The Girl With April In Her Eyes
There once was a king, who called for the spring,
For his world was still covered in snow,
But the spring had not been, for he was wicked and mean,
In his winter-fields nothing would grow;
And when a traveller called seeking help at the door,
Only food and a bed for the night,
He ordered his slave to turn her away,
The girl with April in her eyes...
Oh, on and on she goes,
Through the winter's night, the wild wind and the snow,
Hi, on and on she rides,
Someone help the girl with April in her eyes...
She rode through the night till she came to the light,
Of a humble man's home in the woods,
He brought her inside, by the firelight she died,
And he buried her gently and good;
Oh the morning was bright, all the world was snow-white,
But when he came to the place where she lay,
His field was ablaze with flowers on the grave,
Of the girl with April in her eyes...
Oh, on and on she goes,
Through the winter's night, the wild wind and the snow,
Hi, on and on she flies,
She is gone, the girl with April in her eyes...
"'The Girl With April In Her Eyes' came, I think, from a number of inspirations. I have always had a strong imagination, I have always enjoyed the medieval idea and also, of course, having been brought up in an old castle, it's not difficult to imagine somebody turning up at the door, a traveller in the middle of the night. And I think it goes back to, if you are going to be a generous person, you should look upon everybody the same way, if somebody needs help. And you never know, I think, there's a well-known line about you must be kind to all strangers, because who knows it might be Jesus Christ himself who may come to you looking for help. There's a poem by Keats or Shelley, which I remember from years ago, maybe some of the people on the website can remind me of who wrote this particular poem, but it's about an old man who lives in a big old dark castle and a traveller arrives. And it's a beautiful girl, he brings her in. And everywhere she goes, she brings life to his home. And when she leaves, it goes dark again and sad. And there's a bit of this in 'The Girl With April In Her Eyes'. And also the idea of her lying in a grave surrounded by snow except on her grave there are flowers growing, that's an idea that appealed to me very much."
Man On The Line, November 2002
Albums
"The Girl With April In Her Eyes" appears on the following albums:
