Shadowing Practice: Chris de Burgh - Last Night (Live Official) - Learn English Speaking with Video
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25 sentences
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The Last
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night, I was walking through the harbor Where the fishing boats are lying on the shore
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The news had travelled fast and everyone went to be Where the mayor was making a speech
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And the crowd started cheering when he talked about the glory of it all And the boys coming home from the war
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Last night they were dancing in the streets and making music in the alleyways and bars
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A house down by the old town played the sound of guitars Margarita was waiting inside
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With her long black hair hanging down beneath the red light And she smiled For the boys coming home from the war
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For the boys coming home from the war And they said we were heroes They said we were blind
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We were kings in command We had God on our side
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And we said nothing will make us change In any way Since yesterday,
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we've just been the same Since yesterday, nothing has changed Since yesterday,
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we've just been the same I can feel there's a new kind of thunder inside To be satisfied,
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I saw it there last night Last night,
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I was walking through the shadows far away from all the music and the girls
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But I saw a soldier waiting with a woman in black,
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and they stood without any word Just staring at a photograph of someone,
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and she began to cry For a boy left behind in the war Some boy left behind in the war
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And they said we were heroes They said we would hide We were kings in command,
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we had God on our side And we said nothing will make us change in any way Since yesterday,
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we're just insane Since yesterday, nothing has changed Since yesterday,
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we're just insane I can feel there's a new kind of
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hunger inside To be satisfied I saw it there last night So eternal
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We're just the same Nothing has changed We're all the same
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Oh, oh, oh, oh
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I'm sorry.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This video has 25 sentences and 337 words to shadow. The speech runs for 5:37. The speaker talks slowly, about 60 words per minute, so there is time to copy every sound. 87% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is easy to follow.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| insane adjective | /ɪnˈseɪn/ | Exhibiting unsoundness or disorder of mind; not sane; utterly mad. |
| satisfy verb | /ˈsætɪsfaɪ/ | To be enough (for) |
| guitar noun | /ɡɪˈtɑɹ/ | A stringed musical instrument, of European origin, usually with a fretted fingerboard and six strings, played with the fingers or a plectrum (guitar pick). |
| soldier noun | /ˈsoʊld͡ʒɚ/ | A member of a ground-based army, of any rank, but especially an enlisted member. |
| shadow noun | /ˈʃædəʊ̯/ | A dark image projected onto a surface where light (or other radiation) is blocked by the shade of an object. |
| glory noun | /ˈɡlɔːɹi/ | Great beauty and splendor. |
| shore noun | /ʃɔɹ/ | Land adjoining a non-flowing body of water, such as an ocean, lake or pond. |
| beneath | /bɪˈniːθ/ | Below. |
| photograph noun | /ˈfoʊ.təˌɡɹæf/ | A picture created by projecting an image onto a photosensitive surface such as a chemically treated plate or film, CCD receptor, etc. |
| harbor noun | /ˈhɑːbə/ | Any place of shelter. |
| thunder noun | /ˈθʌndɚ/ | The loud rumbling, cracking, or crashing sound caused by expansion of rapidly heated air around a lightning bolt. |
| eternal adjective | /ɪˈtɝ.nl̩/ | Lasting forever; unending. |
| hunger noun | /ˈhʌŋɡɚ/ | A need or compelling desire for food. |
| cheer verb | /t͡ʃɪɹ/ | To gladden; to make cheerful; often with up. |
| stare verb | /stɛɚ/ | To look fixedly (at something). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| walk through verb | To explain (something) to (someone), step by step. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | we've just been · has changed |
| Past continuous was/were + -ing — an action in progress at a moment in the past | was walking · was making · were dancing |
| Future with “will” will + verb — a decision, promise or prediction | will make |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 7 contractions and reduced forms, such as we're, we've, I'm. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: beneath /bɪˈniːθ/, thunder /ˈθʌndɚ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: shadow /ˈʃædəʊ̯/, shore /ʃɔɹ/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Shadow it sentence by sentence at normal speed, repeating each one until your rhythm matches the speaker.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like insane, satisfy, guitar.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.