I Can't Believe the News Today

Sunday Bloody Sunday

by U2

I can't believe the news today,

I can't close my eyes and make it go away.

How long, how long must we sing this song?

How long? How long?

‘Cause tonight we can be as one, tonight.

Broken bottles under children's feet,

Bodies strewn across a dead end street,

But I won't heed the battle call,

It puts my back up, puts my back up against the wall.

Sunday, bloody Sunday...

And the battle's just begun,

There's many lost, but tell me who has won?

The trenches dug within our hearts,

And mothers, children, brothers, sisters torn apart.

Sunday, bloody Sunday...

How long, how long must we sing this song?

How long, tonight we can be as one.

Tonight, tonight.

Sunday, bloody Sunday...

Wipe the tears from your eyes,

Wipe your tears away,

Oh wipe your tears away

Oh wipe your tears away

(Sunday Bloody Sunday)

Wipe your blood shot eyes.

(Sunday Bloody Sunday)

Sunday, bloody Sunday...

And it's true we are immune.

When fact is fiction and TV reality,

And today the millions cry,

We eat and drink while tomorrow they die.

The real battle just begun.

To claim the victory Jesus won,

On a Sunday bloody Sunday,

Sunday bloody Sunday...

Historical Background : Remembering Bloody Sunday : January 30, 1972

On January 30, 1972, soldiers from the British Army opened fire on unarmed and peaceful civilian demonstrators in the Bogside, Derry, Ireland, near the Rossville flats, killing 13 and wounding a number of others. One wounded man later died from illness attributed to that shooting.

The march, which was called to protest internment, was "illegal" according to British government authorities. Internment without trial was introduced by the British government on August 9, 1971.

The British-government-appointed Widgery Tribunal found soldiers were not guilty of shooting dead the 13 civilians in cold blood.

Historical Background : Remembering Bloody Sunday : January 30, 1972

On January 30, 1972, soldiers from the British Army opened fire on unarmed and peaceful civilian demonstrators in the Bogside, Derry, Ireland, near the Rossville flats, killing 13 and wounding a number of others. One wounded man later died from illness attributed to that shooting.

The march, which was called to protest internment, was "illegal" according to British government authorities. Internment without trial was introduced by the British government on August 9, 1971.

The British-government-appointed Widgery Tribunal found soldiers were not guilty of shooting dead the 13 civilians in cold blood.

Sunday Bloody Sunday

by U2

I can't ______the ______today,

I can't ______my ______and make it go ______.

How long, how long must we sing this ______?

How long? How long?

‘Cause tonight we can be ______, tonight.

______under ______'s feet,

______strewn ______a dead end ______,

But I won't heed the ______,

It puts my back up, puts my back up ______.

Sunday, bloody Sunday...

And the ______'s just ______,

There's many ______, but tell me who has ______?

The ______dug within our ______,

And mothers, children, ______, sisters torn ______.

Sunday, bloody Sunday...

How long, how long must we sing this song?

How long, tonight we can be as one.

Tonight, tonight.

Sunday, bloody Sunday...

Wipe the ______from ______,

Wipe your tears away,

Oh wipe your tears away

Oh wipe your tears away

(Sunday Bloody Sunday)

Wipe your blood shot eyes.

(Sunday Bloody Sunday)

Sunday, bloody Sunday...

And it's ______we are ______.

When ______is ______and ______,

And today the ______,

We eat and drink while ______they ______.

The real battle just begun.

To claim the ______Jesus won,

On a Sunday bloody Sunday,

Sunday bloody Sunday...

A song about Ireland: Sunday Bloody Sunday – U2

 Listening comprehension

Listen to the first 10 seconds.

1 . The document starts with:  singing  a guitar riff  beating of drums  an alarm ringing

2 . This sound can be linked with the theme of:

 joy (people dancing)  war (soldiers walking)  death (a bell ringing)  innocence (children playing)

3 . The melody, the singer’s voice and the instruments convey (convey = communiquer / évoquer) feelings that are: (several answers)

 sweet  powerful  energetic  quiet  romantic  angry  violent

 Vocabulary

Tick the correct translation for each word or phrase

1 . bodies means: q faces q dead people q arms q friends

2 . strewn means: q standing qgetting up q lying on the ground q falling

3 . A dead-end street is a street which is:

qclosed at one end qdangerous to cross qclosed at night

4 . trenches means :

q ditches made by soldiers q blood diseases q violent attacks qsad feelings

5 . torn is the past participle of the verb "to tear".

It means: qsuddenly reunited qviolently separated qstrongly affected qtotally lost

6 . wipe your tears : tears is a noun here, not a verb.

Tears are drops of salty water coming from your eyes when you cry. So wipe your tears means:

q hide your tears q show your tears q start crying q stop crying

7 . fact is opposed to fiction. So fact means:

q what is real qwhat is right q what is just q what is good

 The context: answer these questions with full sentences.

1 . What is this document?

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2 . To which historical event does the title "Bloody Sunday" refer? (date, place, persons…)

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..……………………………………………………………………………………………………………

 Written comprehension. Make complete sentences

1 . "I can’t believe the news today" (line 1) .What must have been in "the news" that was unbelievable?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

2 . "Tonight, we can be as one, tonight." (line 5) The singer wants us:

 to rebel  to be united  to believe him  to fight  to have hope (several answers)

3 . "brothers, sisters torn apart"(line 14) . Why may brothers and sisters be torn apart?

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………......

4 . "fact is fiction"(line 24): what happened during Bloody Sunday, which justifies this sentence?

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….…………………………………......

5 . In the song, Bono uses an extended battle metaphor. List all the words related to the lexical field of war.

……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

6 . Find a sentence showing that the singer refuses the temptation to avenge the dead, to become an armed rebel. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

ORAL: Do you think the overall tone of the song is pessimistic or optimistic? Justify your point of view.