by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll
There was once a young man of Oporta
Language: English
There was once a young man of [Oporta]1, Who daily got shorter and shorter, The reason he said Was the hod on his head, Which was filled with the heaviest mortar. His sister, [named]2 Lucy O'Finner, Grew constantly thinner and thinner; The reason was plain, She slept out in the rain, And was never allowed any dinner.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with The Collected Verse of Lewis Carroll, Macmillan, London, 1932.
1 Bachlund: "Oporto"
2 Bachlund: "called"
Authorship:
- by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "A Young Man and His Sister", 2008 [medium voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-06
Line count: 10
Word count: 57