Fleet Foxes – White Winter Hymnal

I was following the (repeat) 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 ’round and there you go
And Michael you would fall
and turn the white snow red as strawberries
in the summertime

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 ’round and there you go
And Michael you would fall
and turn the white snow red as strawberries
in the summertime

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 ’round and there you go
And Michael you would fall
and turn the white snow red as strawberries
in the summertime
Song meaning is one for debate by learners. Here are some thoughts by others:

1.)

The writer of the song talks about reading a book as a child in which Antarctic dogs pulled a sled across the ice and someone fell off. In this instance the pack is literally dogs, the red scarves as some type of harness to keep them together and Michael as the person on the sled.

2.)

I can't quite figure out what this song means, and it's been bothering me. From what I gather it's somehow about the death of innocence or at least death of some kind.
"The pack" sound like children from the fact that they were "swallowed in their coats" and "little heads", although "swallowed" sounds quite sinister, as if their clothes were eating them, as does "tied round their throats". This makes me think of a noose more than a scarf. The noose idea is supported by the fact that if it weren't for these, their heads would fall in the snow. Although I guess then the scarves could be somehow keeping them alive.
I'm not sure what the next couple of lines refer to, but the image of Michael falling then turning "white snow red" says to me he's bleeding on the ground. What surprises me there is the image of "strawberries in the summertime", which casts a positive image onto Michael's bleeding.
3.)

Fleet foxes don't really use symbolism liberally like that. The song is supposed to evoke images, not deep meaning.

4.)
I think "swallowed" is less sinister, and more chosen to mirror the preceding "following". same with "throats" and "coats" the resulting sound is the opposite of loss of innocence (for it is entirely pleasing to the ear) but rather a playful and vivid winter scene.

5.)

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Pecknold says in an interview with daytrotter that the lyrics to this song are "fairly meaningless", and that the song is more focused on the vocal harmonies instead of the lyrics...but this is so far my favorite song from a stellar album. i've listened to it twice a day since i bought it

6.)

I think of this song as a little frame of a childhood memory - maybe of a five or six year old. He is with a bunch of children, maybe running after the older kids, who just look like a bunch of coats since they are so bundled up. He thinks in his child's mind that the scarves keep their heads from falling off. Then he looks behind him and his friend has fallen and hurt himself and there is bright red blood in the snow. Sometimes a memory like that sticks with you even though you can't remember anything else about it.

7.)

It's a simple fairy tale. The pack are children bundled up in clothes and who have scarves that keep their heads tied to their necks, like a knot. Think of that one Edgar Allan Poe story of the girl in the French revolution.
The singer has to keep watch over them so that they don't lose their heads. He gets distracted and Michael falls, losing his scarf, and his head falls off. It's a fantasy fairy tale. It's that simple.
Teaching activities:

Could start by doing some global listening activity which includes giving learners a few words from the lyrics and asking them to make a sentence, or fill in a bingo board and then listen to the song and check the words they hear. Understanding song lyrics can require a lot of cultural knowledge as well as understanding the form of the language; pay attention to this.

Use different tasks for the lyrics which include:

- audio gapfill, remove key words and listen

- word choice, provide two options and students have to listen and identify; e.g. 'everywhere I walk/talk'

- put words in order, then listen and check

- put the lines of the stanza in order, then listen and check

- spot words which are "spelled wrong"

- complete abbreviations, cos = because

- spot missing words in a line

- spot extra words in a line

- break up each line in two, jumble the sentences and do a matching exercise

- write questions for each line and ask learners to suggest an answer (in full) then listen and check

- predict rhyming words

The emphasis is always on task-based learning. Give learners a purpose to listen to the song and capitalize on their previous knowledge, their predictions and guesses. As a follow up, give learners time to read the lyrics in detail, do some reading comprehension exercises and maybe include roleplay or creative writing so as to integrate as much language expression as possible.

Adapted from Gabriel D'az Maggioli

  1. How does the song make you feel (3 adjectives)?

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  1. Why do you think the artist wrote the song?

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  1. Where do you think the artist is from?

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  1. When do you think the song was made?

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  1. Where would you listen to this song?

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  1. How does the song make you feel (3 adjectives)?

______

  1. Why do you think the artist wrote the song?

______

  1. Where do you think the artist is from?

______

  1. When do you think the song was made?

______

  1. Where would you listen to this song?

______

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  1. How does the song make you feel (3 adjectives)?

______

  1. Why do you think the artist wrote the song?

______

  1. Where do you think the artist is from?

______

  1. When do you think the song was made?

______

  1. Where would you listen to this song?

______

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