Summer is coming, and it means it’s time for us to buy a few new T-shirts, hang up our bulky coats in the back of the closet, and add a couple of upbeat songs to our playlists. Here is our compilation of famous summer songs. Listen, get in the mood for summer, and improve your English!
Aerosmith. Girls of Summer
The lyrics are here.
Useful vocabulary from the song:
- a country mile – a great distance, a very long way
- to be climbing the walls – to be feeling very anxious or frustrated because one has a lot of energy but is unable to do something he or she wants to do
- to be caught in a spell – to be under a spell (fascinated, influenced by someone)
- to speak in tongues – to talk using strange words, to talk using sounds that can’t be identifies as real words
Bryan Adams. Summer of ’69
The lyrics are here.
Useful vocabulary from the song:
- five-and-dime (American English) – a shop selling a wide variety of inexpensive household and personal goods
- to get/go far – to be very successful in the future
- to look back – to think about something that happened in the past
- drive-in – a cinema or restaurant that you can visit without getting out of your car
- to unwind (unwound, unwound) – to relax and allow your mind to be free from worry after a period of work or some other activity that has made you worried
- to kill time – to make time seem to pass more quickly by doing something instead of just waiting
Katy Perry. California Gurls
The lyrics are here.
Useful vocabulary from the song:
- gurl (American English, very informal) – girl
- sneak peek – an opportunity to see something before it is officially available
- to come close to sth. – to be similar to something or as good as expected
- Daisy Dukes – brief, tight-fitting denim shorts for women, typically made from a pair of cut-off jeans (see the picture below)
- bikini – a two-piece swimming costume for women (note that a swimsuit is a woman’s one-piece swimming costume)
- popsicle – an ice lolly (a piece of flavored ice or ice cream on a stick)
- we got in on lock (slang) – we are in 100% control of a situation
- stiletto – a woman’s shoe with a thin, high tapering heel (Shoes & English)
- to freak – to behave in a wild, irrational way
- freak – a person regarded as strange because of their unusual appearance or behavior
- toned – having firm and well-defined muscles
- tan (American English) – (of a pale-skinned person) having golden-brown skin after exposure to the sun
- bait – something intended to entice someone to do something
- homeboy (American English, informal) – an acquaintance from one’s own town or neighborhood, or from the same social background
- weenie (slang) – a weak, socially inept, or boringly studious person
Demi Lovato. Cool for the Summer
The lyrics are here.
Useful vocabulary from the song:
- To have one’s mind on sth. – to think about sth. a lot
- To be one one’s mind – if sth. is on your mind, that is what you are thinking about
- to have a taste for sth. – to have a desire for a particular food, drink, or experience
Joe Cocker. Summer in the City
The lyrics are here.
Useful vocabulary from the song:
- gritty – containing or covered with grit – very small pieces of stone or sand
- to be down – to be unhappy
- to wheeze – to make a high, rough noise while breathing because of some breathing difficulty
ABBA. Summer Night City
The lyrics are here.
Useful vocabulary from the song:
- to dawn – if a day dawns, it begins
- fancy-free – free to do what you like and go where you like because you have no responsibilities such as a family or a relationship
- dynamo – an energetic force
- driftwood – wood that is floating on the sea or brought onto the beach by the sea
Was there something in the songs that you didn’t understand? Ask us anything in the comments below. We’ll be happy to help you!
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