The Idlers Calendar. Twelve Sonnets for the Year - December by Wilfred Scawen Blunt

Song Meaning

The narrator is utterly fed up with the harshness of winter, describing it as "too rude" and "of tooth too keen." This season isn't just uncomfortable; it actively makes people sick and dulls the senses, turning the narrator's thoughts to escape. The desire for change is so strong it feels like a rebellion against the natural order of the cold. The core tension lies in the contrast between the oppressive, life-draining winter and the imagined warmth and freedom of Egypt. The narrator questions the value of human wisdom if it can't overcome the physical and mental stagnation caused by the cold. Frost is presented as an insurmountable obstacle, a force that demands surrender and flight. The lyrics paint a vivid picture of this desire for escape, specifically invoking Egypt as a place of respite. The "blessed sun" and "long summer which still girds the Nile" offer a stark counterpoint to the winter's gloom. The idea of putting "our souls to grass" suggests a complete shedding of burdens and a return to a more primal, uninhibited state of being, running "barefooted and barehearted."