5/17 notes from classng

"To His Coy Mistress" (p. 739)
Carpe diem is a Latin aphorism, usually translated "seize the day", taken from book 1 of the Roman poet Horace's work Odes (23 BC).
※aphorism(箴言): a short clever saying that is intended to express a general truth
Making a sentence→Oscar Wilde was famous for such aphorisms as "Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes".

Carpe is the second-person singular present active imperative of carpō "pick or pluck" used by Horace to mean "enjoy, seize, use, make use of". Diem is the accusative case of the noun dies "day". A more literal translation of "carpe diem" would thus be "pluck the day [as it is ripe]"—that is, enjoy the moment.
imperative: extremely important or urgent
Making a sentence→The President said it was imperative that the release of all hostage be secured 
History
Text from Odes 1.11:

Tu ne quaesieris, scire nefas, quem mihi, quem tibi
finem di dederint, Leuconoe, nec Babylonios
temptaris numeros. ut melius, quidquid erit, pati.
seu pluris hiemes seu tribuit Iuppiter ultimam,
quae nunc oppositis debilitat pumicibus mare
Tyrrhenum. Sapias, vina liques et spatio brevi
spem longam reseces. dum loquimur, fugerit invida
aetas: carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero.

Ask not ('tis forbidden knowledge), what our destined term of years,
Mine and yours; nor scan the tables of your Babylonish seers.
Better far to bear the future, my Leuconoe, like the past,
Whether Jove has many winters yet to give, or this our last;
This, that makes the Tyrrhene billows spend their strength against the shore.
Strain your wine and prove your wisdom; life is short; should hope be more?
In the moment of our talking, envious time has ebb'd away.
Seize the present; trust tomorrow e'en as little as you may.

In ancient literature
Perhaps the first written expression of the concept is the advice given by Siduri to Gilgamesh, telling him to forgo his mourning and embrace life although some scholars see it as simply urging Gilgamesh to abandon his mourning, "reversing the liminal rituals of mourning and returning to the normal and normative behaviors of Mesopotamian society."
forgo:

Meaning
In Horace, the phrase is part of the longer carpe diem, quam minimum credula postero, which can be translated as "Seize the day, put very little trust in tomorrow (the future)". The ode says that the future is unforeseen and that one should not leave to chance future happenings, but rather one should do all one can today to make one's future better. This phrase is usually understood against Horace's Epicurean background. The meaning of "carpe diem" as used by Horace is not to ignore the future, but rather not to trust that everything is going to fall into place for you and taking action for the future today.
※ode : a poem expressing the writer's thoughts and feelings about a particular person or subject,usually written to that person or subject.
※epicurean: getting pleasure from food and drink of highly quality Related expressions
Hebrew
The phrase ?ואם לא עכשיו, אימתי "And if not now, then when?" (Pirkei Avoth 1:14).

Other Latin

Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May, by John William Waterhouse

An 1898 German postcard, quoting "Gaudeamus igitur"
"Collige, virgo, rosas" ("gather, girl, the roses") appears at the end of the poem "De rosis nascentibus"[8] ("Of growing roses", also called Idyllium de rosis) attributed to Ausonius or Virgil. It encourages youth to enjoy life before it is too late; compare "Gather ye rosebuds while ye may" from Robert Herrick's 1648 poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time".

"De Brevitate Vitae" ("On the Shortness of Life"), often referred to as "Gaudeamus igitur", (Let us rejoice) is a popular academic commercium song, on taking joy in student life, with the knowledge that one will someday die. It is medieval Latin, dating to 1287.

Related but distinct is the expression memento mori (remember that you are mortal) which carries some of the same connotation as carpe diem. For Horace, mindfulness of our own mortality is key in making us realize the importance of the moment. "Remember that you are mortal, so seize the day." Over time the phrase memento mori also came to be associated with penitence, as suggested in many vanitas paintings. Today many listeners will take the two phrases as representing almost opposite approaches, with carpe diem urging us to savour life and memento mori urging us to resist its allure. This is not the original sense of the memento mori phrase as used by Horace.
turret: a small ,circular tower that is part of a castle or a large building 

