Seven sweet singing birds up in a tree; Seven swift sailing-ships white upon the sea; Seven bright weather-cocks shining in the sun; Seven slim race-horses ready for a run; Seven gold butterflies, flitting overhead; Seven red roses blowing in a garden bed; Seven white lilies, with honey bees inside them; Seven round rainbows with clouds to divide them; Seven pretty little girls with sugar on their lips; Seven witty little boys, whom everybody tips; Seven nice fathers, to call little maids joys; Seven nice mothers, to kiss the little boys; Seven nights running I dreamt it all plain; With bread and jam for supper I could dream it all again!
Nonsense Madrigals
Song Cycle by György Ligeti (1923 - 2006)
1. The Dream of a Girl who Lived at Sevenoaks  [sung text checked 1 time]
Authorship:
- by William Brighty Rands (1823 - 1882), "The Dream of a Girl Who Lived at Seven-Oaks", appears in Lilliput Levee, London, Alexander Strahan, first published 1867
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Confirmed with Lilliput Levee: Poems of Childhood, Child-Fancy, and Child-Like Moods, London: Alexander Strahan, 1867, page 163. The author's name does not appear anywhere in this book. Note: This poem does not appear in the 1864 edition of Lilliput Levee.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
2. The Dream of a Boy who Lived at Nine Elms  [sung text checked 1 time]
Nine grenadiers, with bayonets in their guns; Nine bakers' baskets, with hot-cross buns; Nine brown elephants, standing in a row; Nine new velocipedes, good ones to go; Nine knickerbocker suits, with buttons all complete; Nine pairs of skates with straps for the feet; Nine clever conjurors eating hot coals; Nine sturdy mountaineers leaping on their poles; Nine little drummer-boys beating on their drums; Nine fat aldermen sitting on their thumbs; Nine new knockers to our front door; Nine new neighbours that I never saw before; Nine times running I dreamt it all plain; With bread and cheese for supper I could dream it all again!
Authorship:
- by William Brighty Rands (1823 - 1882), "The Dream of a Boy Who Lived at Nine-Elms", appears in Lilliput Levee, London, Alexander Strahan, first published 1867
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Confirmed with Lilliput Levee: Poems of Childhood, Child-Fancy, and Child-Like Moods, London: Alexander Strahan, 1867, page 162. The author's name does not appear anywhere in this book. Note: This poem does not appear in the 1864 edition of Lilliput Levee.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
3. Cantus firmus: Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat  [sung text checked 1 time]
Twinkle, twinkle, little bat! How I wonder what you're at! Up above the world you fly, Like a tea-tray in the sky.
Authorship:
- by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, no title, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, London, Macmillan ; chapter 7, first published 1865
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Henri Bué) , no title
This is a parody of Twinkle, twinkle, little star.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
4. Cuckoo in the Pear‑Tree  [sung text checked 2 times]
The Cuckoo sat in the old pear-tree. Cuckoo! Raining or snowing, naught cared he. Cuckoo! Cuckoo, cuckoo, naught cared he. The Cuckoo flew over a housetop [nigh]1. Cuckoo! "Dear, are you at home, for here am I? Cuckoo! Cuckoo, cuckoo, here am I." "I dare not open the door to you. Cuckoo! Perhaps you are not the right cuckoo? Cuckoo! Cuckoo, cuckoo, the right Cuckoo." "I am the right Cuckoo, the proper one. Cuckoo! For I am my father's only son, Cuckoo! Cuckoo, cuckoo, his only son." "If you are your father's only son — Cuckoo! The bobbin pull tightly, Come through the door lightly — Cuckoo! "If you are your father's only son — Cuckoo! It must be you, the only one — Cuckoo, cuckoo, my own Cuckoo! Cuckoo!"
Authorship:
- by William Brighty Rands (1823 - 1882), "Cuckoo in the Pear-Tree", appears in Lilliput Levee, London, Alexander Strahan, first published 1864
See other settings of this text.
