Spring Lyrics
A greeting to the new year in three short verses: a flute, birds, a child, a crowing rooster and a lamb, each closing on a "Merrily, merrily" line. It comes from William Blake's Songs of Innocence of 1789.
Spring
Sound the flute!
Now it's mute!
Birds delight,
Day and night,
Nightingale,
In the dale,
Lark in sky,
Merrily,
Merrily, merrily to welcome in the year.
Little boy,
Full of joy;
Little girl,
Sweet and small;
Cock does crow,
So do you;
Merry voice,
Infant noise;
Merrily, merrily to welcome in the year.
Little lamb,
Here I am;
Come and lick
My white neck;
Let me pull
Your soft wool;
Let me kiss
Your soft face;
Merrily, merrily we welcome in the year.
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/spring-blake/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- William Blake
- Tune
- Bright and skipping, with the 'Merrily, merrily' line sung or said all together
- Best for ages
- 2 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Sound the flute! | Hold a pretend flute to your mouth and wiggle your fingers. |
| Now it's mute! | Lower the flute and put a finger on your lips. |
| Cock does crow, so do you | Flap your elbows and call out cock-a-doodle-doo. |
What Does Spring Mean?
The poem is made of very short lines, two or three words long, so it reads like a bouncing list of spring sights and sounds. In the opening verse the flute plays and then is "mute" (silent), while the birds are in delight "day and night". The nightingale sings in the dale (a valley), and the lark sings from the sky.
The second verse is about the children: a little boy "full of joy", a little girl "sweet and small", and a rooster that crows, and the poem says the child does too. "Infant noise" means the sounds of very young children. In the third verse a child and a lamb get close. The lamb is asked to lick a white neck, and the child wants to pull its soft wool and kiss its soft face. It is an affectionate game between a child and a pet lamb, and the poem ends on welcome again.
Every verse ends on a line that begins "Merrily, merrily", so the poem has a refrain. A group can say the short lines in turn and everyone joins in together on "Merrily".
History and Origin
William Blake (1757 to 1827) put "Spring" in Songs of Innocence, first printed in 1789. It sits in the early part of a book where he made both the words and the pictures, and the book celebrates a child's view of the world.
The lines are only two or three words long, so a child can echo each one after an adult, which is an easy way to learn the poem by heart.
Learning Activities
- Flute and silence: play a pretend flute on 'Sound the flute!' and freeze on 'Now it's mute!'.
- Spring sounds: go outside and list what you can hear: birds, wind, voices. Add one new line of your own.
- Lamb picture: draw a lamb with cotton wool for its fleece and write 'Here I am' under it.
- Refrain choir: split into two groups, one reading the short lines and the other joining on the 'Merrily' line.