In popular culture

A German version of "carpe diem" (Nutze die Zeit) on the face of a turret clock in Germany
In the 1989 movie Dead Poets Society, the English teacher John Keating, played by Robin Williams, famously says: "Carpe diem. Seize the day, boys. Make your lives extraordinary." Later, this line was voted as the 95th greatest movie quote by the American Film Institute.The television series Community later satirized the movie with the recurring character of Professor Whitman, a comedically eccentric version of Williams' character who uses "Carpe diem" as his guiding philosophy.
The American progressive metal band Dream Theater released the 23-minute epic "A Change of Seasons" on their 1995 EP of the same name. The song numerously references the "carpe diem" or "Seize the Day" aphorism as part of its storyline. The song also includes audio samples from the 1989 film Dead Poets Society and quotes from Robert Herrick's poem, "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time", all of which are conceived surrounding the concept of "carpe diem".
The American heavy metal band Metallica produced a song called "Carpe Diem Baby" on their 1997 album Reload. The chorus contains the line "Come squeeze and suck the day. Come carpe diem, baby!"
The soundtrack to the 2011 animated film Phineas and Ferb the Movie: Across the 2nd Dimension includes a track called "Carpe Diem".
The American punk rock band, Green Day, produced a song called "Carpe Diem" on their 2012 album ¡Uno!. The chorus is "Carpe Diem, a battle cry, are we all too young to die? Ask for reason, and no reply, are we all too young to die?"
The English alternative rock band, You Me at Six, produced a song called "Carpe Diem" on their 2014 album Cavalier Youth. The chorus is "Carpe diem 'til the very end. I have no regrets. Carpe diem 'til the bitter end."
Bob Catley's 1999 solo album Legends includes the song "Carpe Diem" with the chorus "seize the day".
A song and single of the album Chokmah by the German singer Nena is called "Carpe Diem".
It is the motto of Marden High School, École Mission Senior Secondary School, and Mother Teresa Catholic Secondary School.
Carpe Diem is the second novel of the Agent of Change sequence in Sharon Lee and Steve Miller's Liaden Universe Science Fiction series

Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May 

Gather Ye Rosebuds While Ye May is an oil painting on canvas created in 1909 by British Pre-Raphaelite artist, John William Waterhouse. It was the second of two paintings inspired by the 17th century poem "To the Virgins, to Make Much of Time" by Robert Herrick which begins:
Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,
Old Time is still a-flying;
And this same flower that smiles today,
Tomorrow will be dying.
The artwork was valued at $1.75-2.5 million by Sotheby's prior to auction in April 2007, although the painting went unsold.
Lost for nearly a century, this painting was in an old Canadian farmhouse bought by a couple who requested the painting stay with the house because "It looked nice on the wall." They had no idea of its worth. When they took it to an art dealer to be appraised nearly 30 years later, he "nearly fell off his chair." Nobody knows how the painting ended up in the Canadian farmhouse

Matthew Arnold - “Dover Beach” 

In A Nutshell
Matthew Arnold was a pretty serious dude. He believed in the Power and Beauty of Art with a capital P, and was all about the value of really understanding the past and the great tradition of literature. He was a poet, a scholar, a critic, and one of the big-name literary figures of the Victorian era. Sounds like the recipe for a great career, right?
But he was also living in an uncertain time. The winds of change were blowing, and he lets us hear them whipping by in his poetry. See, in the decades before he wrote this poem, England had gone through rapid industrialization, which in many ways upended a way of life that had been stable for centuries. The British empire was beginning to expand its reach across the globe, and the conflicts that would come with that expansion were picking up steam as well. In other words, Arnold was a man on the brink between the old world and the new, right on the edge of the modern era, and he has a really cool, visionary sense of what that means.
industrialization: the process of developing industries in a country
turret: a small, circular tower that is part of a castle or a large building "Dover Beach" is one of his most famous poems, although he wrote many more. It's still included in anthologies and memorized by school kids today, almost 150 years after it was published in 1867. Why that staying power? Well, we think this poem does a brilliant job of capturing just how lonely it can be to live in the modern world.

You know what we're talking about. As family ties rupture, as old systems of faith diminish, it's easy to feel as if we've been abandoned on "a darkling plain" (35) without friends or hope. What's cool about this poem is that it both describes this suffering and helps to make it better. It tackles the pain and the uncertainty of living in the modern world, but does it in a way that leaves us feeling like poetry can still matter, even in our times. In that way, Arnold fuses the literary tradition he loved with the new world that he could see coming—the one we're living in right now.


WHY SHOULD I CARE?
We're all for poems that talk about the happy stuff like love and birds and trees and taking a nap (okay, maybe we don't know of any nap poems, but you get the idea). At the same time, that's not all poetry can do.

