10 Cool Pop Songs That Make Learning English Incredibly Easy

1. “ABC” by Jackson 5

This song features one of the most influential pop musicians of all time (the King of Pop: Michael
Jackson), and it’s a great song all on its own.

The song focuses on vocabulary related to school and love, and its simple lyrics make it really easy to
follow. Some school vocabulary in particular includes words like “arithmatic” (a type of mathematics)
and a music phrase “do re mi” (a common way for singers to sing scales in musical instruction).

What’s better: Its simple, catchy chorus makes it great for getting English lyrics stuck in your head,
helping you to learn all of those useful English words.

2. “Always on My Mind” by Elvis Presley

Speaking of kings, Elvis Presley is known throughout the English-speaking world as the King of Rock n’
Roll.

This song of his focuses on the topic of love, and Elvis sings about always thinking about the woman
he loves even though she feels he doesn’t pay attention to her.

The title is an idiom that means “I am always thinking about you.” With lyrics like “maybe I didn’t
treat you quite as good as I should have | you were always on my mind,” this song is a great way to
learn idioms and love expressions in English, see negative sentences and observe past tense verbs in
use.

3. “And I Love Her” by The Beatles

“And I Love Her” is another classic love song by The Beatles. The topic of love is universal and easy
for listeners to relate to. Even though lyrics like “Bright are the stars that shine | Dark is the sky | I
know this love of mine will never die” are kind of poetic, the words are simple enough for learners of
English to understand.

4. “Beautiful Day” by U2

This song is a little more challenging than the previous ones. With lyrics like “The heart is a bloom
| Shoots up through the stony ground,” this song is a great way to learn about figurative and poetic
language.

The song is about being positive and happy and about appreciating your life. Even if you don’t
understand all the lyrics at first, the song is catchy. When it gives you an earworm and you can’t stop
singing the easier lyrics of this song, you can think about what the song means.

5. “Every Breath You Take” by The Police

Unlike the previous song, this song is easy for English learners because it is very simple and
competitive—perfect for learning! The song is about someone who loves someone else so much that
they want to always be by their side. The rhyming lyrics allow for phonetic practice too.
There are also a few idioms to take note of in this song. When the singer says his heart aches, it
means that he’s so upset by the fact that he isn’t with his lover, it’s as if it actually hurts his heart.
Further, to be lost without a trace means that someone or something has disappeared without any
clues as to where they could have gone.

6. “Manic Mondays” by The Bangles

This song is a little complex, and the vocabulary can be a little advanced for beginning English
learners, but the content is right where it needs to be to benefit English learners just starting out.

The song outlines typical daily routines, and has helpful day-to-day routine vocabulary. And besides,
who doesn’t wish it was Sunday? It really is the fun day.

This song is also good for seeing the past tense and the past progressive in action. The past
progressive is formed with the past tense of the verb to be plus the present participle (a verb ending
in -ing). An example of this is in the first verse: “I was kissing Valentino by a crystal blue Italian
stream.”

7. “Our House” by Madness

Not only is this song good for learning idioms and other English expressions such as a date to
keep (to make an appointment or meeting on time) and Sunday best (someone’s fanciest, nicest
clothes), but it is good for building vocabulary that a learner would use to describe the activities at a
house. The chorus is also iconic, and it is probably one of the shortest and catchiest in English music
history.
8. “California Dreaming” by The Mamas and the Papas

Who doesn’t dream of sunny California on a cold winter’s day? With lyrics like “All the leaves are
brown and the sky is gray,” this short song is great for learning vocabulary about the weather and
seasons. It also an iconic example of a conditional expression. Check it out.

“All the leaves are brown and the sky is gray.

I’ve been for a walk on a winter’s day.
I’d be safe and warm if I was in L.A.;
California dreamin’ on such a winter’s day.”

9. “I Heard it Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye

This catchy tune not only uses the past English tense in its various forms, but it has quite a few
examples of idioms and figurative expressions in English.

The title of the song is an idiom (heard it through the grapevine) which means that someone learned
a piece of information in an informal way, like through rumors or gossip. Other examples include the
following:

 Make me blue — To make someone said.

 It took me by surprise — To be surprised.

 To lose my mind — To become angry, upset, or crazy.

10. “The Lazy Song” by Bruno Mars

Learners of English will probably recognize this song as being Bruno Mars’s worldwide hit from a few
years ago. It focuses on someone who doesn’t want to do any work or leave the house that day. In
fact, it seems that Bruno doesn’t even want to leave his bed!

Despite being undeniably catchy, this song is good for English learners because it uses the English
future tense: “I’m gonna kick my feet up and stare at the fan.”

Further, it is a great song to learn vocabulary for activities that people do when they are at home.
Both those things aside, this song uses a lot of popular slang, and though that might be hard for
beginners, I’ve broken it down a bit for you here:

 Chilling means “relaxing”

 A snuggie is kind of like a sweater-blanket combination.

 Dougie is a type of dance that was popular in the early 2010s.

 My old man is a slang term for someone’s father.

 Being in your birthday suit means to be naked.

 Let everything hang loose means to relax.

And once you’ve mastered all these songs, you can keep listening to music by exploring the internet
and listening to English radio.

Happy listening!