SUPERMAN

Part One:  Superman in Music

There have been several songs written about Superman, two of the most famous being "Superman's Song" by the Crash Test Dummies in the early 1990s and the more recent song "Superman" by Five for Fighting.

First, look at the lyrics of the two songs.

i) What do you learn about Superman's powers?

ii)  What do you learn about why he is a hero?

iii) What do you learn about Superman as a person?

iv) What are the most significant lines in the song for you when you read the lyrics?

"Superman's Song" (Crash Test Dummies)

Tarzan wasn't a ladies' man

He'd just come along and scoop 'em up under his arm

Like that, quick as a cat in the jungle

But Clark Kent, now there was a real gent

He would not be caught sittin' around in no

Junglescape, dumb as an ape doing nothing

[Chorus:]

Superman never made any money

For saving the world from Solomon Grundy

And sometimes I despair the world will never see

Another man like him

Hey Bob, Supe had a straight job

Even though he could have smashed through any bank

In the United States, he had the strength, but he would not

Folks said his family were all dead

Their planet crumbled but Superman, he forced himself

To carry on, forget Krypton, and keep going

Tarzan was king of the jungle and Lord over all the apes

But he could hardly string together four words: "I Tarzan, You Jane."

Sometimes when Supe was stopping crimes

I'll bet that he was tempted to just quit and turn his back

On man, join Tarzan in the forest

But he stayed in the city, and kept on changing clothes

In dirty old phonebooths till his work was through

And nothing to do but go on home

Second, listen to the two songs by playing the YouTube videos below.

i) What kind of message do you get from the song - do you think the singer likes or dislikes Superman?

ii) What are the most significant lines in the song for you when you listen to it?

iii) Do you learn anything more about Superman as a person or hero?

Superman's Song (Crash Test Dummies)

Superman (Five for Fighting)

Third, play the YouTube videos (look above) again, this time watching them.

i) Does the video add to your understanding of either the song's meaning or Superman?  Why do you think Superman was chosen as the song's title and/or subject?

ii) What kind of message do you get from the song - do you think the singer likes or dislikes Superman?

iii) What are the most significant lines in the song for you when you view it?

iv) Do you learn anything more about Superman as a person or hero?

Part One:  Superman in Film 

Superman's Training

Superman's Powers

Secret Identity and Mission

ENG2D1 Unit Two