Where have you been, my blue-eyed son?

When I was at Oxford university, one of the most eminent professors of English there came to our college one day to lead a seminar on someone he regarded to be the best poet writing in the English language for at least 150 years. Imagine our surprise, therefore, when he started off by playing a song by 1960s (and onwards) folk hero, Bob Dylan. However, if you look at the lyrics below, I hope you will agree they show as much depth and skill as anything else you have read of English poetry. And there are many more where this comes from too...

'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall' by Bob Dylan (1963)

Oh, where have you been, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, where have you been, my darling young one?
I've stumbled on the side of twelve misty mountains,
I've walked and I've crawled on six crooked highways,
I've stepped in the middle of seven sad forests,
I've been out in front of a dozen dead oceans,
I've been ten thousand miles in the mouth of a graveyard,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, and it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what did you see, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what did you see, my darling young one?
I saw a newborn baby with wild wolves all around it
I saw a highway of diamonds with nobody on it,
I saw a black branch with blood that kept drippin',
I saw a room full of men with their hammers a-bleedin',
I saw a white ladder all covered with water,
I saw ten thousand talkers whose tongues were all broken,
I saw guns and sharp swords in the hands of young children,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

And what did you hear, my blue-eyed son?
And what did you hear, my darling young one?
I heard the sound of a thunder, it roared out a warnin',
Heard the roar of a wave that could drown the whole world,
Heard one hundred drummers whose hands were a-blazin',
Heard ten thousand whisperin' and nobody listenin',
Heard one person starve, I heard many people laughin',
Heard the song of a poet who died in the gutter,
Heard the sound of a clown who cried in the alley,
And it's a hard, and it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
And it's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, who did you meet, my blue-eyed son?
Who did you meet, my darling young one?
I met a young child beside a dead pony,
I met a white man who walked a black dog,
I met a young woman whose body was burning,
I met a young girl, she gave me a rainbow,
I met one man who was wounded in love,
I met another man who was wounded with hatred,
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Oh, what'll you do now, my blue-eyed son?
Oh, what'll you do now, my darling young one?
I'm a-goin' back out 'fore the rain starts a-fallin',
I'll walk to the depths of the deepest black forest,
Where the people are many and their hands are all empty,
Where the pellets of poison are flooding their waters,
Where the home in the valley meets the damp dirty prison,
Where the executioner's face is always well hidden,
Where hunger is ugly, where souls are forgotten,
Where black is the color, where none is the number,
And I'll tell it and think it and speak it and breathe it,
And reflect it from the mountain so all souls can see it,
Then I'll stand on the ocean until I start sinkin',
But I'll know my song well before I start singin',
And it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard, it's a hard,
It's a hard rain's a-gonna fall.

Coram Boy

The harsh realities of 18th century life, of slavery, of prejudice, of tragedy, of corruption, of the haves and the have nots are woven together incredibly intricately and yet quite simply told too. Rest assured this book will have a significant impact on any teenager; and you may well find it impossible to put down...

It was a well-deserved winner of the Whitbread Children's Book Award in 2000.

'A fine lady went to Stowe Fair. She was pregnant for the first time and, keen to know what the future held for her, she consulted an old gypsy woman.
'"Why, my dear, I do believe you will have seven babies," said the gypsy woman studying her hand. The fine lady went away and thought no more about it.
'When the time came for her child to be born, a midwife was summoned to attend the labour. "What have we here?" she exclaimed as she delivered first one baby, then another and another.
'"Oh no!" cried the young wife, remembering the gypsy's prophecy. "That can't be so!" She wept. But sure enough, one by one, seven little baby girls were born and laid into a basket.
'The fine lady was upset fit to die. "I don't care what the gypsy prophesied; I will only keep one baby. Take the other six away," she begged the midwife. "Drown them in the river, but whatever you do, don't tell my husband," and she pressed a purse of silver into her hand.

To download and read the rest of the first chapter for free, click here.

The Fast Track BLOG is changing...

The GCSE results are out; the tears (of joy and of disappointment) have been dried; and a new Year 11 is in its throne. But the message - as far as GCSE English is concerned - is simple: the more challenging and frequent your reading, the higher your grade will be.

Last year, our average point score this year was the highest of all the core subjects; and we got over 10% more students to a Grade C or higher - a record improvement and wonderful news especially for those who desperately needed that magical C grade to get into their chosen courses at 6th Form College.

But there was NOBODY who achieved an A or A* grade in English - high B grades yes, but not a single A or A*. Why? Well, not enough of the most able students were producing enough timed essays; not enough were really stretching themselves; and not enough were making sufficient use of the wikis and blogs at their disposal. BUT I would say the BIGGEST reason was that not enough of the most able students in last year's Year 11 were reading - and I mean really reading - like their lives depended on it.

Reading is the answer. And, unlike much exam preparation, reading is fun. Choose the right book, and it simply doesn't feel like WORK at all, as you are whisked away to a parallel world and wrapped in a mesmerising narrative.

All members of the English Fast Track should be reading for a minimum of 45 minutes EVERY night. This should become part of your daily routine, something you would not miss out any more than you would eating dinner or cleaning your teeth in the morning.

And this BLOG? Well, I would like to hand it over ENTIRELY for book reviews. WHENEVER you finish reading a book, just spend 10 minutes or so writing a brief review of it on the Fast Track BLOG, so that other people can learn from your experience.

At the end of each term, there will be a £10 prize for:

1. The BEST book review of the term;
2. The MOST book reviews written.

To help you, members of the English Department will also post regular reviews of books we have read and enjoyed.

And you can also find a detailed reading list by clicking here and getting your parents to register. Not only will you then be able to download excerpts from ALL the books listed, but you will also be able to buy them at a special discounted rate, if you choose to do so.

So get reading straight away!

And we look forward to reading the first book review in the very near future.

The George Mitchell English Department