🎙The British 150 Podcast – Episode 1: “You Couldn’t Have Come at a Better Time” by Luka Bloom
Thank you for searching for the KIPT Blog! Welcome to my website and the accompanying information for The British 150 Podcast – Episode 1, a production based on The British 150 Playlist — all available on Spotify or YouTube — designed to help learners improve English through music. The playlist, the podcast, the blog, and the associated learning resources I provide are (and always will be) available for free.
The links to the podcast and playlist are available on my free English resources page: KIPT Learning.
🎓 About Me:
I’m Kirsty and I teach English. My primary job is supporting English as a Second or Foreign language students to achieve their goals in private (or small-group) lessons via Zoom. For more information on my personalised English learning, see KIPT Homepage.
Email me: Kirsty@kipt.uk for a translated conversation or use the form on my KIPT Contact page — I can offer a free 1-hour Zoom consultation to intermediate learners and above (B1-C2).
The British 150 is a passion project of mine; I have been curating The British 150 Playlist for nearly as long as digital playlists existed. The podcast was a natural next step with the intent to share my passion for music as an educational tool, both socially and linguistically.
Yes, I do use Wikipedia! As a starting point only! So, I will share those links with you, but I encourage you to check out your own resources, follow your own internet spiral and discover something amazing that you didn’t know about before. As I said in the podcast, I also encourage you to seek out, like, follow and subscribe to, the “official’’ channel for every artist; it not only helps them, but you will also hear the stories and music, the way they intended.
🎸 A Moment of Intimacy in Song
Welcome to the debut episode of The British 150 Podcast, where we explore British (and Irish) music to learn English, discover engaging songs and find connections through lyrics.
In this episode we examine Luka Bloom’s “You Couldn’t Have Come at a Better Time” from his 1990 Album, Riverside – A quiet, emotional folk piece full of lyrical nuance and warm guitar rhythms.
Download the full transcript and additional learning cards here:
🎵 About the Song & Artist
Luka Bloom [1] (born Barry Moore in 1955) is an Irish singer‑songwriter, brother of Christy Moore [2]. He adopted his stage name combining Suzanne Vega’s song “Luka” [3] and the character Bloom from James Joyce’s Ulysses [4], according to 27 East [5].
“You Couldn’t Have Come at a Better Time” opens his 1990 album Riverside. Bloom is said to have written it while waiting in an immigration lawyer’s bathroom in Hoboken, NJ — a deeply personal moment he prefers not to fully explain [5]
📚 Suggested Further Reading and Listening
For anyone interested in diving deeper into the musical and personal context:
Luka Bloom official website: https://lukabloom.com/
Interviews and articles with Bloom discussing Riverside and his creative process THE MUSE PATROL [6]
If you enjoyed this song, listen out on the British 150 Playlist for other folk or traditional artists featuring similar styles. You might also like to listen to:
BBC Radio 2 – The Folk Show with Mark Radcliffe: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01phglj
🎓 Learn English Through Music
If songs like this inspire you, I can tailor online English lessons using music, storytelling, and lyrics to help learners:
- Understand natural intonation and rhythm
- Practice speaking and writing with song-based prompts
- Explore grammatical structures in a musical context
➡️ Visit KIPT Homepage to find out more or get in touch.
🔖 Share & Hashtags
When you post or talk about this episode:
#KIPTUK, #British150Podcast, #LearnEnglishWithMusic, #LukaBloom, #RiversideAlbum, #EnglishLearningTips #British150Playlist #LearnwithKirsty
📖 English Worksheet
The British 150: Episode 1 – Worksheet
Coming soon…
🔗 References & Bibliography (for all materials related to this episode)
[1] Luka Bloom
Official Website: https://lukabloom.com
Wikipedia Entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luka_Bloom
Spotify Artist Page: Luka Bloom on Spotify
YouTube Channel: Luka Bloom on YouTube
Lyrics Source: You Couldn’t Have Come at a Better Time – Spotify
[2] Christy Moore
Wikipedia Entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christy_Moore
[3] Suzanne Vega – “Luka”
Wikipedia Entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzanne_Vega
Spotify Track: “Luka” on Spotify
YouTube Track: “Luka” on YouTube
[4] James Joyce
Britannica Entry: https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Joyce
James Joyce Centre (Dublin): https://jamesjoyce.ie
[5] 27 East Interview with Luka Bloom
“It’s All in the Name and the Song” (2012):
https://www.27east.com/arts/luka-bloom-its-all-in-the-name-and-the-song-1353296
[6] The Muse Patrol
“Fabulous Firsts – Luka Bloom, Riverside” (2013):
https://themusepatrol.com/2013/01/23/fabulous-firsts-debut-albums-that-shook-my-world-pt-2-luka-bloom-riverside
[7] The Republic of Ireland
Wikipedia Entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland
[8] The United Kingdom
Wikipedia Entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom
[9] The Troubles
Wikipedia Entry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles