During the quarantine
What matters truly matters
Welcome to new subscribers and regular readers! Thank you for joining me for today’s song, “When all of this is over ” by John McCutcheon (2020). If you’d like to hear the song before you read about it, I’ve included a YouTube video below the article.
Below, you’ll find my interpretation of the lyrics which are written in italics. For Japanese students, vocabulary words in bold are provided in Japanese below. TOEIC (PBT) 450+, Eiken 2, CEFR B1.
(564 words)
Where were you in 2020?
The COVID-19 virus started in December 2019. It began to spread and made many people sick. The virus spreads through the air when people cough, sneeze, or even talk.
By March 2020, the virus had spread to many countries. The World Health Organization declared it a global pandemic. To stop the virus, governments told people to stay home and not to be in large groups of people. This was called "quarantine”. Many people worked from home, and schools, stores, and restaurants closed.
This song is sung from the point of view of someone who is under quarantine. He is bored, and he recalls the things he has done to pass the time, since he can’t go out.
The all-clear is a signal that danger or difficulty has ended.
When all of this is over
And we’re given the all-clear
When we venture back in public
And no longer have to fear
As we look back on these past months
And how it used to be
I wonder if we’ll jump back in
Quite so eagerly
Do you remember where you were in 2020? Can you recall how your life changed as a result of COVID-19?
‘Cause we had time for reading
For board games and for cards
For getting in our gardens
For cleaning up our yards
We tried outrageous recipes
Even learned how to bake bread
Called our loved ones on the phone
Spent lots more time in bed
This man “binge-watched” Netflix. That means that if there were a show that had 20 episodes, he watched all of them in one day!
Sure, we binge-watched too much Netflix
To blow a day means to waste it, to not use the time well.
Blew entire days
To drive someone crazy means to annoy them or make them angry with your behavior
And we drove each other crazy
In a hundred different ways
For supper we ate breakfast
For breakfast had ice cream
The next line says “again”. This makes us think of other times when we were bored, for example, when we were children and there was nothing interesting to do.
We learned how to be bored again
Found the time to dream
So, when all of this is over
And from quarantine set free
I suspect there’ll be some changes
From how things used to be
We can each get by with less
We can each want so much more
‘Cause what matters truly matters
When all of this is o’er
“O’er” is another way to say “over”. When something is over, it is finished or has ended. Look carefully at the last two lines. McCutcheon is saying that what matters — what is most important to us — is the most important thing in our lives.
Vaccines to protect against COVID-19 were ready by the end of 2020. Over time, more people got vaccinated, and fewer people became seriously sick. Even though life slowly returned to normal for many people around the world, there are still about 400 million individuals who have Long Covid. They still have serious problems breathing, or their immune system doesn’t work right, or they might feel tired all the time.
Scientists are still researching Long COVID to find out what can be done to help people who have it. We can help these people by understanding the problem and by wearing masks.
Leaving a comment is a good way to practice your writing skills.
Vocabulary
declare 宣言
quarantine 隔離
recall 思い出す
venture 踏み切る
outrageous とんでもない
suspect 怪しむ
vaccine ワクチン
immune system 免疫システム
Learn more about John McCutcheon at https://www.folkmusic.com/
https://www.folkmusic.com/store/p295/CabinFever.html
Source
Al-Aly Z, Davis H, McCorkell L, et al. Long COVID science, research and policy. Nature Medicine. 9 August 2024. doi: 10.1038/s41591-024-03173-6.
I always feel a little guilty when I think back to those days of confinement Louise, while so many suffered, either with the virus itself or just the absolute hell of having to be contained within their small apartments I loved every second! The silence was pure bliss, no aircraft, no cars, just the birds and endless free days ahead of me... Its a terrible thing to say, and I wouldn't wish for any of us to experience another pandemic ever, but for me, the days of freedom, at home with my family, on my hill in the middle of all this wild and beautiful nature were unforgettable. I know I was so very fortunate.
It is interesting to listen or read things from the Pandemic Period, when we were in the thick of it, as opposed to looking back. Ironically, there were some social positives.