White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes

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Fleet Foxes
White Winter Hymnal
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Lyrics for White Winter Hymnal as interpreted by brasky09

White Winter Hymnal Lyrics

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I was following the pack all swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From falling in the snow
And I turned 'round and there you go
And Michael, you would fall
And turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime

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149 Comments

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notethetrees
04-07-2008

Rated +3

soooo pretty.

2 Replies ·

bbbdddccc1303
01-05-2011

Rated 0

how is it pretty its about people getting their heads cute off

MarkieDoodle
05-21-2011

Rated +2

... the first time I heard "White Winter Hymnal" I got the impression that the music was harkening back to an old tradition of singing songs around a campfire like "Row Row Row Your Boat" where the repetition of a melody line overlapped into the next one. It was a daring move actually I thought, because it was so unhip a musical form to be following. Then I thought but that's just it. The first line says "I WAS following pack" (the "Pack" being the more or less accepted alternative music forms of the times) but has chosen not to. Isn't that a big part of the Fleet Foxes appeal? They are not following the accepted folkie forms or alt rock forms. This song right off the bat is telling you that. "I was following the pack" (and getting bored trying to write cool alt rock songs) "All swallowed in their coats with scarves of red tied 'round their throats to keep their little heads from falling in the snow" (todays music is trying too hard to be hip slick and cool) so lets just make music that is good and don't worry about following ANY form, music or lyric wise. And they seem to have done just that haven't they? They stand out because the arrangements are surprising, not expected. They come from other influences but are put together in a free form manner. songwriter Mark Johnson

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Sovay83
04-11-2008

Rated +2

yeah! i love this song!!

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leahper
04-29-2008

Rated +3

Oh man, the way it builds up.. wonderful

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staroftrackandfield
05-27-2008

Rated +1

the best harmonies and images i have head in a song in a long time.

3 Replies ·

edmalone
07-23-2009

Rated +1

The imagery reminds me of this poem by William Carlos Williams with its still-life simplicity and depth:

so much depends
upon

a red wheel
barrow

glazed with rain
water

beside the white
chickens.

The singing-in-round and reference to winter and summer suggest a cycle (of life, of life and death?). Perhaps the red and white allude to the male and female-semen and blood. Like the poem, the song is deceptively uncomplicated; yet it has a haunting and lasting quality, like a child's song in a horror movie.

MarkieDoodle
05-21-2011

Rated 0

... the first time I heard "White Winter Hymnal" I got the impression that the music was harkening back to an old tradition of singing songs around a campfire like "Row Row Row Your Boat" where the repetition of a melody line overlapped into the next one. It was a daring move actually I thought, because it was so unhip a musical form to be following. Then I thought but that's just it. The line says he WAS following pack (the more or less accepted alternative music forms of the times) but has chosen not to. Isn't that w big part of the Fleet Foxes appeal? They are not following the accepted folkie forms or alt rock forms for that matter. This song right off the bat is telling you that. "I was following the pack" (and getting bored trying to write cool alt rock songs) "All swallowed in their coats with scarves of red tied 'round their throats to keep their little heads from falling in the snow" (todays music is trying too hard to be hip slick and cool) so lets just make music that is good and don't worry about following ANY form, music or lyric wise. And they seem to have done just that haven't they? songwriter Mark Johnson

SSR78
07-13-2011

Rated +1

As far as I am aware.... this has to do with a close friend of the band... "Michael"
A quite sad story about how Michael got caught up in 'gang culture'

I was following the pack = refers the pack mentality of so called gangs.
all swallowed in their coats = wrapped up in the security/safety that numbers provide each gang member.
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats = gang colours/ indentify affiliations
To keep their little heads = small mindedness perhaps??!
From falling in the snow = from being attacked for their 'gang membership'
And I turned 'round and there you go = against all advice/concerns you went anyway

And Michael, you would fall = embarked on a downwards journey/ downward spiral

the next line is beautiful imagery that has obvious dark undertones
And turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime = obviously following the logic throughout he lays there dying, in a pool of his blood!
strawberries envoke the imagery of RED and the reference to snow I would think that is clear to say this is more about the bleakness of the situation Michael finds hinmself in and the bleakness of whatever future (however short/long)

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Anarise
06-07-2008

Rated +7

I can't quite figure out what this song means, and it's been bothering me. From what I gather it's somehow about the death of innocence or at least death of some kind.

