Things just don’t match up.
The melody to White Winter Hymnal does not match the lyrics at all.
At least not if you take them literally.
But it turns out, the violent literal meaning of the lyrics is quite different from the intended meaning.
So what is the actual White Winter Hymnal lyrics meaning?
Keep reading to find out. Even though there is really just a chorus and nothing else, there is still quite a bit to unpack.
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White Winter Hymnal Lyrics And Meaning
The Fleet Foxes are an American indie rock band from Seattle Washington. Originally named “The Pineapples”, the band is made up of 5 members, Robin Pecknold, Skyler Skjelset, Casey Wescott, Christian Wargo, and Morgan Henderson.
Fleet Foxes rose to popularity in 2008, after the release of their second album Sun Giant. They have been nominated for two Grammy awards and the Rolling Stones hailed Fleet Foxes’ debut album as one of the best of the decade.
White Winter Hymnal is the first single off that debut album. It was written by lead vocalist and guitarist Robin Pecknold. The meaning behind the lyrics is far different from what you might think at first listen. We’ll get into that below. First, here are the lyrics in full.
White Winter Hymnal 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
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
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
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
White Winter Hymnal Meaning
If interpreted literally, the song is about a general decapitating his soldiers and tying their heads to their bodies with scarves. It’s rather gruesome. But Pecknold denies any specific meaning behind the lyrics and claims he just wanted to write a song for a good jam session.
However, over the years, Pecknold has alluded that the inspiration for the song was based on his childhood friendships. Pecknold and his friends grew apart, as most children do, but many of his friends went on to participate in dangerous activities with nefarious crowds.
Many joined gangs and sold drugs. Pecknold has expressed his childhood frustrations that his friends chose gang relations over maintaining their friendships.
When viewed from this perspective, the lyrics of White Winter Hymnal can be interpreted as a metaphor for his failed friendships. The primary character in White Winter Hymnal is named Michael. The inference is that Michael was one of Pecknold’s old childhood buddies.
Why Winter?
There are two considerations as to why Pecknold framed this song in Winter.
- He is alluding to the cold.
- White is the color of innocence.
When a friend turns their back on you it can be referred to as being “iced out”. This means that previous feelings are no longer there and that the emotional connection once shared is broken.
The feelings of being cold and lonely are often closely associated as well. If his friends left him to begin other life adventures, Pecknold would have felt very alone.
The color white is often considered the color of innocence. The fact that much of the action within the lyrics involves violence or blood-staining snow, may refer to the disruption of Pecknold’s innocence.
He seemed to have a certain level of naivety regarding his friends’ choices. Their decision to move on from the friendship may have been Pecknold’s first experience with childhood loss, thereby staining his innocence.
And Michael, you would fall and turn the white snow red
This line can be interpreted as Pecknold describing the end of his and Michael’s friendship. Stating that Michael fell could be understood to mean that Michael lost his morality or that Pecknold began to see him as less important than he did previously.
“…turn the white snow red” can literally be taken to mean death. However, it is most likely referring to the death of their friendship. Or the death of Pecknold’s opinion of Michael.
With scarves of red tied ’round their throats
This line could reference Pecknold’s frustration with his friend’s choices. They decided to embrace drugs and violence as the determinant of their friendships.
The scarf could symbolize the hold that gangs had on his friends. The pull to gang activity was so strong that they were tied to it.
I was following the pack, all swallowed in their coats
The coats could be alluding to gang activity and drug use. Pecknold’s friends were entirely consumed with their new lives. He tried to stick by them and maintain a friendship, but he was always steps behind and couldn’t pull his friends back.
White Winter Hymnal Lyrics Meaning
When you first hear the song White Winter Hymnal by Fleet Foxes, you think it sounds calm and peaceful. When you start to pay attention to the lyrics, you notice the extremely violent subject matter.
But when you give it some thought (or when you listen to what the author of the lyrics himself has said), you realize the lyrics are metaphorical. They are far from happy, and actually quite depressing, but they are not actually violent at all.