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with Lilliput Levee, London: Alexander Strahan, 1864, pages 54-55. Also confirmed with Lilliput Levee: Poems of Childhood, Child-Fancy, and Child-Like Moods, London: Alexander Strahan, 1867, pages 51-52. The author's name does not appear anywhere in either publication. Note: Punctuation and formatting follow the first edition.
1 G. Ligeti: "high"Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
5. The Alphabet  [sung text checked 2 times]
[A B C D]1 ...
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View original text (without footnotes)1 Ligeti: "C B D E F G I A G H J K L M O N P Q R S T U W V X Y Z"
Note: The letters are notated phonetically in Ligeti's score.
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
6. Flying Robert  [sung text checked 1 time]
When the rain comes tumbling down In the country or the town, All good little girls and boys Stay at home and mind their toys. Robert thought; "No, when it pours, It's better out of doors." Rain it did, And in a minute Bob was in it; Here you see him, silly fellow, Underneath his red umbrella! What a wind! Oh! How it whistles Through the trees and flowers and thistles! Oh! It has caught his red umbrella! Now look at him, silly fellow, Up he flies to the skies! No one heard his screams and cries! Through the clouds the rude wind bore him, And his hat flew on before him; And the hat went up so high, That it really touch'd the sky. Soon they got to such a height, They were nearly out of sight. No one ever yet could tell Where they stopp'd or where they fell. Only this one thing is plain, Bob was never seen again...
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, first published 1848 [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in German (Deutsch) by Heinrich Hoffmann (1809 - 1894), "Die Geschichte vom fliegenden Robert", appears in Der Struwwelpeter: oder lustige Geschichten und drollige Bilder für Kinder von 3-6 Jahren
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]7. The Lobster Quadrille  [sung text checked 1 time]
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail. "There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail. See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance! They are waiting on the shingle -- will you come and join the dance? Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance? "You can really have no notion how delightful it will be When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!" But the snail replied "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance -- Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance. Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance. "What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied. "There is another shore, you know, upon the other side. The [further]1 off from England the nearer is to France -- Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance. Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?"
Authorship:
- by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, London, Macmillan, first published 1865
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Henri Bué) , no title
1 Armer, Ligeti: "farther"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
8. A Long, Sad Tale  [sung text checked 1 time]
"Off with her head!" Head, heal, teal, tell, tall, tail... "Mine is a long and a sad tale!" "It is a long tail, certainly, but why do you call it sad?" Turn witch into fairy. Witch, winch, wench, tench, tenth, tents, tints, tilts, tills, fills, falls, fails, fairs, fairy! Fury said to a mouse, That he met in the house, "Let us both go to law: I will prosecute you. -- Come, I'll take no denial; We must have a trial: For really this morning I've nothing to do." Furies, buries, buried, burked, barked, barred, barrel... Said the mouse to the cur, "Such a trial, dear Sir, With no jury or judge, would be wasting our breath." "I'll be judge, I'll be jury," Said cunning old Fury: "I'll try the whole cause, and condemn you to death." Quilt, guilt, guile, guide, glide, slide, slice, spice, spine, spins, shins, shies, shier, sheer, sheet...
Authorship:
- by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll
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Note: this text contains fragments from Alice's Adventures in Wonderland [1] and Lewis Carroll's papers [2], published posthumously in The Lewis Carroll Picture Book, ed. by Stuart Dodgson Collingwood, Unwin, London, 1899, chapter 6, "Games and Puzzles", called "Doublets" also "Word-Links". Line 1 comes from chapter 8 of [1]; Line 2 comes from p. 279 of [2]; lines 3-5 come from chapter 3 of [1] (more of this text can be found here; lines 6-8 come from pages 285-286 of [2]; lines 9-16 come from chapter 3 of [1]; line 17 comes from pages 285-286 of [2]; lines 18-25 come from chapter 3 of [1]; and lines 26-27 come from pages 285-286 of [2].
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]