Video lesson#14: Don´t worry, be happy

It was about time to listen to this Bobby McFerrin’s classic hit from the late 80´s, that was the first a capella song to reach the number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1988.

I´m pretty sure that you have heard this song many times, especially if you were born in the 70´s-80´s but I also think that you may have not noticed the lack of any musical instruments on it. In fact, the only instrument used to record this song is Bobby´s McFerrin voice, as well as different sounds made by him with his fingers and mouth.

It has a quite simple and positive message, encouraging people to face their problems instead of worrying about them, and the chorus of the song is inspired in Meher Baba´s (an Indian mystic) words: “Don´t worry, be happy”.

The lyrics are quite easy to understand but I´m sure that you can learn some new vocabulary from this song.

As usual, follow these steps to take the lesson:

1- Download the lyrics sheet, and go to pages 1-2 where you will find the song´s lyrics with some missing words (gaps).

2- Click this video and listen to the song while you try to fill the gaps with the words that you hear. I recommend listening at least twice to the song.

3- Check your results going to page 3 where you will find the whole lyrics of the song.

4- Take a look at the vocabulary below to understand every word of the song.

5- Listen again to the song, without reading the lyrics and try to understand most of it.

WORKSHEET Don´t worry, be happy work sheet

VOCABULARY

To worry: to think about problems or unpleasant things that might happen in a way that makes you feel unhappy and frightened.

Note: a single musical sound.

Trouble: problems

Ain´t: short informal form of am not, is not, is not, has not or have not.

To lay: to put something down somewhere. Sometimes is confused with to lie (to put your body flat on something) because lay is also the past simple form of to lie.

Landlord: a man who owns the house that you live in and who you pay rent to.

To litigate: to ask for a disagreement to be discussed in a court of law so that a judgment can be made that must be accepted by both sides in the argument.

Cash: money in form of coins and notes

Gal: a woman or a girl (in British informal English)

´Cause: short informal form of because. Sometimes it´s also written as cos or cuz.

To frown: to bring your eyebrows together so that there are lines on your face above your eyes showing that you are annoyed, worried, sad or thinking hard.