Talk:April Come She Will

Origin of melody[edit]

Does the melody to this song originate from an English folk song? 173.88.241.33 (talk) 20:21, 9 October 2016 (UTC)[reply]

Origin of lyrics[edit]

The lyrics follow a song by Benjamin Britten - that (I think) is itself adapted from a folk song. One that describes the life cycle of the English Cuckoo. The version I remember is:
In April I open my bill [starts to sing]
In May I sing night and day
In June I change my tune
In July far far I fly
In August away I must [migrates to Africa]

see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_cuckoo#Voice
& https://lyrics.az/benjamin-britten/-/cuckoo.html

Yes, it is adapted from the nursery rhyme "Cuckoo, Cuckoo, what do you do?" Acorrector (talk) 09:51, 17 May 2022 (UTC)[reply]

For those interested - there's a page about this rhyme on the German Wikipedia:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cuckoo,_cuckoo,_what_do_you_do%3F
In English (via google translate):
https://de-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Cuckoo,_cuckoo,_what_do_you_do?_x_tr_sl=auto&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=wapp — Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.77.121.140 (talk) 00:11, 13 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

A theme near at hand to poets in rural environments I suspect. Would be well if someone with scholarly sources at hand could include this background in the article.

Another month-metaphored love song I wonder if the duo had heard: April is in my mistress' face (a classic that needs proof of its "notability", by the way). 151.177.56.148 (talk) 23:37, 27 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]