find him there.

Go ahead and give it a listen. Well, what did you think? Did it capture the idea of returning to school for you?

Today I want to talk about the song as a whole, and we'll explore one phrase in particular that is interesting.

The first section of the song is divided into short statements. Each line holds two distinct ideas. Some of them are are simple sentences such as "Fall is here", with a clear subject and a verb. Others are less clear, such as "ring the bell", which gives us a verb "ring" and the object of the action, "the bell", but no clear subject. It feels like a command, but in reality, it's just trying to describe something that occurs at this time of the year. These short phrases are supposed to recall feelings, more than they are supposed to be grammatically correct or clear.

Others are nouns, sometimes with accompanying adjectives. "Brand new shoes." or "books and pens".

The next few sections are more of a "normal" song, but the song will return to this format a bit later. If you want some good practice, go through the entire song marking each separate idea and phrase. "Fall is here", then "hear the yell". Try to figure out what each idea is trying to express and try to get a feel for what the singer is telling us.

Another thing to notice in this song, is that he's using a lot of childlike language. He's trying to get us into the mind of a child.

For example, "We walked to school all by ourselves.". This last part, "all by ourselves" means that it was just him and his friend. The implication, what he is trying to tell us here, is that they they walked together to school, with no parents or other adults present. This tells us that they, the children, are getting older, and the kids FEEL like they are getting older, because they get to do something that only an older kid gets to do: walk somewhere alone. So, what makes this childlike? Well, in the first case, adults rarely brag about being able to walk somewhere without anyone else's help. Secondly, the word "all". "all" in this case is an intensifier. When you add the word "all" into a phrase like this, it emphasizes it, makes it stronger.

For example, if I say "I made cookies by myself", that just means that I didn't have any help. But, if I say "I made cookies ALL by myself" that says that not only did I make them alone, but that I'm especially proud of it. I'm emphasizing that I did it alone because it is supposed to be surprising to the listener. I have done something they or I myself, didn't expect to be able to do.

For a child to walk somewhere alone for the first time is a huge thing in their mind. So he's excited!

There's a lot more we could talk about in this song, and I encourage you to spend some time in it. There are lots of great words and phrases, and the song paints quite a lovely and nostalgic picture of the innocence of childhood. If you have any questions about it, don't hesitate to send me a message. That's all we have for this week, I'll talk to you soon!