Bed in Summer Lyrics
In winter it is dark when the speaker gets up and dresses by candlelight; in summer the speaker has to go to bed while the birds are still hopping in the tree. The poem ends by asking the reader if that does not seem hard.
Bed in Summer
In winter I get up at night
And dress by yellow candle-light.
In summer quite the other way,
I have to go to bed by day.
I have to go to bed and see
The birds still hopping on the tree,
Or hear the grown-up people's feet
Still going past me in the street.
And does it not seem hard to you,
When all the sky is clear and blue,
And I should like so much to play,
To have to go to bed by day?
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/bed-in-summer/
- Type
- Poems for Children, Lullabies
- Written by
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Tune
- Read in a grumbling, reasonable voice, and slow down for the last question
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
What Does Bed in Summer Mean?
Anyone who has been put to bed in daylight will know this poem. It is a small complaint made politely. In winter the speaker is up before sunrise and dresses by yellow candlelight. In summer the opposite happens: bedtime arrives while the sky is still clear and blue, the birds are still hopping on the tree, and grown-up feet are still going past in the street. The last verse speaks straight to the listener: "And does it not seem hard to you"? The answer the poem wants is yes.
The reason is real. In summer the sun sets late, so evening light lasts long after a young child's bedtime. In winter it rises late, so getting up happens in the dark.
The poem gives a parent something to say. It admits that bedtime in daylight is hard instead of pretending it is not, which often helps a child accept it.
History and Origin
Stevenson published the poem in 1885, the same year as the rest of his children's book. Details of the book are under The Land of Counterpane.
Homes of the 1880s were lit by candles and lamps, which is why a dark winter morning means dressing by candlelight, while a bright summer evening needs no light at all.
Learning Activities
- Bedtime sounds: lie in bed on a summer evening and list every sound from outside, as the poem does.
- Draw the window: draw the sky, the tree and the street as they look from bed at bedtime.
- Light and dark chart: mark on a calendar when the sun sets at the start and end of the month, and see how bedtime light changes.
- Answer the question: ask the child the poem's last question and write down the reply.