This page features a video of the poem “Homes”, prescribed under the Karnataka State Syllabus for 7th Standard English Third Language. Along with its summary in three languages and transliterated songs. It serves as a valuable learning resource for students and parents, with each song accompanied by its respective lyrics for easy sing-along. The synchronized lyrics help learners follow and recite the song as it progresses, making memorization and learning by heart easier, more effective, and enjoyable.
Lyrics
English
I might have lived inside a shell
If I had been a snail;
Or in a great wide tossing sea
If I had been a whale!
Or in a busy, noisy hive,
If I had been born a bee;
Or a bunny in a burrow
Eating lettuce for my tea.
I might have had a kennel home,
If I had been a dog.
Or a mud hole in river bank,
Had I been born a frog.
I might have been a little bird,
And lived inside a nest;
But Oh! I’m glad I’m just a child,
I think my home is the best.
If I had been a snail;
Or in a great wide tossing sea
If I had been a whale!
Or in a busy, noisy hive,
If I had been born a bee;
Or a bunny in a burrow
Eating lettuce for my tea.
I might have had a kennel home,
If I had been a dog.
Or a mud hole in river bank,
Had I been born a frog.
I might have been a little bird,
And lived inside a nest;
But Oh! I’m glad I’m just a child,
I think my home is the best.
Summary
The poem imagines how life might be different if the speaker were various animals. A snail would live inside a shell, a whale in the wide sea, a bee in a busy hive, and a bunny in a burrow. The speaker also imagines being a dog, frog, or little bird with different kinds of homes. After considering all these possibilities, the child feels happy to be a human child. The poem ends by expressing love for and satisfaction with the child's own home.
Author