Bluebells Lyrics
Among the bluebells and the wind, the speaker spies fairies in a ring and hears a linnet. By the time the primrose and dew are there, the fairies have gone, and only the fresh turf and the linnets' calls remain.
Bluebells
Where the bluebells and the wind are,
Fairies in a ring I spied,
And I heard a little linnet
Singing near beside.
Where the primrose and the dew are,
Soon were sped the fairies all:
Only now the green turf freshens,
And the linnets call.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/bluebells-de-la-mare/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Walter de la Mare
- Tune
- Hushed and wondering, then a little sad and fading on the last line
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Fairies in a ring I spied | Join hands in a circle, or make a ring with your fingers. |
| Soon were sped the fairies all | Open your fingers and wave them away, like something disappearing. |
What Does Bluebells Mean?
The poem is a glimpse. In the first verse the speaker is among the bluebells, sees fairies in a ring, and hears a little linnet, a small brown songbird, singing. In the second verse the scene has changed: the primrose and the dew are there instead, the fairies have "sped", meaning hurried away, and "only now the green turf freshens, / And the linnets call." Turf is short grass, and freshens means it looks new and bright.
What the poem leaves out is as important as what it says. The poem never says who the fairies are, where they went or whether they were ever real. That is a gift for a quiet conversation about imagination and watching closely. A fairy ring is a real name for a circle of mushrooms or darker grass in a field, but the poem is more interested in the feeling of almost seeing something than in how it happened.
History and Origin
Walter de la Mare, an English poet best remembered for his works for children, published Songs of Childhood in 1902. This short poem comes from that book.
Learning Activities
- Look in the grass: go outside and look for a ring of mushrooms or a circle of flowers, and talk about what could have made it.
- Imagine the fairies: ask the child to describe in a sentence what the fairies were wearing or doing.
- Listen for a call: listen for birdsong outside, even for a few minutes, and try to say how many different calls you hear.
- Bluebell picture: paint a blue flower with a green stem and a ring of tiny figures round it.