"The pack" sound like children from the fact that they were "swallowed in their coats" and "little heads", although "swallowed" sounds quite sinister, as if their clothes were eating them, as does "tied round their throats". This makes me think of a noose more than a scarf. The noose idea is supported by the fact that if it weren't for these, their heads would fall in the snow. Although I guess then the scarves could be somehow keeping them alive.

I'm not sure what the next couple of lines refer to, but the image of Michael falling then turning "white snow red" says to me he's bleeding on the ground. What surprises me there is the image of "strawberries in the summertime", which casts a positive image onto Michael's bleeding.

Any thoughts on this?

8 Replies ·

coryhigh
11-05-2008

Rated +2

Fleet foxes don't really use symbolism liberally like that. The song is supposed to evoke images, not deep meaning.

Allison~!@
11-15-2008

Rated 0

Whether they intended to evoke images or use symbolism, I got the same interpretation as Anarise,

nickobrien
02-10-2009

Rated 0

I think "swallowed" is less sinister, and more chosen to mirror the preceding "following". same with "throats" and "coats" the resulting sound is the opposite of loss of innocence (for it is entirely pleasing to the ear) but rather a playful and vivid winter scene.

Norteaa
12-07-2009

Rated +2

Personally, I always picture snowmen from Calvin and Hobbes. Although they do not necessarily wear red scarves, their heads are capable of falling in the snow.

The line about following the pack, following their coats does bring up images of kids. I also relate it to people following a certain trend. The scarves tied round their throats could refer to a fear of becoming socially unacceptable if they were to stop following the ways of the masses. Its almost as if thats the only thing thats keeping them alive. "And I turned round and there you go" could refer to him being awakened by a friend of his who was never part of whatever specific way of life it may be referring to. But then in the line "Michael you would fall, and turn the white snow read as strawberries in the summertime" conjures up images of injury or failure.

But since he says "turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime" maybe his fall is a good thing since the imagery used is so beautiful.

Maybe his "fall" is a step forward.

burk419
12-15-2010

Rated +1

"the pack" sounds like wolves not children from the fact that they were "swallowed in their coats" because wolves have coats of fur which get thicker in winter time..therefore "swallowed". now the "red scarves" could be blood dripping onto their throats from prey they have eaten. prey they have had to eat in order to live and "keep their little heads from falling in the snow" to die.... another take could be the red scarves are leashes and it is a sled team. two sled teams because if he turns around and sees his friend Michael and his sled team fall into the snow so all the dogs with red leashes turn the snow red...

bbbdddccc1303
01-05-2011

Rated 0

it means.... with scarves of red tied round their throats - thats what they used to keep them from getting their heads cut off
turn the white snow red as strawberrys in the summer - they cut their head off and the snow got all bloody
the hymnal is when they used to cut peoples head off

ellamb
03-30-2011

Rated +1

This was the first song by Fleet Foxes I heard, so I of course thought of foxes. The "pack" and "scarves of red tied 'round their throats" added to why I though they were foxes. Instead of seeing the "swallowed in their coats" as a bad thing, I saw it as they don't have the choice to take them off, as it is their fur. Fur of course keeps them warm so the "scarves of red tied ’round their throats keeps their little heads from fallin’ in the snow", or dying from the cold. I pictured a fox, Michael, was shot by a hunter and the pack ran away with him. The 'I' in the song is the fox that turned around and saw Michael die from his injury. Michael would then "fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime." Some of you said that "strawberries in the summertime" was a good sign, and I agree with that. Michael died, and it was a good thing in the narrators eyes as he wouldn't have to feel the pain the hunter brought him.

