Stand by your man – Tammy Wynette

1) Cover the lyrics and listen. What sentence best describes what the speaker says?

a. The woman loves her man and understands him completely.

b. The woman doesn’t understand her man sometimes but loves him anyway.

c. The woman is confused.

2) Listen again. What adjectives can you hear?

3) Listen and complete the gaps with the words below.

man world(x2) bad

Sometimes it's hard to be a _______________ arms nights love

Givin' all your love to just one man woman

You'll have _______________ times, and he'll have good times

Doin' things that you don't understand

But if you _______________ him, you'll forgive him

Even though he's hard to understand

And if you love him, oh, be proud of him

Because, after all, he's just a _______________

Stand by your man

Give him two _______________ to cling to

And somethin' warm to come to

When _______________ are cold and lonely

Stand by your man

And show the _______________ you love him

Keep givin' all the love you can
Stand by your man

Stand by your man

And show the _______________ you love him

Keep givin' all the love you can

Stand by your man
 4) Underline the lines that stand out to you. Then, share your thoughts about those lines.

5) Emotions. Tick the emotions conveyed in the song.

Love Regret Loyalty

Sadness Vulnerability Happiness

6) Discuss the following questions:

a. What does the phrase “stand by your man” mean? Does it carry a positive or negative

connotation?
b. The song suggests that women should forgive and support their male partners, even
when they don’t understand their actions. Do you agree or disagree with this?
c. Do you think the song reflects the reality of being in a committed relationship? What

about a healthy one?

7) If you wrote a magazine article about this song, what title would you use?

a. Gender roles in relationships.

b. How to be a woman.
c. Love and forgiveness.

8) Listen to and sing the song.

9) Think about the message of the song and write a short paragraph with your opinion.

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