It can also tackle the rough stuff in life, like pain and fear and suffering and loss. "Dover Beach" is a great example of a poem that's honest about how dark and scary life can be sometimes. The speaker of this poem just flat out tells us that we shouldn't expect life to be full of "joy" or "love" . He wants to shake us awake, to tell us that, in the world we live in now there is no certainty, no "help for pain" . It's not like there isn't any love and happiness in it (the first stanza is full of it) but he doesn't sugarcoat the bad stuff either.
tackle:
(As a Verb)to try to deal with something or someone else
(As a Noun)items needed for the performance of a task or activity(滑車、用具)

So why would you want to read a poem about how life can be hard? Well, we think most people figure out that life isn't all good stuff about the time they find out Santa Claus isn't real (yeah, we're still kind of bummed about that one, too).
bum: to ask for someone for something without intending to pay for it
So why should we save the beauty and power of a great poem for just the bright side of life? We feel like being able to talk about lurking darkness and fear makes it all a little less scary. Sure, "Dover Beach" is about loneliness, but when we read it, we somehow feel less alone—and we bet you will, too.
lurking(darkness): to move about in a sly or secret manner
lurk: to wait or move in a secret way so that you cannot be seen ,especially because you are about to attack someone or do something wrong

Dover Beach is a 'honeymoon' poem. Written in 1851, shortly after Matthew Arnold's marriage to Frances Lucy Wightman, it evokes quite literally the "sweetness and light" which Arnold famously found in the classical world, in whose image he formed his ideals of English culture. In fact, those public values are privatised in the very word the poem conjures for us: honeymoon. Dover Beach fundamentally seems to be about a withdrawal into personal values. Historical pessimism moves in swiftly as a tide.

Arnold's description of the noise of the waves is superbly accurate. Even when he ventures into Miltonic (and Greek) mode, with that "tremulous cadence slow," he maintains a certain realism. "Tremulous" may be emotive, but it also brilliantly evokes the soft rattling of the millions of pebbles and grits as the waves redistribute them.
※cadence: the regular rise and fall of the voice
※tremulous: If a person's voice or a part of their body is tremulous, it is shaking slightly
Arnold's classical learning is unpretentiously apparent. The verse-movement, with its fluid alternation of three, four and five-beat lines, suggests the rhythmic flexibility of Greek choral poetry. Stanza two, with its reference to Sophocles, brings home a sense of tragic fatedness. The following lines from Antigone may be relevant:
"Blest are they whose days have not tasted of evil. For when a house hath once been shaken from heaven, there the curse fails nevermore, passing from life to life of the race; even as, when the surge is driven over the darkness of the deep by the fierce breath of Thracian sea-winds, it rolls up the black sands front the depths, and there is sullen roar from wind-vexed headlands that from the blows of the storm."

While Sophocles can invoke the Greek ideal of the 'thinking Warrior', Arnold sees order and sanity destroyed in the antithesis of "ignorant armies". Religion ("The Sea of Faith") might have once provided protection to the Christian world, but is now feared to be in recession.

Though, for the ancient Greeks, Desire "sits enthroned among the mighty laws", romantic love has no supreme virtue. Arnold, on the other hand, seems to suggest that the lovers' vow is the only value left with which to counter history. The speaker realises that, out there in the world, there is "neither joy, nor love, nor light…". The two newlyweds, standing at the window looking across the moonlit sea, have become, in a sense, the whole of love. It's quite a jolt to contrast the modernity of this view with the poem's actual date.

Arnold was not wholly comfortable with the idea of himself as a poet. He wrote: "... It is not so light a matter, when you have other grave claims on your powers, to submit voluntarily to the exhaustion of the best poetical production in a time like this ... It is only in the best poetical epochs ... that you can descend into yourself and produce the best of your thought and feeling naturally, and without an overwhelming and to some degree morbid effort." In Dover Beach, the poet in Arnold has insisted that the descent be made, however painful.

His most anthologised poem is, formally, his most radical. If he had written more in this vein, he would have been canonised as a great poet. Instead, until relatively recently, he was regarded as a great thinker. Works like Culture and Anarchy have been an enormous influence on twentieth-century literary criticism. Perhaps they deserve to be revisited. Of course, the idea of culture Arnold presents would be utterly alien to us now – but have we better replacements? Creative Britain, perhaps, instead of classical "sweetness and light"? Progress indeed.

Dover Beach

The sea is calm tonight,

The tide is full, the moon lies fair

Upon the straits; on the French coast the light

Gleams and is gone; the cliffs of England stand

Glimmering and vast, out in the tranquil bay.

Come to the window, sweet is the night air!

Only, from the long line of spray

Where the sea meets the moon-blanched land,

Listen! You hear the grating roar

Of pebbles which the waves draw back and fling

At their return, up the high strand,

Begin, and cease, and then again begin,

With tremulous cadence slow, and bring

The eternal note of sadness in.

Sophocles long ago

Heard it on the Aegean, and it brought

Into his mind the turbid ebb and flow

Of human misery; we

Find also in the sound a thought,

Hearing it by this distant northern sea.

