Fleet Foxes’ “White Winter Hymnal” Lyrics Meaning

First off it should be noted that Fleet Foxes’ Robin Pecknold, the sole writer of “White Winter Hymnal”, has stated that its lyrics are “fairly meaningless”. And his goal was just to write a song that the band can jam to and serve as the opening number on their debut album. Yet he has also stated that there is a storyline contained therein. So the way these seemingly contradictory statements can be interpreted is that some of lyrics have an intended meaning. Others, on the other hand, were just added because they sound cool. And for the most part, we’re going to focus on Robin’s explanation of the narrative in the song.

The term “following the pack” alludes to a time in the singer’s youth when he regularly hung out with a group of his peers, indeed the same collection of friends year-in and year-out. However, as time progressed they went their separate ways – and not in a good way. For example, some became drug dealers and other types of unsavory characters. And this sudden transformation of his buddies, like “Michael”, perturbed the singer. He didn’t understand how suddenly keeping up with gang culture, if you will, became more important than their long-standing friendships.

But again, that interpretation is based primarily on Robin’s own explanation of this song. That is to say the listener him or herself would be hard-pressed to derive such a complex meaning from the terse and even childlike nature of the lyrics. However, if one were to listen carefully, it can be seen that when Michael falls into “the white snow”, it then turns “red as strawberries in the summertime”. So that would logically symbolize that he is in fact bleeding. However, it is obviously not meant to be taken that Michael has actually been murdered, as he is a real-life buddy of Pecknold’s who it would appear is very much alive and kicking.

Conclusion

So conclusively, as the writer of “White Winter Hymnal” has alluded to, this song is a case of the lyrics preceding the meaning as opposed to vice versa. And given their overall ambiguity, they could logically be interpreted in different ways. However, there is definitely symbolism of some sort of an ominous development from an initially harmless viewpoint. And again, the ultimate idea this is all meant to point to is one akin to the loss of childhood innocence.

Lyrics of “White Winter Hymnal” by Fleet Foxes

Facts about “White Winter Hymnal”

This song is featured on Fleet Foxes’ eponymous debut album, with Fleet Foxes being a band from Seattle, Washington.

This track was released by a British label called Bella Union on 2 June 2008. It also served as the first single from “Fleet Foxes”.

Although “White Winter Hymnal” did not chart, it was still critically-acclaimed. For instance, both Pitchfork Media and Time magazine placed it amongst the top-five songs of 2008, and the entire “Fleet Foxes” album was celebrated by the likes of The London Times and Mojo magazine.

And since then this track has been steadily covered and utilized in pop media. For instance, it serves as the opening song for Hulu’s drama series “The Path”.

“White Winter Hymnal” was written by Robin Pecknold, the frontman of Fleet Foxes, who also proclaimed that this is his favorite of all the band’s tracks to sing in front of a live audience. He also stated that the song which inspired the tempo of this “White Winter Hymnal” is actually “Whistle While You Work” (1939) of Disney’s “Snow White” fame.

And although Robin wrote this song with the intent of being the opening track on “Fleet Foxes”, it actually turned out being the second song on its playlist.

“White Winter Hymnal” was produced by Phil Elk.

Fleet Foxes were able to record “White Winter Hymnal” in one sitting in a home, not professional, setting. And in all, it “took like 10 hours” to lay down.

The music video to this song, which utilizes claymation, was created by Robin Pecknold’s older brother, Sean Pecknold.

58 Responses

  1. Hazel says:

    This was very informative, though I would have liked to know some note about the ideas behind the video, which is itself also quite intriguing.

  2. Anonymous says:

    What does the part about the scarves “tied around their throats” mean. Why not say neck? What is the part about the scarves were “to keep their little heads, from falling in the snow” mean?

    • Anonymous says:

      This is random but it could be perceived as symbolism for control, or it could mean they had their throats slit. Or it is just straight gibberish.

    • Anonymous says:

      I thought it meant the scarves were red from blood but I could be wrong.

      • Anonymous says:

        Their heads were chopped off and the scarves were there to keep their heads on but the guy named Michael’s head fell off as the general leading the “pack” of horses with a bunch of decapitated people with blood stained scarves around their necks turned around, which gives the meaning to the part “And I turned ’round and there you go and, Michael, you would fall, and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summer time.”

