What the song is about
The singer wakes up feeling sick, with a headache, a sore throat, a cough and a fever. They go to a clinic, where a friendly doctor says it is
just a cold and writes a prescription. Then they go to the pharmacy for medicine. The chorus gives calm advice: see a doctor, listen to your body, rest, and
get well soon, the phrase people say or write to someone who is ill.
Useful words and expressions
Symptoms- I don't feel so well: a soft, common way to say you are ill
- a (bad) headache, a sore throat, a (high) fever, a cold
- to cough, to shiver, to ache (an aching head)
At the doctor's- make an appointment: arrange a time to see someone
- go see the doctor: informal, mostly American (go and see the doctor in British English)
- the waiting room, the clinic
- a prescription: a doctor's written order for medicine
- Open your mouth, Take a deep breath: typical doctor's instructions
At the pharmacy- the pharmacy / the pharmacist
- a painkiller, a pill, syrup, a drop of medicine
Other expressions- take it easy: relax, don't do too much
- it's easy to tell: it is easy to see or notice
- get back on your feet: recover, become healthy again
- it will go away: it will disappear by itself
- take care of yourself: look after your health
- chase away the gloom: make sadness disappear
- there's nothing to hide: you don't need to be shy or worried
Grammar
- have + a + illness: I have a bad headache, I have a high fever, It's just a cold. We use a with most single illnesses and symptoms.
- Imperatives for advice and instructions: Make an appointment, Drink plenty of tea, Close your eyes.
- Present simple to describe what happens: I start to cough, The pharmacist helps you.
- will for predictions: it will go away, You will be healthy and happy again.
- let me + verb: let me look inside means "allow me to look".
- When + present simple for general truths: When you are sick, sleeping is best.
Careful: the rhymes bend the language
- I wake up this morning: in normal speech say I woke up this morning (past tense).
- I take the thermometer: we usually say I take my temperature.
- Body is shivering: everyday English needs My body is shivering.
- I am a believer that I need to lie down is forced to rhyme with fever. Say I'm sure I need to lie down.
- Health is a puzzle, and they are the proctor: a proctor is a person who watches students during an exam. It is an unusual image chosen for the rhyme with doctor. Don't copy it.
- a spoon of syrup sweet: normally a spoonful of sweet syrup. The adjective comes before the noun in English.