The Sea of Faith

Was once, too, at the full, and round earth's shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furled.

But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long withdrawing roar,

Retreating to the breath

Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

And naked shingles of the world.

Ah, love, let us be true

To one another! for the world, which seems

To lie before us like a land of dreams,

So various, so beautiful, so new,

Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,

Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

And we are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night.

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Richard Cory 

Summary

The poem begins by introducing us to Richard Cory. He's a total gentleman; he's good-looking, slim, and admired by all of the people of the nearby town. The poem then keeps on describing Mr. Cory. He's modestly dressed and friendly, he practically glitters when he walks down the street, and—naturally—everyone is excited to see him. Also, this dude is rich. Everyone in the town thinks that they want to be like Richard Cory.

But then, the unthinkable happens. Richard Cory, despite his money, good looks, and his high status in society, goes home and shoots himself in the head. No one saw it coming—no one.

Analysis

 Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson re-introduces the classic theme of pessimism where a man; Richard Cory is pen pictured as the pivotal character of the poem. The poem follows a classic narrative pattern where the speaker belongs to the lower class of the society &Richard Cory is depicted as an individual who has everything; apparently that is what others would think of him until the end of the poem where he shoots himself to death.

Richard Cory by Edward Arlington Robinson shows how Richard Cory looked like a true gentleman and that everyone in the town would look up to him with respect and admiration. He talked in a polite manner and was well dressed with bright jewelry that would shine from a distance. People said that RichardCory was richer than a King. The narrator of the poem himself belonged to the lower class and grew jealous of RichardCory; he wanted to be him. It was a difficult time for working class people and all they could earn for their family was the bread and no meat with it. Days went by and one night, Richard Cory shot himself to death to everyone’s astonishment.

The poem is a fine instance of what one would relate to their surroundings every day. The theme of Richard Cory depicts how outwardly looks can be deceiving and that no matter how rich you are you shall always fall short to buy happiness. Many critics believed that Richard Cory is nothing more than a allusion to King Richard I, whose French byname was “Richard Curry, or Cory”. Some other sources reveal Richard Cory being a character sketch of an individual residing in the native town Gardiner, where Edwin Robinson lived.

Richard Cory resides upon the element of irony as the main character who was an idol to everyone and then suddenly kills himself without stating any reason. This bears a strong resemblance to many contemporary poets too. However, the idea of Richard Cory pen pictured by Edwin Arlington Robinson is unique and appeals the readers with great vitality. The seemingly happy and rich portrait of Richard Cory as viewed by the working class was a fake image that the man wore outside. Perhaps he was depressed and had a reason to be unhappy and sad inside, something others couldn’t perceive. Richard Cory had been hiding behind the mask of smiles and affability which made him outwardly happy. When he couldn’t bear with his grief anymore, he chose death as the only viable option. This came upon a surprise to everyone who used to look up to him in awe and respect.

revitalize: to give new life , energy, activity ,or success to something
viable: able to work as intended or able to succeed
achievable= feasible= practicable=workable= possible
Making a sentence→In order to make the company viable, it will unfortunately be necessary to reduce staffing levels.

The idea of Richard Coryhas its roots in irony as people tend to believe that wealth is the source of happiness. However, Richard Cory’s suicide at the end of the poem is a blatant truth which breaks all myths that people once had about him. It might appear that the speaker was jealous of the man as he was rich and popular, but it might be the choice of words for him (as he belonged to the working class) that made his respect appear as envoy to the readers. The poem follows a certain mood from its very onset and continues to remain the same until there is a sudden deviation at the very end where he commits suicide. The description of Richard Cory is highly exaggerated which serve as a platform to introduce the surprise ending of the poem. The poetic essence of the piece finds its way when readers are pushed to find the reason of Richard Cory’s suicide at the end of the poem. His slimness, quietness, fluttering personality changes into something else where a man hiding his sorrows can be felt.
blatant: very obvious and intentional ,when this is a bad thing
flutter: to make a series of quick delicate movements up and down or from side to side, or to cause something to do this:
engaging in or marked by loud and insistent cries especially of protest
deviation: 
(1)a difference from what is usual or expected
(2)the difference between a particular number and the average or normal number:

Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson calls for an in deep analysis where the gullible nature of human beings is brought to the surface. It is also a perfect instance of an American dream shaking on the “pavements”. The working class people who could afford the bread never liked it and ran to get the meat. This is also ironical considering we human beings are never satisfied with what we have.