Another song with misunderstood lyrics and a connection to violence and war comes from Creedence Clearwater Revival. Read our article about the lyrics and meaning of Fortunate Son for more on that hit song.
For another song inspired by a friend (and one whose meaning is mostly not completely understood), check out our analysis of the Wish You Were Here lyrics meaning.
We’re singing this song in my men’s choir here in Norway and I got so curious about the meaning of the lyrics that I had to look it up. Your interpretation makes sense and I can definitely relate to childhood friendships dying as we get older, though none of my friends have gotten involved with drugs luckily.
I always thought it was him and his family including a few kids under 7 playing in the snow and michael tumbled in snow in his red coat . A happy situation tinged with sadness. I thought it was my cynical mind that projected decapitation and blood.how right /wrong i was.lovely song ,too sad ..
Some changes:
“I was following the pack horse following the goats.”
And when Michael falls he’s blushing because he’s a klutz.
Now its a nice winter travel song.
The first time I listened I thought about a hunting party, that had say a basket of poor rabbits, or a sled of foxes, that had their throats cut to bleed them and make sure they were dead, then a piece of fabric or “scarves” tied around their neck to keep their heads from falling off. I could even see a trail of blood along the path they walked. I have seen similar type hunting parties, the older folks trying to provide food during harsh winters. It snows, actual snow here about every 6 or 7 years, a good deep snow about every 15 or 20 years.. So these hunts did not happen often, and weren’t exactly what I envisioned, but close enough that is what the words spoke to me. Until I read an article somewhere that Fleet Foxes (the name also leading me to thinking this), said they were trying to “word vomit” and come up with a song, and this is what came out, but the song had no meaning whatsoever. Unfortunately I can’t find that now, so don’t believe this part, it would probably be best if you didn’t.
That could certainly be true. It wouldn’t be the first song people analyze, but where the artists had no real meaning behind it at all.
I thought the PACK might be Jacobite’s { red scarfs round their throat}
Being shot by a firing squad of British
Hmmm. That’s interesting. I didn’t think of that interpretation at all. Thanks for sharing!
This is really interesting! Thank you for doing such a good job of explaining it.
I feel like this song means don’t waste time. The story is related to the music video and is about those clay people who are old and weak and can’t work.
“I was following the pack”
means a person in those clay people is saying that he was with the pack of old guys/following their pack of old guys.
“All swallowed in their coats”
means all with their old skin.
“With scarves of red tied round their throats”
means death awaiting for them.
“To keep their little heads from falling in the snow”
means they are trying hard to survive knowing they’ll die any moment.
“Then I turn round and there you go”
means that wheel they turn in the music video which brings their past. As you can see, their hair turns from Grey to black and their faces from old to young. One of them even caught a rabbit which a strong and quick person can do. So they keep turning the wheel to get the past back.
“And Micheal you will fall”
the person turning the wheel is Micheal and the singer says he can’t do it he can’t bring the past back.
“And turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime”
(summer means young age because all were happy then and winter means old age cause all are sad now) and you can’t bring back our summer, our happy past, like in the video where Micheal keeps turning the wheel which brings out summer from the winter,
You gotta do and try everything in the present so you won’t regret it in the future thinking about the past. You shouldn’t waste your time. Do you think this meaning suits the lyric ?
I like your meaning too it shows the POV of the song writer and it feels like that’s the real meaning, but when I compared it with the music video this is the meaning I found. Well that’s the beauty of lyrics one can understand many meanings from a single song.
That’s a really interesting take, too. Thank you for sharing!
My interpretation is very similar to yours Addie.
Snow melts each winter, another year passed.
Growing older, remembering the friendships, in Michael’s mind he eventually let’s go of his thoughts and winds the past back to the present.
