O can ye sew cushions and can ye sew...
Language: English
O can ye sew cushions and can ye sew sheets, And can ye sing ballulow when the bairn greets? And hie and baw, birdie, and hie and baw, lamb, And hee and baw, birdie, my bonnie wee lamb. Hie-o, wie-o, what will I do wi' ye? Black's the life that I lead wi' ye, Many o' you, little for to gi' ye, Hie-o, wie-o, what will I do wi' ye? I've placed my cradle on yon hilly top, And aye as the wind blew my cradle did rock. O hush-a-by, babie, O baw lily loo, And hee and baw, birdie, my bonnie wee doo.
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Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "O can ye sew cushions?" [ sung text verified 1 time]
- by Hans Gál (1890 - 1987), "O can ye sew cushions", published 1969 [SATB chorus a cappella], from Four British Folk-songs, no. 3, B. Schotts Söhne, Mainz; also set in German as "Wiegenlied" [ sung text not verified ]
- by Colin Moncrieff Campbell Taylor (1881 - 1973), "O can ye sew cushions and can ye sew sheets", published 1926 [voice and piano], London : Oxford University Press ; note : 1926 may not be the first date of publication [ sung text verified 1 time]
Set in a modified version by Joseph Haydn.
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 104