The Hayloft Lyrics
Sixteen lines about the best place to play on a farm: a barn loft full of hay, where the stacks become mountains named Mount Clear, Mount Rusty-Nail, Mount Eagle and Mount High, and the only other dwellers are mice. The words are by Robert Louis Stevenson.
The Hayloft
Through all the pleasant meadow-side
The grass grew shoulder-high,
Till the shining scythes went far and wide
And cut it down to dry.
Those green and sweetly smelling crops
They led in waggons home;
And they piled them here in mountain tops
For mountaineers to roam.
Here is Mount Clear, Mount Rusty-Nail,
Mount Eagle and Mount High;
The mice that in these mountains dwell,
No happier are than I!
Oh, what a joy to clamber there,
Oh, what a place for play,
With the sweet, the dim, the dusty air,
The happy hills of hay!
Printed from https://nurseryrhymes.co/the-hayloft/
- Type
- Poems for Children
- Written by
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- Tune
- Warm and a little dreamy, with a skip on the four mountain names
- Best for ages
- 3 to 8 years
Hand Motions and Actions
| When you sing | Do this |
|---|---|
| Oh, what a joy to clamber there | Climb on the spot, hand over hand, as if scaling a pile. |
| Mount Clear, Mount Rusty-Nail, Mount Eagle and Mount High | Point up higher with each name, ending on tiptoe. |
What Does The Hayloft Mean?
The poem tells the story of the hay from the field to the barn, and then puts a child on top of it. The grass in the first verse is "shoulder-high" until "the shining scythes" cut it down. A scythe is a tool with a long, curved blade on a long handle, used to cut grass by hand. The cut grass is left to dry and becomes hay.
Next, the green, "sweetly smelling" crops are led home in waggons (wagons, an old spelling) and piled up "in mountain tops" for "mountaineers to roam". The piles in the loft become a mountain range. The third verse names four of the peaks, and the mice that live in these mountains are no happier than the child.
The last verse says why: it is a joy to clamber (climb using hands and feet) among the "happy hills of hay", in air that is "sweet", "dim" and "dusty". It is a small poem about imagination, where a barn becomes the Alps, and the child needs nothing to play with but a heap of hay.
History and Origin
Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 to 1894) included this poem in his 1885 book of verses for children. It describes hay being made in the old way, cut with scythes and carried to the barn on waggons, so it gives a picture of farm life that has now largely gone, though the sight of a loft full of hay is still familiar.
Any heap a child can climb will do for the poem's game: cushions, a sandpit or a pile of blankets can be given mountain names in just the same way.
Learning Activities
- Name the mountains: pile cushions on the floor into hills, and let each child name one, as Stevenson's child names Mount High.
- Smell of hay: if you can, smell a handful of dried grass or hay and describe the smell in one word.
- From grass to hay: look at pictures of grass being cut, dried and stacked, and put them in order while the first two verses are read.
- Safe climbing: a real hayloft is not safe for play without an adult, so use cushions for the climb and talk about why.