Learn English with 16 Great Songs from the 1980s
Improve your English with 16 great songs from the 1980s. Learn useful grammar, vocabulary and everyday expressions through classic 80s music.
MUSIC
9/11/202614 min read
Music, Language and Culture for English Learners
Welcome to the third article in our Goldfields English Conversation Music Series! In this series, we have previously looked at music from the 1960s (Learn English with 17 Great Songs of the 1960s) and 1970s (20 Great Songs of the 70s for English Learners). In this article, I’ll be sharing some of the world’s most popular and memorable songs from the 80s.
Music is a wonderful way to learn English. A song can help you:
Hear how real English sounds
Remember new words and expressions
Discover something about other countries’ culture and history
Have fun while learning!
Tips for English learners on how to use these articles
Here is some advice on how to learn English with songs. I’ll write in simple, clear English, so please try to read everything in English first. Don’t worry if you don’t understand every word — that’s normal. Here’s a good way to use each article:
Read the article once without stopping.
Read it again and note any words or phrases you don’t know. Words in bold have definitions at the end of the article.
DON’T look up every single word you don’t know. However, if you see a word that you’ve come across many times before without knowing the meaning, it’s a good idea to look up its meaning.
Listen to the song on YouTube and try to follow some of the lyrics.
Each song will include:
Musical style
Language points you can learn from the lyrics
Interesting facts about the song or artist
A link to the YouTube clip so you can listen and enjoy.
Introduction: The Eighties
The 1980s was a decade of big changes in music. Synthesizers and electronic instruments became increasingly common, music videos became hugely popular, and MTV helped create a new generation of international pop stars. Hip-hop also moved from the streets of New York into the mainstream.
Music also reflected the world around it. The Cold War, unemployment, poverty, inequality and conflicts such as the Troubles in Northern Ireland provided inspiration for many musicians. At the same time, the decade was famous for its growing consumer culture, celebrity culture and increasingly commercial pop music.
But you don’t need to be a music historian to enjoy 80s songs — and you don’t need to understand every word. The songs below have been chosen because they contain useful English that you can use in everyday life.
1. Once in a Lifetime (1980) – Talking Heads
Country: United States. Style: New Wave
Interesting Fact: The singer of Talking Heads, David Byrne, was inspired by preachers he had heard on the radio delivering sermons. He copied their style of speaking when he sang the verses of the song. The music video became very popular on MTV. Byrne’s unusual dancing was also inspired by preachers and people having trance-like religious experiences.
Language Point: This song uses the first conditional, although perhaps not in the way it is usually taught in textbooks. The first conditional is usually shown as: If + Present Simple, will + verb. For example: “If it rains, I will bring an umbrella.” In this song, the singer uses “may” and “might” instead of “will”. This makes the situation sound less certain and more like a possibility. The song also leaves out the “if” part, but the conditional meaning is still there. It suggests something like: “If life changes unexpectedly, you may find yourself…”
2. The Lunatics Have Taken Over the Asylum (1981) – Fun Boy Three
Country: United Kingdom. Style: New Wave
Interesting Fact: Fun Boy Three was made up of three members of the band The Specials. When The Specials re-formed, they recorded a cover version of the song in 2019 because they believed that, almost 40 years after the song was written, world politics was just as mad and chaotic.
Language Point: The expression “the lunatics have taken over the asylum” means that people who are not suitable leaders have gained power and are making poor decisions or causing chaos. People use this expression humorously or critically when they think the wrong people are making decisions. When the song was written, Ronald Reagan had recently been elected President of the United States; he is “the cowboy” in the second verse. Note that using “lunatic” to describe a person with a mental illness can sound insensitive today. “Asylum” is also old-fashioned in this context. Modern terms include “psychiatric hospital”, “psychiatric unit” and “mental health clinic”.
3. Billie Jean (1982) – Michael Jackson
Country: United States. Style: R&B, Dance-pop
Interesting Fact: When MTV started in 1981, it had an unspoken policy of not playing videos by Black singers. MTV said that it was a rock station and that its audience was mainly interested in white rock artists. CBS Records, Michael Jackson’s record company, threatened to stop MTV from playing all CBS music if MTV did not play the Billie Jean video. MTV eventually gave in, and Billie Jean became one of its most popular videos.