It really is a beautiful song and I don't think Fleet Foxes' songs are to be taken too literally. They almost seem to have hidden meanings that you can put together and create your own story out of.

Did anyone else see it like this?

DrQwert
07-04-2011

Rated 0

I like the link to the fox in their coats & red scarves.
think it all ties to the circle of life & nature in general, if you watch the film clip it's a man turning a wheel circulating the stars & the sun. reference to the circulating season in summer & the new life which it will bring in the comparison to strawberries.
maybe he's falling taking down some prey as he goes & the blood turning the snow red isn't Michaels.

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sun_giant
06-14-2008

Rated +2

pecknold says in an interview with daytrotter that the lyrics to this song are "fairly meaningless", and that the song is more focused on the vocal harmonies instead of the lyrics...but this is so far my favorite song from a stellar album. i've listened to it twice a day since i bought it

http://www.daytrotter.com/article/1245/fleet-foxes

2 Replies ·

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eatreadsleep
06-21-2008

Rated 0

This song is gorgeous.

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sleeperesque
07-04-2008

Rated +6

It reminds me of the book The Road by Cormac McCarthy. It's apostapocalypse story of a father and son trying to survive and stay clear of the men who march around wearing little red scarves around their necks - trying to find survivors whom they can eat.

The father coughs up blood throughout the book and the child is wrapped in any scraps of clothing they can find - sometimes drowing himself out in layers.

The only colour the boy can really see is the red of his dad's blood as everything else is covered in grey ash from the blazing earth, and the white of the snow as ifalls. However, the boy was born after the apocalypse so doesn't know what summertimer or even strawberries are.

Can be very poetic if you let it be.

2 Replies ·

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songyone
07-10-2008

Rated +10

I think of this song as a little frame of a childhood memory - maybe of a five or six year old. He is with a bunch of children, maybe running after the older kids, who just look like a bunch of coats since they are so bundled up. He thinks in his child's mind that the scarves keep their heads from falling off. Then he looks behind him and his friend has fallen and hurt himself and there is bright red blood in the snow. Sometimes a memory like that sticks with you even though you can't remember anything else about it.

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songyone
07-10-2008

Rated +2

It just came to me that a few Fleet Foxes songs seem to be written to a brother - Mykonos, He Doesn't Know Why - maybe this is about his brother. It would make an impression on a child if his brother, especially an older brother, was bleeding bright red in the snow.

5 Replies ·

peekawho
12-27-2008

Rated 0

...Could be her brother, and the red scarves that hold up their heads in the snow and keep their necks warm so they don't fall (and can watch and play with each other in the beauty of the snow!) His hair is strawberry in color come summertime and glows in the sun.

alexwohl29_90
01-13-2009

Rated -2

sorry to burst your bubble, but Mykonos is a Greek Island, not a person.

harrytheblurfan
06-17-2009

Rated 0

i don't think songyone was saying it was a person, just saying that it is wrote about a brother, the second half of the song is anyway

Ben2121
01-31-2010

Rated 0

I think brother is being misunderstood. In my opinion hes not always talking about a brother by kin but rather a friendly brother.

lionsmurphy
10-26-2010

Rated 0

When I listen to fleet foxes I get the sense he is talking to his older brother (he has one) and that his older brother and a drug/alcohol problem. My older brother is a recovering addict, so many of the fleet foxes lyrics mean a lot to me.

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Chamoses
07-15-2008

Rated +2

This song reminds me of the book "Where the red fern grows."

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Seanzy333
07-16-2008

Rated +2

this always reminds me of the royal family trying to escape russia during the communist revolution.

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tylrshmk
07-16-2008

Rated 0

my first time listening to thiis was today and i love it

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Digit
07-19-2008

Rated +3

In a war, winter. A resistance group who wore red scarves. Men were forced to join or were killed (in that way the scarves kept their heads from "falling in the snow"). The forced recruitment included fairly young men, hence allusions to youth. The narrator's friend gets shot. Don't know about the "swallowed in their coats" bit.