Richard Cory is strikingly tragic and moral in the true sense of the term. The material value had made Richard Cory a subject of envy and wonder for all working class citizens until they felt that they were wrong, when he took his own life that fateful evening. The poem is regarded to be one of the very best ballads of modern American literature which evokes human emotions and proceeds to play with it and leaves behind a strong moral message,true to its core.
★proceed to do something: to do something after you have done something else
envy v.s jealousy(both are noun)
Preface: 
It's no fun to feel envy(noun) or jealousy(noun) because both make you  feel inadequate 
Envy is when you want what someone else has, but jealousy is when you worried someone's trying to take what you have. If you want your neighbor's new convertible, you feel envy.If she takes your husband for a ride, it's jealousy.
§You can feel envy about something you don't have but want, but you feel jealousy over something you already have but are afraid of losing, like that husband who's always hanging out next door. §   
envy: to wish that you had something  that another person has   

jealousy: a feeling of unhappiness and anger because someone has something or someone that you want

"Castle On The Hill"

Lyric 

When I was six years old I broke my leg
I was running from my brother and his friends
And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass I rolled down

I was younger then
Take me back to when

I found my heart and broke it here
Made friends and lost them through the years
And I've not seen the roaring fields in so long
I know I've grown
But I can't wait to go home

I'm on my way
Driving at 90 down those country lanes
Singing to "Tiny Dancer"
And I miss the way
You make me feel
And it's real
When we watched the sunset over the castle on the hill

Fifteen years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes
Running from the law through the backfields and getting drunk with my friends
Had my first kiss on a Friday night
I don't reckon that I did it right

I was younger then,
Take me back to when

We found weekend jobs, when we got paid
We'd buy cheap spirits and drink them straight
Me and my friends have not thrown up in so long
Oh, how we've grown
But I can't wait to go home

I'm on my way
Driving at 90 down those country lanes
Singing to "Tiny Dancer"
And I miss the way
You make me feel
And it's real
When we watched the sunset over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill

One friend left to sell clothes
One works down by the coast
One had two kids but lives alone
One's brother overdosed
One's already on his second wife
One's just barely getting by
But these people raised me
And I can't wait to go home

And I'm on my way
I still remember these old country lanes
When we did not know the answers
And I miss the way
You make me feel
And it's real
When we watched the sunset over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill
Over the castle on the hill

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hand-rolled cigarette:
Are Roll Your Own Cigarettes A "Healthy" Smoking Choice?


A Verywell Reader Asks:
A friend of mine has started rolling his own cigarettes as a way to cut back on his smoking and avoid the harmful chemicals that are in regular filtered cigarettes. He thinks smoking hand-rolled cigarettes is a healthier choice, but I'm not so sure.

Are roll your own cigarettes any better for a person's health than regular commercially produced cigarettes?

***
What are Roll Your Own Cigarettes?
Roll your own (RYO) cigarettes are hand-rolled cigarettes made with loose tobacco.
Other names for RYO cigarettes include rollies, roll-ups, burns and rolls.

There are a few ways to make hand-rolled cigarettes.  Smokers can simply use cigarette papers and loose tobacco to hand roll a cigarette (as shown in the image on this page). Rolling machines are also a common way to make a uniform and probably more tightly packed cigarette. Preformed cigarette tubes are also available, some with filters and some without. These can be filled with loose tobacco and smoked.

Why do People Smoke Roll Your Own Cigarettes?
To Smoke Less
Because smoking a hand-rolled cigarette involves rolling it first, smokers tend to light up less often than with traditional filtered cigarettes.
To Appear "Independent or Cool"
There is a perception in some circles that people who roll their own cigarettes are edgy and non-traditional.
Price
A pouch of rolling tobacco and cigarette papers is much cheaper than buying brand name cigarettes - or even the generic cigarettes marketed today in most countries.
A Belief that it's healthier than Commercial Cigarette Smoking
Research has shown that RYO cigarettes are at least as risky to a smoker's health as regular cigarettes. More on that below.
How do RYO Cigarettes Compare to Commercial Cigarettes?
People often think that smoking RYO cigarettes are a "healthier" smoking choice over traditional cigarettes.


After all, RYO cigarettes are just cigarette papers and loose tobacco, right?  

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Appreciation

Ed Sheeran became famous relatively young, but his latest song proves that he still has plenty of memories about growing up as a normal kid. On Jan. 6, Sheeran released two new songs — "Castle on the Hill" and "Shape of You" — to the delight of his fans after a year-long hiatus. "Shape of You" has a sexy vibe, but the lyrics of "Castle on the Hill" are all about his younger days growing up in his British hometown. While you probably can't relate to Sheeran's life as it is now, you'll definitely understand the nostalgia of reminiscing about your past and how it feels to return home that he articulates in this new single.


