What the song is about
The singer, Alex, meets someone new on a sunny morning. They say hello, introduce themselves, ask where the other person comes from and which languages they speak, and say goodbye politely. The song is a small guide to first conversations in English.
Useful words and expressions
Greetings
- Hello / Hi: everyday greetings.
- Good morning / Good evening: greetings for a time of day. Good evening is also a little formal.
- How do you do?: a very formal, old-fashioned greeting. The usual answer is also How do you do? Today people more often say How are you?
- What's up?: very casual, used with friends.
- Greetings: formal, and rare in everyday speech.
- My name is Alex. / Who are you? In real life, What's your name? sounds friendlier than Who are you?
- Nice to meet you. / It's a pleasure to know you. The common phrase is It's a pleasure to meet you.
- I'm happy we met.
- Where are you from? / I am from the city. / I am from Europe.
- born and raised: born and grew up in the same place (I'm from London, born and raised.).
- hometown: the town or city you grew up in.
- far away: a long distance from here.
- I am sorry. / Excuse me.
- Please do not worry. / There is no hurry. (= take your time)
- Thank you for listening. / Thanks for your time. / Thank you so much.
- Have a very good day. / Goodbye!
- formal: polite and serious (Good evening, sir).
- casual: relaxed and informal (What's up?).
- as you prefer / whichever you choose: as you like.
Grammar
- Questions with be: Who are you?, Where are you from?, What is your hometown?
- Questions with do / did: Do you speak English? (present simple), Did you travel from far away? (past simple: did + base verb).
- Past simple: I'm happy we met. (meet → met)
- Future with will: I will say "I am sorry", we will not forget.
- First conditional: If I make a mistake, I will say "I am sorry." (if + present, will + verb)
- Let's + verb for a suggestion: Let's start a conversation.
- Contractions: It's = It is, I'm = I am, Let's = Let us, What's = What is. The song uses both forms, so you can compare them.
- Gerund as a subject: Being polite is never a crime.
Careful: lines bent for the rhyme
Some lines sound unusual because they need to rhyme. Don't copy them in conversation:
- Where are you from today? Just say Where are you from? Today is only there to rhyme with away.
- What is your hometown? I am amazed. Being amazed doesn't fit here. It is there to rhyme with raised.
- A wonderful moment, on which we depend. This doesn't really make sense. It only rhymes with friend.
- It's a pleasure to know you. When you meet someone for the first time, say It's a pleasure to meet you.
- Do you speak English, or maybe some more? A natural question is Do you speak English, or any other languages?
- My language is clear and the country that you adore are unusual ways of speaking, chosen for the rhyme.
- Being polite is never a crime. This is a playful saying, not a fixed expression.
- Excuse me now, I am going my way. A natural goodbye is Sorry, I have to go now.