At Seven Oaks Classical School, we’ve had our two winter concerts and, even though I’ve been planning this music since April, I finally saw a theme peeking through. It’s a theme that frequently pops up in classic winter songs, including one we sang recently:
Lo, how a rose e’er blooming / From tender stem hath sprung.
Of Jesse’s lineage coming / As men of old have sung.
It came, a flow’ret bright / Amid the cold of winter.
When half-spent was the night.
And again:
In the bleak midwinter / Frosty wind made moan,
Earth stood hard as iron / Water like a stone.
Snow had fallen / Snow on snow,
In the bleak midwinter / Long, long ago.
Something seems to happen in the middle of winter (or at the beginning, technically) — the longest, darkest night of the year. It’s a night that sends us to our fireplaces and sofas, snuggled together to find solace in warmth, company, and what we can see.
The school year, and much of life, does tend to feel overwhelming, dark, or difficult around this time of year, so it can be difficult to remember that something great is around the corner. The Scottish folk song we sang (yes, that Gaelic one the kids have worked so hard on) speaks of living in the present with our minds on something or somewhere greater. Parents and teachers can come alongside one another to remember that we must keep our minds on the not-yet, even when the now is our workplace: the darkness of ignorance will clear and the light of understanding will soon flood our students’ minds!
I’ll leave you with the text of this Scottish song and a few pictures of its subject, Uist, as well as an altered version of a now-famous phrase: Spring is coming!
Come and give to me your hand,
Come and give to me your hand,
Come and give to me your hand,
I’ll take a trip to Uist with you.
Peace is on the mount and plain
The heather has a fragrant smell,
Daisies grow, sweet, all around,
I long, with you, in Uist to dwell.
The evening’s calm; the air is warm.
The sun’s a cloud of golden hue,
The sea’s an azure mirror, calm.
I long to be in Uist with you.
The birds, they sing atop the branch.
The bee draws honey for the beast.
The lambs do run and jump along
I long to be with you in Uist.
I long to be there in my time,
My mind lies far from Lowlands’ dew,
Hear my story, verse and song,
I long to be in Uist with you.
Come and give to me your hand,
Come and give to me your hand,
Come and give to me your hand,
I’ll take a trip to Uist with you.
The Classical Classroom 