Covering one’s self in coats and scarves also sounds like people trying to hide their identities, like criminals intent on trying to keep others from knowing what they’ve done. If the speaker ‘turns around’ because he chooses to stop following his pack, or friends, because he doesn’t like their illicit activities, or just has better things to do, like music, then.that pack of friends leaves him behind. They cant afford for him to know their plans because he might either inadvertently or purposely reveal them to authorities. Turn around could mean to turn away from the pack to live another way. And ye,, it seems that Michael does not, gets caught and spills them anyway. He seems to be the inept person in the pack, or gang. To me, pack refers to wolves, who hunt together in specific ways to bring down big game, such as deer or moose, so the entire pack has enough food to live. Were these individuals in the pack literally starving and so they turned to the easiest, quickest way to support themselves and their families? Were they lazy with at least one inept member? Did they harden to become wanted criminals? Their innocence and naivete seems to have been rewarded with finding out what it means to get caught. Blood stained could mean Michael died in a robbery or drug deal gone bad or it could just mean he was convicted of a crime, perhaps murder, and his life given over to imprisonment. Maybe instead if being inept he was the leader who sacrificed life and freedom so the rest of the pack could remain free to continue their activities without him or with him controlling them from prison. His cut throat coild meant his head did fall into the snow of law/punishment. He got caught, and now his life is bleeding uselessly into the snow.. A very sad ending for a group of childhood friends from the POV of the speaker, or do it seems to me. The sing writer seems to suggest this by his comments on the song.
Also, poets dont always see their own meaning. Writing is often intuitive, a xreative way of cielescing and ficusing nebulous or confused feelings into a handleable state. I know my own writings have often led me into literal understanding once Ive rekeased stmbols bumping around in my head thst are really placeholders for feelings and ideas too difficult to deal with at first. In a reverse order of Holmesian logic, writers canback themselves into understanding.
And thats my take on this highly inventive song, with the introspective melody and beautiful harmony. Seems the speaker/writer found a new pack to.howl with in a better way.
I didn‘t hear any cruelty. I imagined the typical crowd, heading through a big city, like NYC, heads bowed, because they are in a rush, stressed by Christmas preparations, however look fancy in their trendy, stylish red scarves.
And then archangel Michael flies down to change the season from winter to summer.
Okay, the last part doesn‘t make any sense, so, no wonder that I looked for the real meaning.
Now, I‘m totally shocked! 😩🤯😱😳🥵🥶
And I loved that tune so much! 👩🏻🎤🧑🏻🎤🎊🎈🥲
I love your interpretation so much better!
I am always picture foxes hunting for food. The pack all swaddled in their coats – makes me think of their fluffy fur all bristled. The red scarfs, the red fur on their head with the black ears popping out. Imagery like a raccoon wearing a mask. Michael turns around and dives into the snow catching a burrowed mouse (watch a you tube of a fox diving in the snow!) and happily chewing the snack as the blood drips from his mouth. I never thought it could be something else. Oops, (I also never questioned why a fox was called Michael, so there you have it 🦊)
Michael the fox. I love it!
Little fox Micky! That‘s great!
Yes this interpretation is good too. I hatevto thinknof a song with heads falling off.
Here in Norway there is a children’s song called “Mikkel Rev” about a fox named Mikkel who sits and writes on a blackboard that ends up bursting into pieces, which leads to Michael writing a letter to the moon, which then gets sent to Africa. Totally random lyrics haha but when you mentioned the fox in your interpretation, it made me think of Mikkel Rev since the Norwegian name Mikkel is derived form the English name Michael.
It has nothing to do with a general and decapitation! Lol, what are you talking about? Very funny. It’s kids lined up, like at recess, running in the snow. One of them falls over and hits his head and bleeds. An actual event or something the writer wished upon a friend he was mad at.
My point was that it is not about that, but that some believe that it is. Of course, as with any piece of art, interpretation is up to the listener.
Thank you for writing about the meaning of this song. I sing in a pop-choir in Holland. We also sing White winter hymnal.
In the lyrics we sometime read “swallowed” in their coats / and sometimes “swaddled” in their coats . Also in your text and explaination. What is right?
There is no right or wrong. In the end, as with all good art, the interpretation is up to us. Whichever one speaks most to you personally, that is the right one for you.