14.3 – Think and Apply Activity 1
“Russians” Song Analysis Activity
1) What do you know about the Cold War, or what did you learn from the Module 14 reading text? What was this event? Who was involved? Why was it called a “cold war”?
Do you remember the Cold War? What are your memories? How do you think the Cold War impacted people?
2) Look at the “Russians” – Song Lyric Listening activity.
How can war and conflict inspire art? You will have a chance to share examples from your home country.
First, as an example, the class will listen to the song “Russians” by the singer Sting. To practice your listening skills, you will listen to the song multiple times as you fill in the missing lyrics on your song sheet.
The song/video can be found here on YouTube (it might be preceded by an ad that will need to be skipped) and/or other media formats. The first few times you play it, just listen without watching the video.
3) After listening 2-3 times, check answers against the “Russians” Completed Song Lyrics material [a complete copy of the lyrics can also be found here]. Go over each line as a class, shout out the missing language, and fill in any words you didn’t catch. Then watch the video to check your work!
4) Do you have questions about the words or historical topics in the song? Ask your teacher about when the song was written and look up some of the answers to your questions as a class.
Do you think Russians or people from former Soviet nations might feel differently about this song than Americans? Play the song (and show the video) one more time and discuss the following questions:
- Do you think this type of song influences people/leaders?
- Can songs promote peace?
- Can you think of any other songs (past/present) that were written to respond to a social or political issue?
