Morning has broken

[sbchan]

Morning has broken is a very lovely song. I have some questions about this song:

1 Why it chose the "Blackbird" as the first bird that sing? Is there any special meaning?

2 What is the meaning of 'sprung in completeness' in "Sprung in completeness where his feet pass"?

3 Who is 'mine' in the "Mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning"? The singer or God? If 'mine' is the signer then what is this meant?

4 What is 'Eden saw play' meant in "Born of the one light, Eden saw play"?

[rewboss]

The language of the song is very poetic and quite unusual, so a lot of it is not standard conversational English. In particular, grammar rules you may have learned at school are often broken in order to achieve a particular effect.

1. I think "blackbird" was chosen simply to keep the rhythm. It could have been almost any common songbird with two syllables, but "blackbird" probably simply sounds the best.

2. The author is comparing the morning with the creation of the world. Normally, plants spring up and grow quite slowly, but here the author is imagining the Creator walking along, and wherever he goes the plants spring up already complete -- already fully-formed.

3. I'm not sure, but I think the author is suggesting that the beautiful dawn is a gift from God.

4. In the Bible, Eden is the name of the garden which God originally created as a beautiful place for humans to live -- a "paradise" (the word is an old word for "garden") where everything is beautiful and there is no pain or suffering. The sentence here is elliptical (for poetic reasons): it means, "The sunlight and the morning are born of the same light which the Garden of Eden saw playing." Light shining through trees when there is a slight breeze can be seen to dance around, almost as if playing. The author is saying that the light of the morning comes from that same light in this paradise.

[BobK]

1. I think "blackbird" was chosen simply to keep the rhythm. It could have been almost any common songbird with two syllables, but "blackbird" probably simply sounds the best.
....

And it needs the right stress: chaffinch would do, but that's not as homely. (If we're allowing archaisms, then you could have throstle - an old word for 'thrush' I think.)

But I think rewboss is right - blackbird just sounds best.It's one of the many birds that join in 'the dawn chorus' - when songbirds start to sing at the first light of dawn.

b

[sbchan]

What do you think "mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning" means? Who is "mine"?

SB

[MikeNewYork]

And it needs the right stress: chaffinch would do, but that's not as homely. (If we're allowing archaisms, then you could have throstle - an old word for 'thrush' I think.)

But I think rewboss is right - blackbird just sounds best.It's one of the many birds that join in 'the dawn chorus' - when songbirds start to sing at the first light of dawn.

b

I'd prefer yellow-bellied sap sucker.

[rewboss]

What do you think "mine is the sunlight, mine is the morning" means? Who is "mine"?

I think it's the author.