Weathers

Song Meaning

The lyrics paint a picture of two distinct, yet personally embraced, weather patterns. The first stanza celebrates a specific kind of rain: one that's lively enough to shake chestnut spikes and encourage fledglings to fly, a scene where nightingales sing and people gather at "The Traveller's Rest," dreaming of distant places. This weather feels generative and social, a backdrop for simple pleasures and aspirational thoughts. The narrator explicitly aligns with this, stating, "And so do I." This idyllic scene is then sharply contrasted with a second type of weather, one that the "shepherd shuns." This is a wetter, perhaps more somber or challenging, period where beeches drip, streams overflow, and rooks head home in family units. The imagery here is of abundance, but also of a kind of relentless dampness and enclosure, with "hill-hid tides throb, throe on throe." Yet, the narrator again declares, "And so do I," creating a compelling tension between the conventionally pleasant and the personally preferred. The power of these lyrics lies in their precise, almost tactile imagery and the narrator's unwavering, dualistic affirmation. The contrast between the "spikes" and the "duns," the "nestlings fly" and the "families homeward go," highlights how the same natural phenomena can evoke different feelings. The repetition of "And so do I" is key, suggesting a unique sensibility that finds joy or meaning not just in the sunshine, but also in the dripping, overflowing, and homeward-bound aspects of nature. Ultimately, the effectiveness stems from this unexpected alignment. It’s not just about liking rain; it’s about finding a particular resonance in weather that might deter others. The lyrics suggest a deeper, personal connection to the cycles of nature, embracing both its vibrant awakenings and its more subdued, introspective moments, finding a shared spirit with the cuckoo and the shepherd alike, even when their preferences diverge.