White Winter Hymnal
Fleet Foxes (thug) Lyrics
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I was following the, I was following the, I was following the, I was following the
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
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
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 summertime
The lyrics of Fleet Foxes' song, White Winter Hymnal, paint a vivid picture of following a pack of people through snow-covered woods. The first verse repeats the phrase "I was following the pack" multiple times, emphasizing the idea of being part of a group. The second verse describes the pack's physical appearance, with scarves wrapped around their necks and their faces hidden in coats. The singer turns around and sees someone (presumably Michael) fall and lie in the snow, which turns red like strawberries in the summertime. The last verse repeats the image of the pack in their coats and scarves, but with the added detail of the snow turning red again.
The lyrics are open to interpretation, but one possible meaning is the idea of conformity and the dangers of blindly following the crowd. The singer trails behind the pack, observing their uniformity and lack of individuality, until they turn around and see someone fall. This could symbolize the pack's vulnerability and the potential consequences of following blindly. The color red, which appears twice in the song, could represent danger or warning.
Line by Line Meaning
I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats
I was blindly following the crowd without thinking for myself or standing out in any way
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
The pack was staying warm and safe in the winter weather by bundling up with bright red scarves
To keep their little heads from falling in the snow, and I turned 'round and there you go
The scarves also served as protection against falling in the snow, and suddenly the singer noticed someone else nearby
And Michael, you would fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime
The artist watched Michael stumble and bleed in the snow, causing the white landscape to suddenly become startlingly red. It was a harsh reminder of the danger and unpredictability of winter
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.,
Written by: Robin Pecknold
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@petersoliz5982
I was following the
I was following the pack
All swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin' 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
I was following the pack
All swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin' 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
I was following the pack
All swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin' 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
@lucyfoster4082
[Pecknold]: ‘I mean a lot of the record is about family and friends, very little of it is… I don’t think there’s any real love song that’s on the record, but that one is just like about my experience when I was a kid, you know, like I had my really tight group of friends. But as we grew up from grade school to junior high to high school, everybody just kind of split off, and everybody kind of changed. I went from like this tight-knit group to, seemingly for no reason, everybody was kind of going their own way. That song is just about that feeling.'”
–Later in the same interview:
[Interviewer]: ‘The song references a person named Michael. Is that someone specific, or is that just a name for a feeling?’
[Pecknold]: ‘A person named Michael.’
[Interviewer]: ‘It is?’
[Pecknold]: ‘[Laughs.] Yeah. Michael is a great buddy of mine from back when. We just totally, I don’t know, he was one of the kids I knew from grade school on. If I saw him now, I really don’t know what we would talk about. It’s just kind of that same thing that kind of happened really gradually.’ ”
@sylviebartusek5190
LYRICS:
I was following the, I was following the (4 times)
I was following the pack
All swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin' 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
I was following the pack
All swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin' 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
I was following the pack
All swallowed in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin' 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
@MissDistarr60
Lyrics:
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
I was following the,
(The following verse repeats 3X)
I was following the pack,
All swaddled in their coats
With scarves of red tied 'round their throats
To keep their little heads
From fallin' 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.
Read more: Fleet Foxes - White Winter Hymnal Lyrics | MetroLyrics
@catspit892
Great speculations! Unfortunately, this beautiful song actually has a rather sad connotation. Here is what I believe the real meaning of the song is.
During the French Revolution, mobs of revolutionists beheaded those (such as royalty -- I'm sure you've heard of Marie Antoinette) who were against the revolution. Revolutionists would gather around the guillotines in "packs" to watch the beheadings. The fashion then was to wear high-collared coats, which may have appeared to "swallow" the individual. Also, I found a painting depicting a beheading scene in the French Revolution. The revolutionists in the illustration wore red scarves around their necks, perhaps to symbolize their loyalty to the revolution. Perhaps "Michael" didn't wear a red scarf or did not support the revolution, and thus he was quickly beheaded at the guillotine.
"I was following the pack all swallowed in their coats" -- someone was following the revolutionists on their way to the guillotine to behead those who opposed the movement. Perhaps this person was for the revolution and was a friend of Michael, or he too was on his way to the guillotine.
"With scarves of red tied 'round their throats" -- the revolutionists wore red scarves to symbolize their loyalty.
"To keep their little heads from falling in the snow" -- in order to keep from being beheaded, they wore the red scarves to show others that they were for the revolution.
"And I turned 'round and there you'd go, and Michael you would fall, and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime." -- Michael did not wear a scarf or did not support the revolution, and thus he was quickly beheaded.
Hope this helps :)
@bonymacaroni3293
Funny thing- when im happy this song makes me sad, but when im really sad this song makes me happy.
@juliastraight4890
ultimate mood neutralizer
@deusvult6571
Listen to it twice to make you happy again
@schr4pnel
@@deusvult6571 beat the system
@MK-hj9de
@@deusvult6571 but what if they are happy rn
@akrobeau
Because it has a really happy sound to it but a really really dark meaning
@vminweddingcaterer3675
this would be perfect in a weirdly surreal and dark and sad but also heartwarming indie movie
@benjaminhuntergreen7142
ray watson yeah like an A24 movie
@flieds
thank you, fatal gonnorhea
@PetrMichalec
Give me the license and say no more!