During the BBC Radio 1 Breakfast Show on the day he released his new music, Sheeran called "Castle on the Hill," a "love song for Suffolk cause I don't think anyone's ever done that." His American fans might not be familiar with the English county that has the North Sea as a coast, but the lyrics can still resonate with most listeners since it discusses the universal experience of growing up. And beyond being a relatable anthem, "Castle on the Hill" is also a treat for Sheeran fans since it gives insight into the town, people, and experiences that formed who he is today.
While there's not a lot of ambiguity in Sheeran's "Castle on the Hill" lyrics, that doesn't mean his words aren't worth a closer look. He starts of the song by singing:
When I was 6 years old I broke my leg
I was running from my brother and his friends
And tasted the sweet perfume of the mountain grass as I rolled down

I was younger then, take me back to when
While I couldn't find evidence that indicated for sure that Sheeran broke his leg as a child, the opening lines set up what to expect from the rest of the song — a confessional tone full of imagery that places you in Sheeran's past.
I found my heart and broke it here
Made friends and lost them through the years
And I've not seen the roaring fields in so long, I know I've grown

But I can't wait to go home
The pre-chorus lyrics will particularly impact people who have left their hometowns. Sure, you may not have left to become an internationally renowned recording artist like Sheeran, but you get the sentiment of returning to the place you grew up in.
I'm on my way
Driving at 90 down those country lanes
Singing to "Tiny Dancer"
And I miss the way you make me feel, and it's real

We watched the sunset over the castle on the hill
Has everyone in the English-speaking world sung along to Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" at least once in their life while in a moving vehicle? The chorus to "Castle on the Hill" seems to prove so.
Also, I though Sheeran might have been saying he cruised at 90 km on the country lanes, but turns out the U.K. does use miles per hour, so he's talking about some pretty high speeds.


As for that castle? Sheeran grew up in Framlingham, Suffolk, and there is an actual castle there named Framlingham Castle, so he's most likely referencing that. American listeners didn't grow up with a 12th century castle in their backyards, but you can think about an iconic landmark from your hometown while rocking out to the song. Although, admittedly, "water tower on the hill" or "Walmart on the hill" just aren't as epic sounding.
After the chorus, Sheeran jumps to his less innocent teenage years.
15 years old and smoking hand-rolled cigarettes
Running from the law through the backfields and getting drunk with my friends
Had my first kiss on a Friday night, I don't reckon that I did it right
But I was younger then, take me back to when
Smoking, hiding from cops, drinking, and kissing for the first time? This is the stuff hometown songs are made of.
We found weekend jobs, when we got paid
We'd buy cheap spirits and drink them straight
Me and my friends have not thrown up in so long, oh how we've grown
But I can't wait to go home
Sheeran recognizes that throwing up after a night of drinking with your friends is a rite of passage, even if he has moved past those days now.
One friend left to sell clothes

One works down by the coast
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Danny Boy

Oh Danny boy, the pipes, the pipes are calling

From glen to glen, and down the mountain side

The summer's gone, and all the roses falling

It's you, it's you must go and I must bide.

But come ye back when summer's in the meadow

Or when the valley's hushed and white with snow

It's I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow

[Live version:] And I'll be here in sunshine or in shadow

Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.

But when ye come, and all the flowers are dying

If I am dead, as dead I well may be

You'll come and find the place where I am lying

And kneel and say an ave there for me.

ave : 

And I shall hear, though soft you tread above me

And all my grave will warmer, sweeter be

For you will bend and tell me that you love me

And I shall sleep in peace until you come to me.

What is Danny Boy? Urban Dictionary
1)Danny boy is a boy that made you feel comfortable right away, a person that you can share everything with and know that they wouldn't judge you. A person who knows what your thinking by just reading your expressions or looking into your eyes. Someone that you can talk to for hours without getting bored. The sweetest guy you'll meet.. that's a Danny boy.
2)The guy who you've known since you were 9 years old and you will still be crazy about when you're 99 years old. You probably met at a Little League baseball game and before you knew it you were going to prom together. He's a little obsessed with computers, maps, and food... but you love him for it. There's no other person in the whole world who you'd want to be with when in their car singing to billy or james for hours on end, or laying in bed doing nothing for hours and not getting bored, or surviving grandmothers singing at their own 80th birthday parties, or heavens! driving past cows for over an hour to a closed damn museum, or surviving crazy friends who you're not even sure why you're friends with in the first place, or riding bikes with to Carvel when you're 18 years old, or exploring houses still in construction and having fun in the attic, or blacking out on new years together, or having the best night of your life going to nyc and riding a bicycle cab, or driving 8 hours just to see their cute face for a day and a half, or talking to them everyday just to hear their voice for a little bit. Basically you're crazy about them and can't even express it in words. That's Danny Boy for you.
"Gosh, I love that Danny Boy... he is so sweet."

