“By the way, I’m wearing the smile that you gave me.” -Unknown 

It is important to be thankful, especially for those of us who are lucky enough to study abroad, make lifelong friends from other countries, and have the experience of a lifetime in California. As a reminder, we are looking at a classic American song about friendship. The lyrics are quite useful for English learners: note the vocabulary, the use of conditionals, and the THANK YOU FOR + ING construction. Do you see them all? At the end of this article, we explain the important language learning aspects.

Listen to the song here, and read the lyrics below. What are you thankful for?

Thank you for being a friend
Traveled down the road and back again
your heart is true you’re a pal and a confidante

I’m not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow

And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see, the biggest gift would be from me
and the card attached would say,
Thank you for being a friend

Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend
Thank you for being a friend

If it’s a car you lack
I’d surely buy you a cadillac
Whatever you need, anytime of the day or night

I’m not ashamed to say
I hope it always will stay this way
My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow

And when we both get older
With walking canes and hair of gray
Have no fear, even though it’s hard to hear
I will stand real close and say,
Thank you for being a friend

(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Let me tell you about
a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend

And when we die and float away
Into the night, the Milky Way
You’ll hear me call, as we ascend
I’ll see you there, then once again
Thank you for being a friend

Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
(I want to thank you)
Thank you for being a friend
Whoa, tell you about a friend
(Thank you right now, for being a friend)
Thank you for being a friend
(I wanna tell you about a pal, and I’ll tell you again)
Thank you for being a friend
(I wanna thank you, thank you, for being a friend)
Thank you for being a friend

 

Grammar Notes

Did you note any of these grammar points, collocations, or phrasal verbs?

Thank you for being a friend

• This uses the “Thank you for +ing” construction.

My hat is off, won’t you stand up and take a bow

• “Stand up” is a phrasal verb
• “Take a bow” is a collocation

And if you threw a party

• “Throw a party” is a collocation

And if you threw a party
Invited everyone you knew
You would see, the biggest gift would be from me
and the card attached would say,
Thank you for being a friend

• Here, we see the conditional with “IF” + Simple Past . . . (subject) + would + base verb

If it’s a car you lack
I’d surely buy you a cadillac

• Here, we have a mixed conditional: this time, it’s IF + Simple Present . . . (subject) + would + base verb

And when we both get older

• “Get older” is a collocation