Demo mode — real UI, fake students. Buttons show a preview toast instead of saving.

Back to demo dashboard
← Back to dashboard
A2.1·country · blues·2:44

Folsom Prison Blues

Johnny Cash · 1955

Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash (1955) — selected for the English-through-music catalog. Use the sing-along prompts and exercises to drill pronunciation, vocabulary, and listening comprehension.

💡 Click the CC button on the player for synced captions.

⏱ Timestamps may not be synchronized — edit them via Personalize on the Songs menu.

Lyrics + translation · letras.mus.br

🎤 Sing along

Sing with the singer

  • I hear the train a-coming'
trainknowprison

Definitions: Cambridge Dictionary · Translation: MyMemory

Exercises

Exercise 1

Fill the blank in this line:

I hear thea-coming'

Exercise 2

Fill the blank in this line:

I'min Folsom prison

Exercise 3

Fill the blank in this line:

When I hear thatblowin'

Exercise 4

Fill the blank in this line:

They'redrinkin' coffee

Exercise 5

Fill the blank in this line:

Andwhat tortures me

Exercise 6

Fill the blank in this line:

Far fromPrison

Exercise 7

Translate this line to Portuguese:

I hear the train a-coming'

Exercise 8

Translate this line to Portuguese:

I don't know when

Exercise 9

Translate this line to Portuguese:

When I was just a baby

Exercise 10

Translate this line to Portuguese:

When I hear that whistle blowin'

Exercise 11

Translate this line to Portuguese:

I bet there's rich folks eatin'

Exercise 12

Choose the missing word:

I ? the train a-coming'

Exercise 13

Choose the missing word:

And ? keeps dragging on

Exercise 14

Choose the missing word:

Just to ? him die

Exercise 15

Choose the missing word:

And ? big cigars

Exercise 16

Choose the missing word:

If that ? train was mine

Exercise 17

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 18

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 19

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 20

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 21

Put the words in the right order:

Click the words below in the correct order…

Exercise 22

How many times do you hear the word "train" in the whole song?

"train"

Exercise 23

How many times do you hear the word "know" in the whole song?

"know"

Exercise 24

Put these three lines in the order they appear in the song:

  • Always be a good boy
  • I hear the train a-coming'
  • Well, I know I had it comin'

Exercise 25

And these three — put them in the order they appear in the song:

  • I bet there's rich folks eatin'
  • It's rolling around the bend
  • Well, if they freed me from this prison

Exercise 26

What kind of person do you imagine the narrator of "Folsom Prison Blues" is? Describe their age, mood, and situation using at least three details from the lyrics.

trainknowprisonhear

Exercise 27

If you could ask Johnny Cash one question about "Folsom Prison Blues", what would it be and why?

trainknowprisonhear

Exercise 28

Rewrite the chorus of "Folsom Prison Blues" in your own words — keep the meaning but change the style (formal, slang, poetic, whatever you like).

trainknowprisonhear

Exercise 29

Write the full form of each contraction:

  • it's→
  • don't→
  • i'm→
  • there's→
  • they're→
  • can't→

Exercise 30

If you could change the ending of the story told in "Folsom Prison Blues", what would happen instead?

trainknowprisonhear