The sounds of English…
a listening experience
Stand by me Ben E. King
Plaza de los Arcos, Santiago de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
Stand by me (single). Ben E. King
Another great song in the annals of English language music history. So many things to say about this song and, the various artists who have recorded their own versions of it. Such a small space to write all of it in! For starters, it was released in June 1961. There are more than 400 recorded versions of this song, performed by different artists, many of them highly successful and widely renown. Here we have included covers by, among others, John Lennon, Cassius Clay, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, Bestseller Author Steven King, Tracy Chapman. The song has been ranked as one of the 500 Greatest songs of all time and one of the Top Five Performed songs of the 20th Century with more than 11 million copies. This song has been included in different movies. There is a movie by that name which, by the way, is one of my favorites.
The lyrics
Stand by me
[Intro]
[Verse 1]
When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we’ll see
No I won’t be afraid
Oh, I won’t be afraid
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
[Chorus]
So darlin’, darlin’, stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Oh, stand
Stand by me, stand by me
[Verse 2]
If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won’t cry, I won’t cry
No I won’t shed a tear
Just as long as you stand, stand by me
[Chorus]
And darlin’, darlin’, stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Woah, stand now
Stand by me, stand by me
[Interlude]
[Chorus]
And darlin’, darlin’, stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Woah, stand now
Stand by me, stand by me
Whenever you’re in trouble won’t you stand by me
Oh, stand by me
Woah, just stand now
Oh, stand, stand by me
Vocabulary
Annals A chronological record of the events of successive years. It can also be considered as A descriptive account or register, a history. This government will live on in the annals of our History.
For starters An informal expression used to introduce one thing, an example, or a reason out of a list of other potential ones. If you really want to help, for starters, you receive the guests as they arrive and walk them to their table.
Renown The condition of being highly recognized and admired, also used to indicate that someone is famous.. Louis Armstrong was widely renown for his influence in the jazz of the ’50s.
Bestseller A book, a CD, a record, or a product that has been sold in high numbers, especially over a short period of time. Insomnia was one of the first bestsellers by Stephen King.
Stand by someone The expression stand by has many different meanings. In the context of this song, it means to remain loyal to someone, especially when the circumstances are difficult. He will stand by me in the good times and in bad times.
The Listening Exercises
Ben E. King – Stand By Me (Stand By Me)
When Ben King wrote this song, back in 1961, he offered it to the band he played with, the Drifters. At the time, he was the lead singer. Their manager’s answer was, “Nice song, but we don’t need it.” Surely they must have regretted this decision, many times over, for the song eventually became one of the most successful songs of the Century.
The composer left the group and decided to perform solo. One night, after a session in the recording studio, King mentioned it to Larry Leiber, a pianist. “I showed him the song,” King said. “Did it on piano a little bit, he called the musicians back into the studio, and we went ahead and recorded it.” This is the recording of that original version of the song.
Cassius Clay, later renamed as Mohhamend Ali, is considered one of the best heavyweight boxers of all time. In 1974 he challenged George Foreman, the World Heavyweight Boxing Champion, in what has been called the “greatest sporting event of the 20th Century.”, which was known as “The Rumble in the Jungle.” He won the Championship by a knockout in the 8th round, while an estimated TV-audience of one billion people watched worldwide. As a musician, Mohhamend Ali won two Grammy Awards. Enjoy his version of Stand by me!
IU’s Straight No Chaser sings Stand By Me for fast food employees
This is an interesting cover in which a group of students from Indiana University, sing this song for the workers in a fast-food restaurant. In the natural, native-speakers accent from Indiana, here is their version of this most famous song. The lyrics should offer no problems for the listener in this exercise.
Florence + The Machine – Stand By Me
This is an unusual production. The group with lead vocalist Florence Welch, recorded this cover of Stand by me in 2016, as the theme song to the video game Final Fantasy XV. Included in the soundtrack of the video game are two songs also composed by the band. The group has been nominated for six Grammy Awards. Their first album, Lungs, won the British Award for Best Album in 2010. The version included in this lesson is the rendition that forms part of the video game.
Recognized as of the most talented musicians and songwriters of the 20th Century, John Lennon, recorded few songs that weren’t written by himself or with the Beatles when he was a member of that group. In a way, his having selected this song for a cover renders a tribute to it. His version was an immediate success. Recorded in 1975, a year when John Lennon’s life radically changed. This was the same year when his son was born. For the following five years, Lennon retired from his musical career to dedicate himself entirely to bring up his child. Like everything he did, this is a great version of the song.
This is an easy-going rhythmic version. It has a bit of Spanish thrown in here and there, so don’t worry if there are parts of the lyrics that you can’t understand. The Spanish fragments, together with its upbeat style, give it a Latino feel. Easy to understand lyrics and a unique version of Stand by me make this a different form of a listening exercise..
Tracy Chapman – Stand by me (live on Letterman, 2015)
This is, by far, one of the most popular covers of this song. Recorded live during David Letterman’s nightly Late Show, this rendition was an immediate success. An awesome interpretation of this great song. As a listening exercise, the lyrics should be quite easy to follow, so enjoy this live presentation by Tracy Chapman, the four-time Grammy Award winner.
Now this is certainly a special cover of Stand by me. The best-selling author, Stephen King, records his own version of this song. Among the many scary books written by this talented author, there is a book by the name of Stand by me.
Stand By Me – Music Travel Love (Lake Powell) (Ben E. King Cover)
I have to admit that I like the setting for this video. The lake is certainly a great place to set up the equipment and produce a video of this song. The music and production are excellent and their pronunciation, because of their easy-going style, is a good choice for a listening exercise. All in all, I believe this is a cool version to enjoy!
UK Royal Wedding Gospel Choir sings Stand by Me
This is a unique version of Stand by me. Here, this song is used for the wedding ceremony of Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex to the American actress Meghan Markle, at the Windsor Castle Castle, in England. The wedding was in 2018 and this cover of the song is sung during the ceremony by The Gospel Choir. Listen to a beautiful rendition by this multitude of privileged voices, accompanied by a the quiet backing of a piano. A simple, but enjoyable, listening experience that I believe you will appreciate.
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!
All photographs by ©edudelcorral
Talking easy, the English lessons The Listening Exercises