What the song is about

The singer is walking alone in a city, looking at a phone, and trying to find the train station. They can't find the way, so they stop someone and politely ask for help. The stranger gives directions, and by the end the singer is no longer lost: "now I know." The chorus repeats the basic direction phrases many times, so it is a good song for learning how to ask for and follow directions.

Useful words and expressions

Directions

  • turn left / turn right: change direction at a corner
  • go straight ahead: keep going forward without turning
  • take the first / second street: turn into the first or second street you reach
  • walk down the road: walk along the road
  • go past the supermarket / the bakery: walk by it and keep going
  • stop at the red light: wait at the traffic light
  • cross (over) the bridge: go to the other side of the bridge
  • follow the signs: go where the street signs point
  • keep walking forward: continue walking straight
  • you are almost there: you have nearly arrived
Places in a city: the station, the supermarket, the bakery, the bridge, the square, the road, the street

Asking for help politely

  • Excuse me, sir, can you help me, please? is a polite way to start talking to a stranger. For a woman you can say Excuse me, madam, or simply Excuse me.
  • Tell me the way means tell me how to get there. A more common question is Can you tell me the way to the station?
Other expressions
  • put my mind at ease: help me stop worrying
  • be on the right track: be going the right way (also used figuratively: doing the right thing)
  • walk in circles: walk around without getting anywhere
  • be completely lost / have nowhere to go: not know where you are or where to go
  • point the way: show someone which direction to go

Grammar

  • Imperatives for directions: directions in English use the base form of the verb with no subject: Turn left. Go past the bakery. Take the second street. Cross over the bridge.
  • Present continuous for what is happening now: I am walking in the city, looking at my phone.
  • Past continuous and past simple in the bridge to describe how things were: I was walking in circles. I was completely lost. Then now brings us back to the present: now I am finally on the right track.
  • Ordinal numbers with streets: the first street, the second street.
  • Verb + -ing after keep: Keep walking forward.

Watch out: lyrics bent for the song

  • "turn around the square": turn around normally means to turn and go back the way you came. To describe walking along the sides of a square, say go around the square.
  • "to get the direction right": when you ask for the way, we usually say directions (plural): I need to ask someone for directions.
  • "Remember the words that the map just said": a map doesn't speak; the line is there to rhyme with ahead. (A navigation app on a phone can "say" things, though.)
  • "Follow the signs to crack the code": crack the code means to solve a puzzle. It is chosen to rhyme with road; in real life you would just say Follow the signs to the station.
  • "the streets were so black": chosen to rhyme with track. A natural way to say it is the streets were so dark.