Fujiya & Miyagi:

Abstract light trails in red, white, and blue colors moving across a dark background.

Flashback

Language Features to Look For:

Onomatopoeia

Simile

Repetition

Short and long sentences

Imagery

Metaphor

Freeze

I can’t shake it loose

These memories I didn’t choose

there is no truth in absolutes

These memories so easily misconstrued

Flashback rattling round my eardrum

It’s a psychological phenomenon

Flashback coming from the right side of my brain

I close my eyes and I’m transported once again

Flashback

Like a rubber band rattling around your eardrums

It snaps back

Like a rubber band rattling around your eardrums

Flash back freeze x2

I’m In a trance I’m in a trance you got me caught up in a trance x3 I’m in a trance x3

Flashback

Like a rubber band rattling around your eardrums

It snaps back

Like a rubber band rattling around your eardrums

it snaps back

Oh these flashbacks I see… FLASHBACK

I can’t stop these images

They keep on reoccurring

I didn’t choose these memories

I can’t shake loose these memories

Time stretches me back

Flashback          

Freeze

Flashback by Fujiya & Miyagi

Part A: Listen to the song and read the lyrics

Part B: Gap Fill – Vocabulary

Complete the sentences using words from the Word Bank:

Word Bank: trance, memories, flashback, phenomenon, transported

  1. The singer cannot control their ________________.

  2. A ________________ is when you suddenly remember a past event.

  3. The flashback is called a psychological ________________.

  4. When he closes his eyes, he is ________________ back to the past.

  5. Being in a ________________ means feeling like you are not fully awake or aware.

Part C: Matching – Literary Devices

Match the device with its definition:

1. Repetition

2. Simile

3. Metaphor

4. Onomatopoeia

a. Comparing something using 'like' or 'as'

b. Saying something more than once for effect

c. Words that create a sound effect

d. Saying something is something else

Part D: Find it in the Song

  1. Repeated word or phrase

  2. Simile

  3. Word that sounds like the thing it describes (onomatopoeia)

Part E: Short Answer

  1. How does the song make you feel?

  2. Why do you think the singer keeps repeating ‘I’m in a trance’?

A collection of vintage photographs spread out, including landscapes, people, and historical sites from different locations and eras.

Answers

Part B: Gap Fill – Vocabulary

  1. memories

  2. flashback

  3. phenomenon

  4. transported

  5. trance

Part C: Matching – Literary Devices

  1. Repetition → b. Saying something more than once for effect

  2. Simile → a. Comparing something using 'like' or 'as'

  3. Metaphor → d. Saying something is something else

  4. Onomatopoeia → c. Words that create a sound effect

Part D: Find it in the Song

  1. Repeated word or phrase: ‘Flashback!, ‘I’m in a trance’, ‘It snaps back’

  2. Simile: “Like a rubber band rattling around your eardrums’

  3. Word that sounds like the thing it describes (onomatopoeia): ‘rattling’

Part E: Short Answer

  1. How does the song make you feel?

    • Sample answers: tense, trapped, hypnotised, uneasy, reflective, nostalgic

  2. Why do you think the singer keeps repeating ‘I’m in a trance’?

    • Sample answers: to show the repetitive, hypnotic nature of flashbacks; to emphasise being stuck in a cycle of memory; to make the listener feel the trance-like state

A group of people illuminated by blue light, with one woman in the center with eyes closed and face turned upward.

Using ‘Flashback’ by Fujiya & Miyagi to Boost Your English Language GCSE Skills

Analysing Flashback by Fujiya & Miyagi is a creative way to improve English language skills and prepare for English GCSE exams under boards like AQA, Edexcel, OCR, WJEC Eduqas, and CCEA. The lyrics include clear examples of literary devices, such as repetition (‘I’m in a trance’), simile (‘Like a rubber band rattling around your eardrums’), and onomatopoeia (‘rattling’), which help learners explore figurative language, imagery, and sound effects.

Using the song in lessons can enhance comprehension, vocabulary, and analytical skills, while also providing authentic listening practice for students studying English as a foreign language (EFL). Activities like gap fills, matching literary devices, and short-answer questions make the learning process interactive, engaging, and directly relevant to exam preparation.