    • Anonymous says:

      Throats rhymes with coats. It just flows better when you sing it.

  3. Anonymous says:

    I thought it meant that the red scarfs were a treason from the French and that Michael was there leader and he was wounded or murdered.

    • Anonymous says:

      thats what I thought too

    • Brainless listener says:

      Well… For me it’s about making controversy to make people think and think about meanings… I like the song, what I’ve donebis made it mine and follow personal meaning… Just enjoy the song.

  4. James says:

    Disappointing lyrics and meaning. Could have been a great song but it’s just macabre.

    • Ricky says:

      No, it’s a just a great song!

      • Neil R says:

        Heard it for the first time in UK when they sang at Glastonbury and it was of course being televised.. It just wowed me from the start and their harmony and stage presence were just the highlight. hearing it from cold it back then it looked like the song was called Little Foxes so I thought it was about baby foxes in winter running around in the Snow, hence why Winter Hymnal!!! and that has remained so until just now in 2022!!!

    • Anonymous says:

      Yes, exactly.

  5. No says:

    My friend, thinking that fleet foxes was part of the name thought it was about red foxes running from a hunter.
    It kind of makes sense.

  6. Pixie says:

    He definitely achieved the upbeat fun tune. But, I gotta agree with whomever wrote that the lyrics do seem a bit macabre – especially for a Christmas album as done by the Pentatonics.

  7. Evelyn from Texas says:

    I was also confused about the song. I’m 70 yrs & at first I thought I wasn’t hearing the words correctly. Then I was listening to louder & I thought it was weird for a song on a Christmas album. When I looked it up I think the writer’s explanation about his friends would make sense. But I have no idea why it would be a “Christmas” song. Except the beat is really catchy. Rock on guys!!!

  8. Michael says:

    The song is delightful. Like a lot of good art , it is open to interpretation. In the end it will mean different things to different people and in my mind that is good. There is enough ambiguity in the lyrics that it can be a metaphor for a lot of things from religious to social phenomena to politics to the change from childhood to adulthood and probably some more. I would encourage people to watch the Pentatonix version video. They have captured the essence of the song musically with their arrangement (as is true of most of their recordings) and they are always a delight to listen to providing us with lots of ear candy.

  9. Kat says:

    “Red scarves tied around their throats to keep their little heads from falling into the snow” really sounded to me like their throats had been slit, or they had been decapitated, and the scarves around their necks were soaked with blood while keeping their heads affixed to their bodies. And eventually “Michael” falls and his blood is spilled into the snow. Who the pack is was unclear to me, but could have been wolves or foxes killed for their fur, but Michael confused this thought and made me wonder if Michael is representative of the war in Heaven, which doesn’t make sense since Michael was victorious. This whole thing sounds a lot like a macabre childhood rhyme.

  10. Lou Barlow says:

    “White Winter Hymnal” sounds just like “Fall Into November” by Folk Implosion from 1997

  11. Anonymous says:

    the part that made me listen to it like 3 or 4 times was the and Michael you would fall and turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summer time. when i first heard it it made me cock my head and i was a bit confused. i mean its not something you hear everyday but i love the music its got some serious vibes

  12. Anonymous says:

    I thought the scarves of red had something to do with the white snow red as strawberries. I hope someone can explain this.

  13. Anonymous says:

    I always thought the scarves were for keeping the heads of snowmen from falling off.

  14. Iz says:

    I really thought this was about a little boy dying because he followed a pack of wolves.

  15. Anonymous says:

    Actually guys this is what I think. Red symbolizes the loss of childhood innocence so I don’t think they literally meant scarves or their throats being slit. It means they aren’t innocent anymore. And I assume Michel is their last innocent friend and he loses his innocence by figuring out the “pack” are drug dealers and other things like that symbolizing the “falling” and of course the red in the snow is him losing his innocence with this information. Don’t take this as facts only a theory! Anyone got something to add?

  16. Anonymous says:

    I thought it was an oddly written song about ice skating. 🤷‍♀️

  17. Anonymous says:

    It is very ambiguous but is meant to be interpreted by everyone as they see it in their head. Obviously, it is generally about the loss of childhood innocence, that often happens at Christmas time when we eventually realize that Father Christmas doesn’t exist!!

