MULTIMEDIA-ENGLISH
The Snowman (David Bowie intro)
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26:07
Video page URL
https://multimedia-english.com/videos/esl/the-snowman-david-bowie-intro-6921
Description

A great British animated Cartoon/Film from 1982, based on the award winning children's novel "The Snowman" by Raymond Briggs. Introduced by David Bowie. A Christmas classic.

Transcript

This attic’s full of memories for me. We spent all our summers by the seaside and in winter at home, by the fire. Frost on the window and snow. Snowballs and making snowmen. One winter I made a really big snowman and he got this scarf for me. You see, he was a real snowman. That winter brought the heaviest snow I’d ever seen. The snow fell steadily all through the night. And when I woke up, the room was filled with light and silence, and I knew then it was to be a magical day.


SONG: WALKING IN THE AIR (minute: 15:57)

We're walking in the air
We're floating in the moonlit sky
The people far below are sleeping as we fly

I'm holding very tight
I'm riding in the midnight blue
I'm finding I can fly so high above with you

Far across the world
The villages go by like trees
The rivers and the hills
The forests and the streams

Children gaze open mouth
Taken by surprise
Nobody down below believes their eyes

We're surfing in the air
We're swimming in the frozen sky
We're drifting over icy
Mountains floating by

Suddenly swooping low on an ocean deep
Arousing of a mighty monster from its sleep
We're walking in the air
We're dancing in the midnight sky
And everyone who sees us greets us as we fly

Explanations

FROST= A sheet of ice that forms on window panes and vegetation when the temperature freezes.


YOU SEE= Do you understand?


STEADILY= Constantly, in a uniform way, non stop.


ALL THROUGH THE NIGHT= All night long, during all the night.


IT WAS TO BE (formal)= I would be, it was going to be.


MOONLIT= Illuminated by the moon.


HOLDING= In this case, the boy is holding the snowman's hand. If you hold something, you grab it with your hand.


RIDING= In this context, travelling on a transportation (the snowman)


ACROSS THE WORLD= All over the world, everywhere.


GO BY= Pass by, come and go, like cars passing by a house by the road.


HILLS= Little mountains.


STREAMS= Little rivers.


GAZE= Look with their eyes wide open, as in amazement.


TAKEN BY SURPRISE= Surprised.


BELIEVES THEIR EYES= Believes what they see.


DRIFTING= Moving from place to place with no direction and in a smooth way, like something sliding on ice or floating in the wind.


SWOOPING= To move in a sudden sweep, like when a plain is flying and suddenly it goes straight down fast.


MIGHTY= Powerful.


GREETS= Says hello.


AS WE FLY= While we are flying.