Language Point: In the chorus, Michael Jackson sings “People always told me…”. Here, “people” can mean “many people”, “other people” or “people in general”. “Always” usually means 100% of the time, but here it means that people told him something repeatedly. It is an exaggeration meaning “many times”.
4. The Message (1982) – Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
Country: United States. Style: Hip-hop
Interesting Fact: The Message was one of the first rap/hip-hop songs to achieve major success. It was also much more political than many earlier rap songs, which were often light-hearted party songs. It describes what it is like to grow up in a poor area of a big city, through the story of a boy and his journey over several years.
Language Point: The song has lots of useful vocabulary and expressions for describing difficult situations. “It’s like a jungle” means that life is difficult and dangerous. “Don’t push me” means “don’t put more pressure on me” or “don’t make me more upset”. “Close to the edge” means being near the point where you can no longer cope. “Lose my head” means to lose control of your emotions or do something crazy. “Going under” means failing or being overwhelmed by your problems.
5. The Safety Dance (1982) – Men Without Hats
Country: Canada Style: New Wave / Pop
Interesting Fact: What’s the song about? Singer Ivan Doroschuk wrote it after he was told to leave a dance club in Ottawa because of his aggressive dancing style.
Language Point: There are three common uses of “can” + verb: 1) ability — “I can swim”; 2) permission — “You can go home now”; and 3) possibility — “It can get very cold here in winter”. In this song, “can” is used repeatedly to express permission. In the chorus, “We can dance” doesn’t mean that they know how to dance; it means that they are allowed to dance. “If you want to” is also a very useful everyday expression. For example: “We can go now, if you want to.” or “We can have pizza, if you want to.”
6. I Was Only 19 (1983) – Redgum
Country: Australia. Style: Folk
Interesting Fact: Did you know that Australia also took part in the Vietnam War alongside the United States? The war created a lot of division among Australians. When this song was written, Australia’s involvement had ended ten years earlier, but the effects of the war were still being felt. These included health problems suffered by returned soldiers who had been exposed to dangerous chemicals such as Agent Orange. The song tells the story of one young soldier.
Language Point: There is a lot of military vocabulary in the song, for example: “passing-out parade” — a military graduation ceremony; “cadets” — people training to become soldiers; “battalion” — a large military unit made up of several hundred soldiers; “slouch hat” — the traditional Australian military hat; “choppers” — helicopters; “mine” — a hidden explosive; and “ANZAC” — Australian and New Zealand soldiers. The song also mentions several Australian army training bases: Puckapunyal, Canungra, Shoalwater and Townsville.
This is also a good example of a very strong Australian accent to listen to!
7. Dancing in the Dark (1984) – Bruce Springsteen
Country: United States. Style: Rock
Interesting Fact: Despite being one of Bruce Springsteen’s best-known songs, it was almost never written. Springsteen had finished recording all the songs for his album Born in the U.S.A., but his record producer wasn’t happy because he thought the album didn’t have a hit single. Springsteen was upset by the criticism, so he went home and wrote the song in ten minutes.
Language Point: Most English learners know that we use the Present Simple to talk about daily activities and routines. For example, in this song: “I get up in the evening”, “I come home in the morning” and “I go to bed”. However, the song also uses the Present Continuous. “I’m moving around my place” shows what he is doing at that moment, rather than something he normally does. “I’m just living in a dump like this” describes a temporary living situation. In the chorus, “We’re just dancing in the dark” suggests an activity that is happening now, while also suggesting that they are moving through life without knowing what will happen next.
8. I Just Called to Say I Love You (1984) – Stevie Wonder
Country: United States. Style: Pop
Interesting Fact: After listening to the song, did you notice that it lists events and celebrations in chronological order? It starts with New Year’s Day in January, then moves through spring, April rain and other events, ending with Christmas in December.