  18. justin says:

    I thought it was about murdered children who had their throats s–t, and the red scarves to keep their heads on. But whoever commented on Nov 19, that makes much more sense and is definitely less grim.

  19. Anonymous says:

    i thought about American Revolution. The pack is an army unit. The red implies the british empires soilders red uniform.

    white snow red as strawberrys implys how they lost.

  20. Me says:

    I assumed the red scarves symbolized gang colors.

  21. Wowed out says:

    This… this is Dyatlov Pass. I swear…. chills.

  22. Festive Cynic says:

    I thought that this song was about the holocaust. Three articles later, I still have no clue what it is about.

  23. Mother of Fairies says:

    I see it as a kaleidoscope montage of ripening from girl to woman, with the sudden falling blood of first menses, contrasting white – AKA pure as driven snow- with blood red, winter snow with summer fruit, losing ones head to the passion of desire. Think of Michael as female and the whole song changes. And yes, Michael is sometimes a woman’s name.

  24. Cynthia says:

    I thought it was imagery of a school shooting.

  25. Anonymous says:

    The song is about a military group all being decapitated besides the general and he put scarves around their necks, soaking in the blood, to keep their heads on their bodies and the general put the men on horse, that is what the pack is. As the general turned around, one of the guy’s, named Michael, heads fell off and the blood spilled from the neck onto the white snow, turning it into a bright red, like the color of strawberries in the summer.
    That’s what I heard anyway

    • Anonymous says:

      Oh my god…..are you serious, I thought it was about like, the French Revolution er something, not being decapitated…it just is so weird to be hearing that since pentatonix is usually all about Christmas..

  26. Anonymous says:

    This song to me symbolizes or a reference to what happened at Dyatlov pass.

  27. O.S was here says:

    It’s all about what the song tells you

  28. Anonymous says:

    I thought it was about a pack of husky dogs who do not wear red scarves around their throats as does my own husky.

  29. Anonymous says:

    Red scarves tied around their throats to keep their little heads from falling into the snow”

    It’s kind of a poetic scene related to silence and sound as so… And as for the strawberries is more nostalgic to memmories

  30. Me says:

    I read it means that it was a group of survivors left from a battle and that the scarves of red tied round there throats was to keep the dead peoples decapitated heads from falling off and the scarves were stained red with blood, hence why the song says “to keep their little head from falling in the snow” and when it says “and then I turned around” one of the survivors turned around, presumably to look at Michael, who was probably the friend of Michael. So when it says “and I turned around and there you go”, it means that Michael probably started falling off whatever was carrying the dead. “And you would turn the white snow red as strawberries in the summertime” shows that Michael’s head fell off and his blood stained the snow red. It sounds like a journal entry where perhaps the survivor was imagining a conversation with the survivor’s friend Michael. I assume the survivor was close to Michael and wrote the entry to ease the pain. Now it’s just a song but the meaning was very clear to others. Or perhaps it is a dream of a child and its imaginary friend, turned into a nightmare. Either way, enjoy listening.

    • Dongal says:

      This sums up my understanding of the song perfectly. 🤷🏼‍♀️

    • Seasons says:

      This song is not about decapitation!!!! It is about seasons!! It’s only obvious if you look for it behind the lyrics. A lot of people think that the scarves are keeping their heads on. THAT’S NOT TRUE!!!!!!!!(sorry, i just love good debate!) The scarves fall off cause of the seasons changing! Hope this helped!

    • Seasons says:

      It’s about the seasons. Why can’t anyone get that?? It’s fine😄 but the seasons are changing and the scarf is originally red, not stained with blood! To keep their little heads from falling in the snow means to keep them warm until spring! then we go to summer! Hope this helped!

  31. AKA Michael says:

    I honestly thought the lyrics were religious and had something to do with Jesus (aka Michael as he is sometimes referred to in certain religions) coming to die on the cross and that was his blood spilled in the snow.

  32. Anonymous says:

    Ya the Jesus one makes sense

  33. Anonymous says:

    I thought it was about a pack of dogs

  34. Anonymous says:

    Ok folks if you research the meaning of these lyrics it would seem as though the closest guess of all was the individual who posted on Nov the 19th. Apparently that individual did their research homework on this as well!

  35. Uwotbx says:

    I feel silly now… I thought it was a song about snowmen.

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