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Digit
07-19-2008

Rated 0

Now that I think about it:
The "swallowed in their coats" could just be telling us it's winter.

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Gladiuse
07-20-2008

Rated +3

It's a simple fairy tale.
The pack are children bundled up in clothes and who have scarves that keep their heads tied to their necks, like a knot. Think of that one Edgar Allan Poe story of the girl in the French revolution.
The singer has to keep watch over them so that they don't lose their heads. He gets distracted and Michael falls, losing his scarf, and his head falls off. It's a fantasy fairy tale. It's that simple.

1 Reply ·

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valrus
07-24-2008

Rated +2

I thought it was "swaddled."

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rhimansworld
07-25-2008

Rated +1

I think of it more as foxes than as children, in the snow. Maybe because of the band name, mainly just because of the image in my head. Their coats are red, hence the 'all swallowed in their coats' part and the 'scarves of red' could simply be the red coat around a foxes throat. This would also explain the pack part. As for the michael bit, i think it's just gorgeous.

A perfect winter song :)

2 Replies ·

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bluemaxx
07-29-2008

Rated -3

I thought for sure he was singing "I was following a pack of swallos" as in the bird a red throated swallow....we have barn swallows here like that?

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OliverJames
07-30-2008

Rated +1

Oh my Sweet Jesus. I do say fair conjecture. Hm... Could you imagine being in a pack of foxes for a day?

Four legged, soft, red, two feet off the ground-

One time while deer hunting with shotguns. I am drive hunting with my family who are mostly second generation Norwegian hics-like myself. All of the sudden above me I hear Ka-BOOM not thirty yards above me on the border of the wood and a harvested field. I scrambled up to see what had happened.

Had our hunting party shot a deer? Would we eat venison through the winter?

No. My Uncle Dean had shot a fox with a 12 gauge slug. I remember seeing a more orange than red fox with a bullet hole in it.

As a seventeen year old I was less than full of objection, by cause of the the assassin being my six four two fifty plus uncle almost shooting me. He was justified- He said the foxes kill the pheasants- other game.

Much would I rather be a fox hunting a pheasant than a man. And catching the bird out of the air after running through the tall grass I would bring it back to my den quickly and indulge.

Much like the tom cat that he shot a month ago. That was hiding in the pull behind combine that works no more- circa 1940 maybe. And he shot that with bird-shot anyway. Still Ben and I marveled at the marksmenship because the first shot only phazed? the wild cat and prompted it to try and flee to no avail when the black lab- Athena- gave pause to the fire arms and a chance for dean to re-position for the kill shot.

I am no innocent son either. I tracked this predatory loner as it met its fate.

Similar too- is the story of my grandfather shooting a hawk from the sky with a rifle.

He said "Cocky Fucker." and then shot it out of the sky.

I would not say much but I was coined the Hawk in college. So I should probably end there.

I ain't gonna work on Shelly's farm no more.

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Lemonhead
08-09-2008

Rated -2

wow great song - its about a bunch of little kids who get eaten by wolves...messily...in the snow....sad song....

3 Replies ·

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icamethird
08-23-2008

Rated -4

Anarise...what the hell are you talking about!! your comment is just stupid. You're trying to look smart, but actually you're NOT !!

wow, i'm glad that's of my chest :)

by the way, excellent song

1 Reply ·

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Rahmid
08-25-2008

Rated +4

I'm pretty sure there is no real mean. It sounds like this song was down with a fancy bit of automatic writing. Very Beautiful

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Low Feedback
09-01-2008

Rated 0

This song has a beautiful, almost childish rhythm that I love.

My name is Michael.
This is a sweet song!

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cathryn
09-06-2008

Rated +1

to me, michael sounds like a hemophiliac. the lyrics are "you would fall", as if he did it more than once, and bled profusely. that could sort of still be referential to the loss of innocence theme... children playing in the snow, a little boy falls, and they're exposed to blood and so young that they don't quite understand-- it just happens to be the same color as their scarves.

i also kind of associated the children with baby foxes, in a way.

this song is incredible, by the way.

1 Reply ·

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