Lesson Plan: Language Arts: Poetry/Song: Ballads

Song 4 The Girl with April in her Eyes Worksheet 2
Part One
There once was a king,
Listen to the Songs 4, 5 and 6. Study their
who called for the spring,
lyrics. Which of them is a ballad Or all
For his world was still covered with snow,
But the spring had not been,
For he was wicked and mean,
Song 4 The Girl with April in her Eyes
In his winter fields nothing would grow;
It is quite arbitrary if this is a ballad. It has
And when a traveller called,
all the common features of a ballad except
Seeking help at the door,
that its ending may seem sad for someone
Only food and a bed for a night,
but it may also be a beautiful one to the
He ordered his slave to turn her away,
ending. This is because in the end the girl
The girl with April in her eyes...
died (sad), but her death had also brought
beautiful changes to the field, to the world
Oh, oh, oh, on and on she goes,
(beautiful, not sad).
Through the winter's night,
The wild wind and the snow,
Hi, hi, hi, on and on she rides,
Someone help the girl with April in her eyes
Song 5 Visions
It is not a ballad because the song is not
She rode through the night
telling a story though repeated refrain is
Till she came to the light,
found in the song. The singer is just
Of a humble man's home in the woods,
expressing his love to the girl she falls in
He brought her inside,
love with. It is not a story occurred in the
By the firelight she died,
past either.
And he buried her gently and good;
Oh the morning was bright,
All the world snow-white,
But when he came to the place where she lay,
Song 6 One Tin Soldier
His field was ablaze
It is a ballad because it contains all the
With flowers on the grave,
features of a ballad:
Of the girl with April in her eyes...
1. It is a very sad story about a massacre
of some mountain people for nothing
Oh, oh, oh, on and on she goes,
though the narrator probably is not
Through the winter's night,
one of the characters involved.
The wild wind and the snow,
2. It is about an old folk tale that
Hi, hi, hi, on and on she flies,
kingdoms, mountain and valley folks
She is gone, the girl with April in her eyes..
are mentioned.
3. The chorus is the repeated refrain in
the song.