The Wall opowiada historię, zgorzkniałego i wyobcowanego gwiazdora rocka. Jak mówi piosenka „Mother”, część jego poczucia wyobcowania bierze się z wychowania przez nadopiekuńczą samotną matkę, która straciła męża, ojca naszego bohatera, podczas II wojny światowej.

Zadanie 0. Wydrukuj plik PDF, który znajdziesz pod tym linkiem, lub kontynuuj on-line.

Pobierz plik z darmową lekcją w PDF

Zadanie 1. Wysłuchaj piosenki z youtube jednocześnie czytając tekst. O czym mówią słowa?

Mother do you think they’ll drop the ________________
Mother do you think they’ll like the ___________________
Mother do you think they’ll try to _______ _______ _______
Ooooh aah, Mother should I build a __________________
Mother should I run for ________________________
Mother should I trust the _______________________
Mother will they put me in the ___________________ line
Ooooh aah, is it just a ___________________ of time
_________ now baby don’t you _____________________
Mama’s gonna make all of your
________________ come true
Mama’s gonna put all of her ___________ into you
Mama’s gonna ______________ you right here
Under her ____________________
She won’t let you _____________but she might let you sing
Mama will keep baby ___________ and warm
Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe
Of course Mama’s gonna _____________ build the wall

Mother do think she’s good ________________ for me
Mother do think she’s ___________________ to me
Mother will she__________ your little boy _______________
Oooh aah, mother will she__________ my heart
Hush now baby, baby don’t you cry
Mama’s gonna _______________ all your girl friends for you
Mama won’t let anyone _________________ get through
Mama’s gonna ______________________ till you come in
Mama will always _________________ where you’ve been
Mamma’s gonna keep baby __________________ and clean
Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe Ooooh Babe
You’ll always be a _______________ to me
Mother, did it need to be so __________________

Zadanie 2. Uzupełnij luki w piosence słowami poniżej.

bomb, break my balls, check out, find out, wait up, president, government, dangerous, Hush, Nightmares, tear (…)apart, dirty, break, firing, cosy, fears, song, waste, keep, wing, enough, healthy, wall, cry, fly, help, baby, high

Zadanie 3. Przeczytaj komentarze. Czy zgadzasz się z nimi?

• “Mother” by Pink Floyd in their album “The Wall” (and the movie) is about the main character Pink’s difficulties in life due to his up bringing. His father died in WWII and he was raised by his mother who was very loving but sometimes overbearing and domineering. She protected him from everything and therefore built a “wall” of protection around him as a boy. He grew up without any male influence (reference: scene from the movie where he walks up to another father on a play-ground and holds his hand as to say “You’ll be my new father”–the man pushes him away). In a sense, Pink is a mommas-boy who is very dependent on her for life decisions and he has been stunted in his ability to face troubles in life. The song particularly relates how his mother attempts to shield him from sex. Other bricks are placed as a result of his repressive school, his failed marriage, the fame that comes with his grown up musical career, and so on. Throughout the album, it makes heavy references to a distrust of the government, schools (teachers, principals), the military-any big authoritarian organization.

• So what i think, is that its making reference to books like 1984 by George Orwell. As they make it sound like mother is big brother . with the protective to the point where “she wont let you fly but she might let you sink” saying that the Gov. trys to help but in the end it does not. Also wit the singer asking mother what to do never fallowing his own free will. There is no more free will. Also it sounds like brave new world that we’v lost all personality and we all rely on what we think we know.
• I always thought “Mother” was authority in general. Could be parent, government, religion, depression/ anxiety, whatever we allow to have power in our life. Pretty bleak song. We want to know what to expect and what to do in this life, but the source that offers answers usually also has the power. If we want a certain future, we must relinquish personal freedom and control. Seeking reassurance in a world of uncertainty is a losing game.
• It’s about people in communist Soviet Russia and how they had to be dependent on what Mother Land Russia had to say: the bomb = American Nuclear threat; do you think they’ll like this song? = total control of free thinking; they’ll try to break my balls = Stalin’s torture camps and special police; the wall = Berlin Wall; should I run for President = common man’s governance; should I trust the government?= common man’s ignorance; will they put me in the firing line? = Compulsory Army drafting; Is it just a waste of time? = People losing hope on communism. It`s a personification of Soviet promise to take care of all her children. Of how ‘mother land’ is above individual needs. He wants to leave the motherland for USA in hope of better living. It also portrays how well propaganda conditioning for generations work, because he still has questions about what life will be after leaving the motherland. ‘She’ here is America. Mother Russia promise to keep her children safe from all evils of capitalism and strife. Life with ‘mother’ is far comfortable than the gauntlet of capitalism.

Zadanie 3. Uzupełnij definicje słowami, które są wyróżnione (na grubo). Słowa mogą być w tekście piosenki, lub w komentarzach.

• __________ ______ ____ give them a hard time.
• _________________ a polite or timid boy or man who is excessively close to and solicitous of his mother.
• ___________ asserting one’s will over another in an arrogant way.
• run the _____________________ go through an intimidating or dangerous experience in order to reach a goal.
• ____________ conscript (sb) for military service.
• ________ voluntarily cease to keep or claim; give up.
• _____________ the action of removing someone’s doubts or fears.
• ______________ angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues; conflict.
• ________________ concerned, caring, attentive, mindful, interested

Zadanie 4. Posłuchaj piosenki jeszcze raz zastanawiając się: o czym ona jest? Możesz teraz zauważyć, na ile twoje pierwsze wrażenie po odsłuchaniu piosenki były słuszne.

Jeśli piosenka ci się podoba, możesz nauczyć się jej na pamięć i śpiewać razem z nagraniem. Oczywiście po angielsku! Chcesz zanurzyć się w języku i szybko nauczyć się angielskiego!