Analysis

They strike a chord with everyone who hears them, whether for the first or the hundredth time.
The lyrics are very short by Irish ballad standards – just two verses with each verse divided into two sections. Each section moves the story on and introduces a new emotional level.
The pipes, the pipes are calling
The scene and the mood are set with supreme ease in the first four lines. The phrase “the pipes, the pipes are calling” is thought to refer to the sound of the bagpipes which were sounded as a call to arms to the young men of Ireland.
The third line tells us the “summer’s gone” and that “all the flowers are dying,” which introduces the nostalgic sense of the passing of time and the passing of life.
Tis you, ‘tis you, must go and I must bide
The fourth line then gives us the emotional jolt of realizing that the two main characters in this drama – the singer and Danny – are being forced to part. “Tis you, ‘tis you, must go and I must bide.”
We’re now engaged and we want to know what happens next.
Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so
We already sense that there is the threat of danger in this parting because the calling pipes suggest there will be a battle soon. We therefore understand the sense of urgency as the singer urges Danny to return.

There’s a strong sense of devotion because the singer will be waiting “in sunshine or in shadow” and then the fourth and final line tightens the emotional grip when the strength of feeling is made clear: “Oh Danny boy, oh Danny boy, I love you so.”
Kneel and say an “Ave” there for me
The second verse takes us by surprise. Danny may be the one facing the danger of battle but the singer is equally concerned that he or she may not live long enough to see his return.
Then the sense of love and devotion returns as the singer urges Danny to find their grave and say an Ave for them. It is a simple request but the highlights the desperate need of the singer to maintain some sort of connection.
If you’ll not fail to tell me that you love me
The singer’s desperate need to maintain a connection – even beyond the grave – is emphasized in the next two lines. The singer will hear Danny approaching “though soft you tread above me.”
Just that thought brings comfort to the singer but what they really want is reassurance of Danny’s love. If Danny can give that reassurance then the singer will be comforted, even in death, and “will sleep in peace until you come to me”.
Is it a lover of parent who is singing?
Many people disagree as to who is singing to Danny. Is it a lover or a parent? Or is it some other person?
There is a theory that the writer, Fred Weatherly, deliberately left it vague in the hope that he would make more money if the song could be sung equally well by a man or a woman.

Some of Weatherly’s notes on the song, however, suggest this might not be so.
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The Pipes, the Pipes are Calling. . .
By Patricia Doherty Hinnebusch

When Everyone is Irish
By the first week in March, supermarkets, restaurants, and taverns and bars that serve food are well-stocked with corned beef and cabbage for St. Patrick's Day celebrations. Bagpipers and tin whistle-rs and flutists are practicing one song above all. And the habitues of elegant lounges, rustic taverns, and neighborhood "beer joints" hear strains of that song loved around the world, "Danny Boy." Almost everyone whose mother said he/she could carry a tune will sing along. Those who can't or won't sing will propose an interpretation of the lyrics and an explanation of the circumstances that evoked them. The musicologically literate will debate the origin of this air now so closely associated with Erin. Again each March, "the pipes, the pipes are calling. . .."

The Origins of the Most Beloved Ballad
To clear the air in countless ale-filled rooms, I suggest we gently expose a few oft-repeated misconceptions about this beloved ballad and the circumstances surrounding its composition. Some readers may cringe at having their "meaning" dismythed (er - that is, dismissed); others will read this explication but not remember it. For it is a truism about us that we 'ear what we want to 'ear - and let the rest go out the other. . .. I encourage anyone who "ha'e me doubts" about the following facts to engage his favorite search engine for an evening of further research while quaffing his/her favorite beverage. 

Finding the Music
I'll phrase it as succinctly as an Irishwoman can: "Danny Boy" was not written by an Irishman! In fact, Frederick Edward Weatherly never saw the forty shades of green. In England in 1910 he had written these words for an unsuccessful song called "Danny Boy." In 1912 he heard the music known today as the "Londonderry Air" or "Derry Air." (Please, please, no tittering; these are painful disclosures for some of you.) The lyrical lawyer, poet, entertainer, and author of children's books knew instantly that his words and this music belonged together. The new, improved "Danny Boy" was published in 1913 and became an immediate success.

