I Dug and Dug Amongst the Snow Lyrics
Snow first, then sand: the digger hopes for flowers in both and finds none. The second verse asks the snow to melt and the warm winds to blow, but all the winds in the world cannot raise a blossom out of sand.
I Dug and Dug Amongst the Snow
I dug and dug amongst the snow,
And thought the flowers would never grow;
I dug and dug amongst the sand,
And still no green thing came to hand.
Melt, O snow! the warm winds blow
To thaw the flowers and melt the snow
But all the winds from every land
Will rear no blossom from the sand.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/i-dug-and-dug-amongst-the-snow/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Christina Rossetti
- Tune
- Patient and a little puzzled, with the last two lines sung firmly
- Best for ages
- 4 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| I dug and dug amongst the snow | Dig with both hands, as if shovelling snow. |
| Melt, O snow! the warm winds blow | Blow out softly with your hands spread wide, like a warm wind. |
What Does I Dug and Dug Amongst the Snow Mean?
The poem has two verses and two kinds of ground. In the first, the digger looks for flowers in snow and in sand and finds no green thing. In the second, spring is called to help: the snow is told to melt and the warm winds are asked to thaw the flowers, which means to loosen them from the cold. The snow can melt, but sand stays sand: all the winds from every land will rear no blossom from the sand.
To rear a blossom is to bring it up. The lesson a gardener would draw is that flowers need soil and a seed to grow in, and warmth alone is not enough. Sand holds little water and few of the things plants feed on. Came to hand means turned up.
History and Origin
Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book was first published in 1872 and has over a hundred short poems, written to be said aloud to small children. Christina Rossetti, the English poet, wrote the verses. Her short poems, such as this one, often compress a whole thought into eight lines.
Learning Activities
- Soil or sand: sow cress seeds on damp cotton wool in one dish and on dry sand in another, and compare after a week.
- Dig and find: in a garden or sandpit, dig down together and notice how the ground changes below the surface.
- Spring list: name what helps a seed grow: soil, water, warmth and light.
- Thaw watch: on a day when frost is melting, watch how the ground changes by afternoon.