Urge for Going

Listen while you read:  Tom Rush's version

I awoke today and found frost perched on the town
It hovered in a frozen sky and gobbled summer down
When the sun turns traitor cold
Shivering trees are standing in a naked row

I get the urge for going
And I never seem to go
And I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down
And winter's closing in

And I had a girl in summertime with summer-colored skin
And not another man in town my darling's heart could win
But when the leaves fell trembling down
And bully winds did rub their faces in the snow

She got the urge for going
And I had to let her go
And she got the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime was falling down
And winter's closing in

The warriors of winter give a cold, triumphant shout
And all that stays is dying and all that lives is getting out
You see the geese in chevron flight
Laughing and a-racing on before the snow

They got the urge for going
They've got the wings to go
And they get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
Summertime is falling down
And winter's closing in

I'll ply the fire with kindling, pull the blankets to my chin
And I'll lock the vagrant winter out and bolt my wandering in
I'd like to call back summertime
And have her stay for just another month or so

But she's got the urge for going
And I guess she'll have to go
She gets the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown.
All her empires are falling down
And winter's closing in

And I get the urge for going
When the meadow grass is turning brown
And summertime is falling down

~  Joni Mitchell

Yes, Joni Mitchell wrote this song, but I first heard it on Tom Rush's 1968 album, The Circle Game (also the title of another Joni song). On that album, Tom Rush covered songs not only by Joni Mitchell, but also Jackson Browne and James Taylor. And this was before those artists were household names in their own right. Tom may have switched up Joni's lyrics a little bit, but the song remains a beautiful tribute to autumn.

And this song was an English teacher's dream. I used it primarily to teach personification. Remember that one? It's when you ascribe human characteristics to something nonhuman. The most obvious examples in the song are "summertime" and "the vagrant winter." But look at the frost, the sun, the trees, the winds, and the geese. They, too, have been humanized. (Or "birdized," in the case of the frost.)

And yes, I have the urge for going. A bonafide snowbird, I will be flying (really driving) south in a couple of weeks. These last few days of sunshine and temps in the mid-80s have fooled us into thinking that summer has not left us yet, but that first chilly day is going to smack some reality into our beings. I still have outside work to do, and the clock is ticking. Yes, I have seen the geese in chevron flight, and the meadow grass is indeed turning brown. But we have yet to see the leaves fall trembling down or the shivering trees standing in a naked row, never mind the bully winds. All in due time. The first hard frost in these parts is only a couple of weeks away.

The strange thing about this song's impact on me is that it makes me want to ply the fire with kindling and pull the blankets to my chin. Well, I'll be home for Thanksgiving. I can light a fire and snuggle up with a blanket then.

For now, keep the temperature high!