Forty Shades of Green

"Forty Shades of Green" is a song about Ireland, written and first performed by American country singer Johnny Cash. Cash wrote the song in 1959 while on a trip to Ireland; it was first released as a B-side of the song "The Rebel–Johnny Yuma" in 1961. It is also included in two of Cash's albums: Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash, released on Columbia Records in 1963, and Johnny Cash: The Great Lost Performance – Live at the Paramount Theatre, Asbury Park, New Jersey, recorded live in 1990 and released in 2007.
Cash once recalled performing the song in Ireland and being told by an old man afterwards that it must have been an old Irish folk tune.

"Forty Shades of Green" has also been recorded by Daniel O'Donnell, Foster and Allen, and Ruby Murray, among others.
There is another version ~~

A Song of Rebels?
And now for more demystification: Many believe the lyrics were intended to honor the courage of rebellious Irishmen or comfort their progeny. In 1926 Weatherly said that Danny Boy was being sung all over the world - by Sinn Fein-ers and Ulstermen, by Englishmen and Australians and Americans. Fred said, "It will be seen that there is nothing of the rebel in it, and no note of bloodshed." He acknowledged he had written some rebel songs but insisted "Danny Boy" was not one of them. (And nota bene: the official ballad has only two verses.)
※demystification: (demystify)to make something easier to understand(澄清)
※progeny:the young or offspring of a person, animal ,or plant
Synonym→offspring ,seed, spawn, posterity
A Modern Connection? 
AHA! some of you exclaim, but the British barrister did, indeed, have a son named Danny! A son who joined the RAF and was killed during World War I. (I urge you to calmly recall the dates of that war. Frederick was a poet, not a prophet.) And one more delicate detail: Weatherly wrote the song to be sung by a woman. Indeed, a footnote to sheet music circulated in 1913 suggested the substitution of the words "Eily Dear" when the singer was a man.
※barrister(=lawyer): a type of lawyer in the UK, Australia ,and some other countries  who can give specialized legal advice and can argue a case in both higher and lower courts

Which Pipes are Calling?
Now then, about the pipes. One may question whether Weatherly alluded to the Highland pipes or the Ullean (Irish) pipes or one of the 28 other kinds of bagpipes. And there is quite a commotion over whether the "Londonderry Air" is a distorted version of an earlier air, claimed by the Scots. And the song for which Mr. Weatherly ( 1848-1929) was more famous during his lifetime was "Roses of Picardy," rather than "Danny Boy." But it is "Danny Boy" that we'll be hearin' for the Wearin' of the Green. So it's time to "pipe down" and just enjoy the words and melody of one of the world's best-loved songs.
commotion: a condition of civil unrest or insurrection The commotion was finally brought to an end and peace was restored.

Question: "What does selah mean in the Bible?"

Answer: The word selah is found in two books of the Bible, but is most prevalent in the Psalms, where it appears 71 times. It also appears three times in the third chapter of the minor prophet Habakkuk.

There is a great deal of uncertainty about the meaning of selah. Most versions of the Bible do not attempt to translate selah but simply transliterate the word straight from the Hebrew. The Septuagint translated the word as “daplasma” (“a division”). Well-meaning Bible scholars disagree on the definition of selah and on its root word, but since God has ordained that it be included in His Word, we should make an effort to find out, as best we can, the meaning.

One possible Hebrew word related to selah is calah, which means “to hang” or “to measure or weigh in the balances.” Referring to wisdom, Job says, “The topaz of Ethiopia shall not equal it, neither shall it be valued with pure gold” (Job 28:19). The word translated “valued” in this verse is the Hebrew calah. Here Job is saying that wisdom is beyond comparing against even jewels, and when weighed in the balance against wisdom, the finest jewels cannot equal its value.

Selah is also thought to be rendered from two Hebrew words: s_lah, “to praise”; and s_lal, “to lift up.” Another commentator believes it comes from salah, “to pause.” From salah comes the belief that selah is a musical notation signifying a rest to the singers and/or instrumentalists who performed the psalms. If this is true, then each time selah appears in a psalm, the musicians paused, perhaps to take a breath or to sing a cappella or let the instruments play alone. Perhaps they were pausing to praise the One about whom the song was speaking, perhaps even lifting their hands in worship. This theory would encompass all these meanings—“praise,” “lift up,” and “pause.” When we consider the three verses in Habakkuk, we also see how selah could mean “to pause and praise.” Habakkuk’s prayer in chapter 3 inspires the reader to pause and praise God for His mercy, power, sustaining grace, and sufficiency.


Perhaps the best way to think of selah is a combination of all these meanings. The Amplified Bible adds “pause and calmly think about that” to each verse where selah appears. When we see the word selah in a psalm or in Habakkuk 3, we should pause to carefully weigh the meaning of what we have just read or heard, lifting up our hearts in praise to God for His great truths. “All the earth bows down to you; they sing praise to you, they sing the praises of your name. Selah!”