A young spinner named Bessie, busy at her wheel, asks a flower, a robin, the wind, and a brook why they work so cheerfully. The flower says it blooms to cheer her; the robin broods to fill the world with song; the wind and brook flutter and shimmer to scatter blessings and green beauty. Each sees its task as a joyful duty in a world full of labor. The refrain, “Whirl, busy wheel, faster,” links Bessie’s indoor spinning to nature’s busyness outside. The mood is light, contented, and quietly energetic. In the last stanza, Bessie admires how these elements make a pride of industry and asks them to teach her to work as blithely, with a willing hand and heart. She accepts that her own labor, too, can be done with the same cheerful purpose.
The Rose Family - Song 1 — Summary
O flower at my window Why blossom you so fair, With your green and purple cup Upturned to sun and air? 'I bloom, blithesome Bessie, To cheer your childish heart; The world is full of labor, And this shall be my part.' Whirl, busy wheel, faster, Spin, little thread, spin; The sun shines fair without, And we are gay within.
O robin in the tree-top, With sunshine on your breast, Why brood you so patiently Above your hidden nest? 'I brood, blithesome Bessie, And sing my humble song, That the world may have more music From my little ones erelong.' Whirl, busy wheel, faster, Spin, little thread, spin; The sun shines fair without, And we are gay within.
O balmy wind of summer, O silver-singing brook, Why rustle through the branches? Why shimmer in your nook? 'I flutter, blithesome Bessie, Like a blessing far and wide; I scatter bloom and verdue Where'er my footsteps glide.' Whirl, busy wheel, faster, Spin, little thread, spin; The sun shines fair without, And we are gay within.
O brook and breeze and blossom, And robin on the tree, You make a joy of duty, A pride of industry; Teach me to work as blithely, With a willing hand and heart: The world is full of labor, And I must do my part. Whirl, busy wheel, faster, Spin, little thread, spin; The sun shines fair without, And we are gay within.