White Winter Hymnal

Listen while you read:  https://youtu.be/DrQRS40OKNE

I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads from falling in the snow
And I turned around and there you go
And Michael, you would fall and turn the white snow
Red as strawberries in summertime

~  Robin Pecknold (Fleet Foxes)

It snowed up North.  In fact, the schools in my county were closed.  Snow Day! And there's a Nor'easter coming next week. So of course, even though I am not there, I will pay tribute.

You must listen to this song, and if you do, you will be entertained with a claymation video that is quite compelling.  But listen to it . . . because it's the harmonies that make the song so wonderful.  Even Robin Pecknold, the writer of the song, said, "It's lyrically fairly meaningless."  He intended the song to be like "Whistle While You Work" from Snow White -- "something to hum along to as you do the dishes."

The song appears on Fleet Foxes' debut album in 2008.  At that time, J. Tillman contributed to the gorgeous harmonies.  You may know him now as Father John Misty.  I do love his voice, and though his lyrics are sometimes crazy, I will always appreciate this line from "Chateau Lobby #4":  I want to take you in the kitchen / Lift up your wedding dress someone was probably murdered in."

But back to "White Winter Hymnal."  Pecknold suggested that the song speaks to a loss of innocence.  He says he went all through school with the same group of kids (as did I), and it troubled him to see how some of those kids chose paths that led them down dangerous territory.  But in the song, they are young and uncomplicated, despite the fear of losing their little heads.

I love the play of color in the lyrics.  As a poet, I have always appreciated the way that color can evoke mood and theme in a poem, and that is true of these lyrics. The sharp turn from winter to summer, accomplished through the color red, offers hope and promise.  I do hope that my northern friends are keeping the promise of spring alive despite the white landscape.