What the song is about

This is a soft bedtime song. Night falls over a forest. A silver owl wakes up in a pine tree, a fox curls up to sleep, and everything becomes quiet. Grey mist covers the mountains, and a river flows with a quiet, secret sound. The chorus invites the listener to take a deep breath, relax and let the night carry them into sleep.

Useful words and expressions

  • owl, fox, pine: a bird that is awake at night, a wild animal like a small dog, and a tree with needles.
  • roots: the parts of a tree under the ground.
  • to curl up: to lie with your body in a small, round shape, like a sleeping cat.
  • as calm as can be: very, very calm. You can use the same pattern with other adjectives: as happy as can be.
  • a blanket of grey: a picture for mist or clouds that cover something like a blanket.
  • the fading day: the end of the day, when the light slowly goes away.
  • to take a deep breath: to breathe in slowly and fully.
  • let it go: stop holding something, here meaning relax.
  • to drift: to move slowly and gently, here meaning to fall asleep.
  • hallowed ground: a special, holy or deeply respected place. This is a formal, poetic phrase.

Grammar

  • Present simple describes the scene: A silver owl wakes up, The river flows, The fox curls up. The verbs end in -s after he, she, it.
  • Inverted word order for style: Soft is the earth, warm is the air means The earth is soft, the air is warm. Poems and songs often put the adjective first. In everyday speech, use the normal order.
  • -ing forms: Hiding the colors, Moving across the ground, Drifting deep, Dreaming time describe actions that happen at the same time.
  • Imperatives give gentle instructions: Let it go, Rest in the leaves.
  • let + person + verb: Let the night time take you means allow the night to take you.

Song language, not everyday English

  • take you slow: in normal English we say take you slowly. The song uses slow to rhyme with go.
  • under roots of the tree: normally under the roots of the tree. The article is left out to keep the rhythm.
  • Finding a comfort everywhere: we usually say finding comfort everywhere, without a.
  • night time: usually written as one word, nighttime.
  • the darkness softly shine: darkness does not really shine. This is a poetic image, not a normal way to describe the night.
  • The last lines, Drifting deep and Dreaming time, are short poetic phrases, not full sentences.