Language Point: This song uses a grammatical idea called ellipsis. This means that some words are left out because the listener can understand them from the context. The basic pattern in the song is “No + noun phrase”, sometimes followed by an infinitive: “No New Year’s Day to celebrate”, “No first of spring”, “No harvest moon to light”. The words left out at the beginning are basically “There is”. Songwriters and poets often leave out words to make a line shorter and more dramatic. Starting the lines with “No” also emphasises absence and creates a list of images.
9. Summer of ’69 (1984) – Bryan Adams
Country: Canada. Style: Rock
Interesting Fact: The guitar mentioned in the song has an interesting story. Bryan Adams bought it in a music shop in Reading, England, in 1970 when he was 12. His father was a diplomat, so the family lived in different countries. Before returning to Canada, Bryan gave the guitar to a neighbour. Ten years later, a man met Bryan in a nightclub in Berlin and told him he had the guitar. It turned out that the man’s friend, who owned the guitar, had died in a plane crash but had asked his friend to return it to Bryan. After many years, Bryan finally got his childhood guitar back.
Language Point: “Those were the best days of my life” is a useful expression for talking about memories and the past. You can change the structure to talk about other experiences: “That was the best day of my life.” “It was one of the best days of my life.” “Those were some of the best years of my life.” “That was the best period of my life.”
10. We Are the World (1985) – USA for Africa
Country: United States. Style: Pop
Interesting Fact: The organisers, USA for Africa, hoped to raise $50 million from the song. It reached that target a year after its release. USA for Africa continues to receive royalties and donations and has now raised more than $80 million.
Language Point: “We are + noun” can be used to make a strong statement about who we are, what we represent or our importance. You often hear this structure in songs, slogans and speeches when people want to express a strong idea. For example: “We are the future.” “We are the solution.” “We are the problem.” “We are the people.”
11. Don’t Dream It’s Over (1986) – Crowded House
Country: New Zealand / Australia. Style: Pop
Interesting Fact: Are Crowded House a New Zealand band? Hmm, two of the three original members were Australian, while the New Zealander and lead singer, Neil Finn, also describes them as an Australian band. But Australia always seems to claim famous New Zealanders as Australian — Russell Crowe, Sam Neill and even Phar Lap the horse. So this time, let’s share Crowded House between the two countries! Wikipedia describes Crowded House as an Australian-New Zealand band.
Language Point: This song gives us a good example of the negative imperative. An imperative is used for a command, instruction, request or piece of advice. We can use it in the negative: “Don’t close the door”, or in the positive: “Close the door”. You probably know that a dream is something you have while you are sleeping. But “to dream” can also mean to imagine, believe or think. So “Don’t dream it’s over” means “Don’t think it’s over” or “Don’t believe it is finished”.
12. Don’t Give Up (1986) – Peter Gabriel and Kate Bush
Country: United Kingdom. Style: Pop
Interesting Fact: Peter Gabriel wrote this song while he was going through some personal difficulties, and his wife encouraged him not to give up. He connected the idea with the situation in the United Kingdom at the time, when unemployment was very high and many people, especially men, were losing hope of finding work.
Language Point: Another example of the negative imperative, just like “Don’t Dream It’s Over”. “Don’t give up” is a very common and useful expression. We use it when we want to encourage someone to keep trying and not let difficulties discourage them.
13. Graceland (1986) – Paul Simon
Country: United States. Style: Pop / World Music
Interesting Fact: Paul Simon wanted to break down barriers by going to South Africa to record with local South African musicians. However, there was a boycott on cultural exchanges with South Africa because of the government’s policy of apartheid. Simon received a lot of criticism for breaking the boycott, including criticism from the United Nations.
Language Point: The song uses the Present Continuous several times: “I’m following the river…” and “I’m going to Graceland…”. The Present Continuous helps us imagine the journey happening now. The action feels unfinished and ongoing. Paul Simon also uses a beautiful simile: “Losing love is like a window in your heart…”. We know it is a simile because it uses “like”. He compares emotional pain to an open window, where you can see through and feel the wind. Graceland is both a real place — the home of Elvis Presley — and a metaphor. In the song, it represents a search for healing, acceptance and a better emotional state after losing love.
Watch on YouTube (audio only)
14. I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For (1987) – U2
Country: Ireland. Style: Rock / Gospel
Interesting Fact: U2 wrote this song while on tour in the United States. They were influenced by the gospel music they were listening to while touring.
Language Point: Many English learners have difficulty knowing when to use the Present Perfect. In this song, it is used for experiences that have happened during the singer’s life, without saying exactly when: “I have climbed the highest mountains” and “I have run through the fields”. The chorus also gives us a useful example of the Present Perfect with “still”. “I still haven’t found…” means that the singer has been looking for something for a long time, but until now he hasn’t found it. The search is not finished.
15. Fast Car (1988) – Tracy Chapman
Country: United States. Style: Folk / Country
Interesting Fact: “Fast Car” was originally released in April 1988. However, the song didn’t become a major hit until two months later, when Tracy Chapman performed at the Nelson Mandela birthday concert at Wembley Stadium. She performed three songs in the afternoon, but later that day Stevie Wonder’s performance was delayed because of a technical problem. Chapman was asked to return to the stage and performed Fast Car alone with her acoustic guitar. Millions of people watched her performance, and the song quickly became a hit in the US and the UK.
Language Point: This song provides a good example of using the Past Continuous and Past Simple together: “we were driving…” and “city lights lay out…”. “We were driving” describes an action that continued for some time. While they were driving, she saw the city lights — perhaps a shorter event during the drive. The song also shows a small but useful difference between “it felt like…” and “I had a feeling that…”. “It felt like…” describes how a situation or experience seemed to you: “It felt like I was drunk” describes the singer’s experience while driving fast. “I had a feeling that…” describes something you think is true, even though you are not completely sure: “I had a feeling that I belonged” means the singer felt that she belonged, although she couldn’t be certain. We can also use “I have a feeling that…” when we think something will happen: “I have a feeling it will rain.”
16. Express Yourself (1989) – Madonna
Country: United States. Style: Dance / Pop
Interesting Fact: The version of Express Yourself most of us know is not the original version. Madonna preferred a remix by producer Shep Pettibone to the album version, so this more dance-club-style version was released as the single.
Language Point: “Second best” means something that is not the best option. It is good, but not as good as the best. However, when we use it with the verbs “go for” or “settle for”, the meaning becomes a little more specific. When we “settle for second best”, we accept something that is not as good as what we really want. “Go for” means to choose or try to get something. So “don’t go for second best” means “don’t choose an option that isn’t the best available”. These are useful expressions, especially when talking about relationships, jobs and goals.
Useful Vocabulary
The words and phrases below all appear in the article above.
synthesizer: An electronic musical instrument that can produce many different sounds.
mainstream: Popular and accepted by a large number of people.
consumer culture: A society where people are encouraged to buy and use a lot of products and services.
celebrity culture: A society where famous people and their lives receive a lot of public attention.
commercial (adjective): Mainly made to make money or become popular, rather than for artistic reasons.
preacher: A person who gives religious talks, usually in a church.
sermon: A talk about religion, usually given by a preacher in a church.
trance-like: Similar to a state where a person seems awake but is not fully aware of what is happening around them.
unspoken policy: A rule or policy that is understood but has not been officially stated.
no longer cope: To no longer be able to deal successfully with a difficult situation.
aggressive: Behaving in a forceful or angry way, often towards other people.
chronological order: The order in which things happened, from earliest to latest.
diplomat: A person who represents their country and works with other countries.
royalties: Money paid to an artist when their music or other work is sold, played or used.
to claim: To say that someone or something belongs to you or your group, or should be considered part of your group.
break down barriers: To remove things that separate people or make it difficult for them to communicate or work together.
boycott: To refuse to buy, use or take part in something as a way of protesting.
apartheid: A former system in South Africa in which people were separated and treated differently according to their race.
gospel music: A type of religious music that developed mainly in African-American communities in the United States.
acoustic: Using a musical instrument that produces sound without electronic amplification.
remix: A new version of a song made by changing or rearranging the original music.
Thank you for reading! I hoped you discovered a few new expressions, or even a new favourite song.