My bed is like a little boat; Nurse helps me in when I embark; She girds me in my sailor's coat And starts me in the dark. At night, I go on board and say Good night to all my friends on shore; I shut my eyes and sail away And see and hear no more. And sometimes things to bed I take, As prudent sailors have to do: Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake, Perhaps a toy or two. All night across the dark we steer: But when the day returns at last, Safe in my room, beside the pier, I find my vessel fast.
Seven Stevenson Songs
Song Cycle by Antonio Giacometti (b. 1957)
1. My bed is a boat  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "My bed is a boat", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Il mio letto è una nave", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
2. A thought  [sung text not yet checked]
It is very nice to think The world is full of meat and drink, With little children saying grace In every Christian kind of place.
Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "A thought", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Un pensiero", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
3. Foreign children  [sung text not yet checked]
Little Indian, Sioux or Crow, Little frosty Eskimo, Little Turk or Japanese, O! don't you wish that you were me? You have seen the scarlet trees And the lions over seas; You have eaten ostrich eggs, And turned the turtles off their legs. Such a life is very fine, But it's not so nice as mine: You must often, as you trod, Have wearied not to be abroad. You have curious things to eat, I am fed on proper meat; You must dwell beyond the foam, But I am safe and live at home. Little Indian, Sioux or Crow, Little frosty Eskimo, Little Turk or Japanese, O! don't you wish that you were me?
Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "Foreign children", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Bambini stranieri", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
4. Happy thought  [sung text not yet checked]
The world is so full of a number of things, I'm sure we should all be as happy as kings.
Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "Happy thought", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Pensiero felice", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
5. Rain  [sung text not yet checked]
The rain is raining all around, It falls on field and tree, It rains on the umbrellas here, And on the ships at sea.
Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "Rain", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Anyi Sharma) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Pioggia", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
6. Looking forward  [sung text not yet checked]
When I am grown to man's estate I shall be very proud and great, And tell the other girls and boys Not to meddle with my toys.
Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "Looking forward", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Pensando al futuro", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
7. Bed in summer  [sung text not yet checked]
In winter I get up at night, And dress by yellow candle light. In summer, quite the other way, I have to go to bed by day. I have to go to bed and see The birds still hopping on the tree, Or hear the grown-up people's feet Still going past me in the street. And does it not seem hard to you, When all the sky is clear and blue, And I should like so much to play, To have to go to bed by day?
Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "Bed in summer", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Letto in estate", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission