Name: Júlio César Souza Silva Date:30/03/2121

SONG STEP

V 1 2 3
I

Yellow | Coldplay
Let’s Get Started...

Lead vocalist and keyboardist Chris Martin and lead guitarist Jonny Buckland formed Coldplay in 1996, being joined by Guy
Berryman (bassist) and Will Champion (drummer and backing vocalist) sometime later. The bandmates all came together
while studying at the University College of London.
They self-issued two EPs before signing with a record studio, in April 1999. Major success only came when the band’s first
album, Parachutes, was launched in July 2000. The song Yellow made the former college students achieve worldwide fame in
the same year. It also received wide critical acclaim – according to Rolling Stone’s journalist Brian Hiatt, Yellow is “a career-
making record”.
Source: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/coldplay-mn0000775877/biography; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yellow_(Coldplay_song)

Pre-Listening
1. Think of words you would associate with the color yellow. Use the mind map to organize your ideas.

Heat
Beach Ground

YELLOW

Summer Sunflower
Gold

2. Work with a classmate. Compare your mind maps in Activity 1. Did you and your partner come up with similar ideas?

Yes, we had similar ideas. Sunflower and Sun.

3. In the lyrics of Yellow, the words on the left column are used with the words on the right column. Match the words.

a. look at [ b ] a song
b. write [ d ] something beautiful
c. take [ a ] the stars
d. turn into [ e ] a line
e. draw [ c ] my turn
18
 SONG STEP

V 1 2 3
I
4. Work in small groups. The underlined words in the sentences are important to understand the lyrics of
Yellow. Discuss with your classmates what they mean.

a. The full moon was shining bright in the sky last night.
Shining comes from the verb shine. The same as: sparkling, splendid, glowing.
b. Kate broke a bone in her arm when she fell from a tree.
The bone is a rigid structure, of varying shape, which has the same origin and functions.
c. The burglars jumped over a back wall to break into the house.
Jumped comes from the verb to jump, to walk fast and to jump.
d. Ugh! Your nose is bleeding! You’d better lie down to stop that…
Bleeding comes from the verb bleed. The same as: exhausting, extorting, hurting, weakening.

While Listening
5. Listen to the song Yellow. Number the stanzas in the order you hear them.

Yellow
Coldplay
[ 08 ] It’s true, look how they shine for
[ 01 ] Look at the stars
you, Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for... Look how
And everything you do
they shine for you [2x] Look how
Yeah, they were all yellow
they shine...

[ 02 ] I came along
[ 09 ] Look at the stars,
I wrote a song for you
Look how they shine for you
And all the things you do
And all the things that you do
And it was called “Yellow”

[ 04 ] Your skin, [ 07 ] Your skin,

Oh yeah, your skin and bones Oh yeah, your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful Turn into something beautiful
Do you know? And you know
You know I love you so For you I’d bleed myself dry
You know I love you so For you I’d bleed myself dry
19
 [ 05 ] I swam across [ 06 ] I drew a line
SONGI jumped across for you
STEP
I drew a line for you
VOh, what
1 2a thing
3 to do Oh, what a thing to do
I ‘Cause you were all yellow And it was all yellow

[ 03 ] So then I took my turn

Oh, what a thing to have done
And it was all yellow
PHOTOCOPIABLE
YELLOW | COLDPLAY

After Listening
6. Compare your ideas for the word “yellow”, brainstormed in Activity 1, to the lyrics of Coldplay’s song. Were any of your
ideas mentioned in the song?

Our ideas were not mentioned in music.

7. Which things have the color “yellow” in the song? Read and check .

[ ] a. the sun shining in the sky

[ X ] b. the stars shining in the sky
[ X ] c. things the song narrator’s beloved one does
[ ] d. a song the narrator wrote for his beloved one
[ ] e. a poem the narrator wrote for his beloved one
[ ] f. clothes the narrator is wearing
[ ] g. the person the narrator loves

8. What is the song narrator’s attitude towards the person he loves?

Underline all the answers that apply and write down the line(s) that justifies your answers.

a. He admires the person. a- I came along e- Your skin,

b. He is sad for the person.
I wrote a song for you Oh yeah, your skin and bonés
c. He is devoted to the person.
And all the things you do Turn into something beautiful
d. He feels angry at the person.
e. He thinks the person is beautiful.

9. Work with a partner. Do a quiz with facts about Coldplay and the song Yellow. Bet from 1 to 10 points on each of your
answers.
Your bet
20