My Song, My Home: Josh in London
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This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. Hello. Thanks for listening to the Learning English Conversations podcast. This next episode is part of our music series, My Song, My Home, where we meet a musician who tells us about their hometown and plays a song for us. It's a great way to practice listening to real English speakers and you'll learn lots of English expressions from the music in the programme. We hope you enjoy it.

So I learnt my first proper song on guitar when I was about 13. I literally started busking the moment I could kind of do that.

This is Josh, a musician based in London. Josh is a busker, someone who performs songs in public places like street corners and train stations. And yeah, I guess I was really nervous when I first started, just because I thought people would think I'd be weird just setting up in a random spot. But it was fine and I really enjoyed it and I just played one song on repeat because it was the only song I knew how to play. Welcome to my song, My Home, from BBC Learning English.

In this series, we meet musicians around the UK and learn some English from their songs. Today, Josh will tell us about busking and starting a music career in London and perform one of his songs at the BBC. Listen to the end to learn vocabulary from his song and find a transcript for this episode to read along on our website, bbclannyenglish.com. I take it on myself

Josh grew up in Hertfordshire, which is just north of London, and began busking when he was just 13. Nowadays, he writes and performs in lots of places, but busking is still a big part of his life as a musician. Josh describes busking as his main earner, his main source of money. It's been kind of like my main earner that's kept me going for the last 10 or so years. From that, it's then got me...

various different opportunities. It's got me all my gigs, got me all my connections so I owe a lot to busking. Since starting busking aged 13, Josh has done it everywhere he goes. He moved to Brighton on the south coast of England to go to university and then eventually to London where there were lots of opportunities to perform. London is a very lively city and yeah there are loads of

spots all around. I'd say anyone that's interested in music to go to Camden. Camden's where I was one of the first places I ever started busking and yeah, the atmosphere is just amazing there and everyone can be themselves. I hate how I've changed. I hate all the weight I'm holding on my shoulders. This is part of getting

One of the main places that Josh busks is in London's many train stations. These are busy stations, but Josh says he finds that people love to hear music as they travel about the city. I think my favourite train station to play at the moment is either Charing Cross or Victoria. Obviously there's people in a rush that just walk past, but that's fine. A lot of the time when someone does actually have time to

come up and say hi or something. They'll say, oh, I never get to sit and actually enjoy it because I'm always in a rush. So no, I do think people really enjoy it. The people in the train stations are often in a rush. They need to get somewhere quickly. But they still enjoy listening to Josh's music and he's been able to build a career playing to Londoners alongside other musical work.

But when the COVID-19 pandemic began, Josh had to stop performing, which he found really difficult. It was really weird, yeah, because I couldn't play for... I couldn't play outside for like six months at first. And then I started doing these gigs online.

And then I was back for six months and then I was away again for six months. So, yeah, it was really up and down. But I just spent that whole time writing music instead, kind of developing where I wanted to go after. Josh says he found the pandemic up and down. He had good times and bad times because he wasn't always able to perform music. But he used the time to write new songs. And he came to the BBC in central London to perform one of them called That Side of the Wall.

Josh performed the song on the BBC's seventh floor balcony as buses drove along the busy shopping streets below. Let's have a listen. I take it on myself I know I need some help The voices in my head question The thoughts of someone else I don't miss my faith

I miss all my peace I look into the ceiling Focusing on how to learn Can you lift me something Can you leave it be the door So I know there's something Or someone on that side of the wall Stop me from coming

So the song That Side of the Wall, I wrote that during the COVID lockdown. And it was a time when I just felt really alone and just felt like I didn't feel that connected with other people. I guess I was trying to write a song that kind of would allow people to speak out a bit more and

know that it was kind of like normal to feel that way so I guess it's about the pressures of kind of mental health but then the whole idea that someone's just on the other side is can just make you feel a bit more at ease. Josh says the song is about mental health and feeling under pressure. Let's have a look at some of the lyrics in the song about mental health in more detail. Remember you can find the full lyrics and vocabulary to help you learn on our website bbclearningenglish.com

First, Josh uses the phrase, I take it on myself. I take it on myself. When you take something on, you become responsible for it. So if you take something on yourself, you're taking on a responsibility or a pressure. In the song, Josh talks about a weight that he's holding on his shoulders. I hate all the weight I'm holding on my shoulders.

Now, this just means a concern or a worry. We often talk about feelings of stress or worry as a weight on your shoulders that you hold or carry. And we have a very common expression in English to carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. And it means you're really stressed or worried about something. The song is called That Side of the Wall. That side of the wall.

Now, it's not a real wall. It's a metaphor for feeling alone or isolated. Of course, during the pandemic, when Josh wrote the song, there were a lot of physical things stopping us from seeing friends and family. But the song is also about mental health problems, which can make you feel lonely and unhappy. Let's listen to the rest of Josh's song. Can you notice any other phrases in the lyrics about how Josh is feeling? I wish you would relax

I just don't understand why I always have to react. I hate how I've changed. I hate all the weight I'm holding on my shoulders. This is part of getting. Can you lift me up then?

Can you lift him by the door So I know there's something in someone That's out of the world Stop the heat from coming Cause I always like the cold And it's something belonging Someone that's out of the world Hiding away

Sleep is the days, facts in the place. It's like out of place, you're worse one day. Can you just stay? Can you live here something? Can you live here by the door?

So I know there's something or someone that's out of the wall. Stop the heat from coming, cause I always like the cold. I need something long and a song that's out of the wall.

Thanks for listening to My Song, My Home. If you want to see Josh's performance, you can find a video on our website, bbclearningenglish.com, where you'll also find the lyrics for his song, That Side of the Wall, and a worksheet to help you learn. Next time, we'll be in Liverpool to meet a musician called Grace and hear her music. See you then. Yoga is more than just exercise. It's the spiritual practice that millions swear by.

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