The sounds of English…
a listening experience
As tears go buy The Rolling Stones
Docks at Ometepe Island, Rivas, Nicaragua
As tears go by
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are in a way a legend of modern rock. Their origins go back to Liverpool, England, in 1962. They have been considered one of the most influential rock bands to shape what we now call modern or contemporary music. The Rolling Stone Magazine placed them as number 4 among the 50 best rock bands of all time. This song, As tears go by, has an interesting story. The manager of the band locked their two best song writers, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, lead vocalist and lead guitarist, inside the kitchen one day. This was to force them to write a song between them, for it seems they preferred to work alone and had problems working together. Finally, after some time locked up in the kitchen, they produced this song, As tears go by. Their manager gave the song to another musician that he worked with, Marianne Faithfull. She recorded a single album with As teats go by, and it reached the 9th position in the Charts almost immediately. One year later, in 1965, The Rolling Stones released their own version which became one their hits and has been included in several of their albums. The song has simple and straightforward lyrics, but in its own way, it is one of the most beautiful songs that the band ever wrote.
The lyrics
As tears go by
[Chorus]
It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Smiling faces I can see
But not for me
I sit and watch
As tears go by
[Verse]
My riches can’t buy everything
I want to hear the children sing
All I hear is the sound
Of rain falling on the ground
I sit and watch
As tears go by
[Chorus]
It is the evening of the day
I sit and watch the children play
Doing things I used to do
They think are new
I sit and watch
As tears go by
Vocabulary
Legend / legendary Someone or something that has an influence on people or on a part of humanity. People or things that are highly admired and respected. In 2016,Bob Dylan’s lyrics legendary influence was officially recognized when he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature.
Influential An act or way of doing things that is so powerful that it changes the way other people I was walking down the street when out of the corner of my eye, I think I saw an extraterrestrial walking in my direction, then suddenly he disappeared.
Straightforward Something or someone that is not complicated or difficult to understand. She presented her new project in quite a straightforward way.
Clear-cut Something easy to recognize or understand. Her pronunciation is clear-cut and easy to understand.
In general the lyrics to this song are in simple present and easy to understand.
The Listening Exercises
Marianne Faithfull – As Tears Go By (Official Lyric Video)
Marianne Faithfull presents this song in a very clear and easy way to understand. The video includes the lyrics and the images together with the words illustrate the meaning of the song. A good exercise for beginners and a good presentation of the song.
As Tears Go By by The Rolling Stones
This is the interpretation by The Rolling Stones of As tears go by. The pronunciation by Mick Jagger is clear and very accesible. The video also helps, as it illustrates the lyrics. An excellent presentation of this song at beginners level.
As Tears Go By (The Rolling Stones cover) – Riona & Kohei
This is a pleasant acoustical version of the song. The guitarist does a good job with his interpretation, and the singer has a clear voice that makes understanding of the lyrics an easy task to achieve. Again, this is a great exercise for beginners.
Melanie has a slow-paced we play the song. Her video is not really relevant to the lyrics in the song for the show different photos of her. Still, she has very clear pronunciation which will make it easy for the beginner to understand the words without a problem. All in all, this is a good listening exercise if you are beginning try and understand English through songs.
Avenged Sevenfold – As Tears Go By (Live At The GRAMMY Museum)
This is faster paced rendition of this song, but it is actually quite easy to follow. Since it is acoustic, it makes it easy to make out the words and understand song. Also, I quite like this version of, As tears go by, for it has has a sort of a metal rock sound, thanks to the lead singer’s voice.
Felicia Wong – As Tears Go By (1974)
Alicia is a pleasant surprise. Her voice is not a native speaker,’s voice, yet her pronunciation is amazingly clear, and it will certainly be a a good exercise for the listener. I have found that she has a large number of covers to different songs, and if possible, I will include her in more of these lessons, for I believe, she has a great way of interpreting the songs she plays.
Miwa Gemini the Rolling Stones Cover As Tears Go By
Some stories have great songs: some songs have great stories. I believe the interpretation of this song has an excellent story behind it. It seems that two girls got together to drink tea. They began to talk about memories, things they shared in the past, and since they both like music, at that moment, they decided, for the first time of their lives to record a video, and they choose this Rolling Stones song to do so. I find that extremely interesting, but also, since the guitarist is from Japan, it just goes to show how interconnected the world is, and that they should choose this song written far away from her home by some British artists. Enjoy!
Virginia Ferreyra – As Tears Go By (Cover The Rolling Stones)
You should have no problems to listen to this exercise. Virginia’s voice it’s very clear, and her pronunciation is easy to understand. The slow pace of the song also helps to make an easier task. As far as music is concerned, her voice is beautiful and listening to her is a pleasure.
This cover, as most of the versions presented in the lesson, is quite easy to follow. Again,the singer’s voice is clear-cut, the recording has good quality, and the slow speed, helps to make it an easy listening exercise for the listener. A good rendition of As tears go by.
THE LONGSHOT – As Tears Go By (The Rolling Stones) Foufounes Électriques, Montréal QC – 2018-05-
It’s time to go a little faster and make this exercise a little more difficult. In general, live presentations are more challenging than the studio versions. Still, with a little effort you should be able to work with this interpretation.
Sao Vicente feat Ituana – As Tears Go By (from Bossa n Stones 2)
Here’s a different interpretation this song. It’s played in a Bossa Nova rhythm. This group has a collection of Rolling Stones songs in this genre of music. This is the last of the lesson, so I picked and easy exercise to allow you to relax and realize that you are understanding everything.
All photographs by ©edudelcorral
Talking easy, the English lessons The Listening Exercises
The song, the lyrics and the different interpretations all are protected by copyrights. This is an educational lesson, without intent of profit, solely for the purpose of helping students develop their English skills. If any party feels that their rights have been affected, please notify me and I will immediately delete them. The various music versions are taken from www.youtube.com. The lyrics and album cover were obtained from https://genius.com.
There are a variety of different voices singing the same beautiful lyrics. Each voice with its own pace, inflection, and personality. Listen to these different versions, and exercise your English listening skills, remember that learning is fun, so enjoy!