by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
The useful plough
Language: English
A country life is sweet, In moderate cold and heat, To walk in the air, how pleasant and fair, In ev'ry field of wheat. The fairest of flowers adorning the bowers And ev'ry meadow's brow; So that, I say, no courtier may Compare with them who clothe in grey, And follow the useful plough. They rise with the morning lark, And labour till almost dark, Then folding their sheep, they hasten to sleep, While ev'ry pleasant park, Next morning is ringing with birds that are singing, On each green tender bough; With what content and merriment, Their days are spent, whose minds are bent, To follow the useful plough.
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author, from Lighter Verse -- King's Treasuries [author's text not yet checked 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 (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The useful plough", op. 7 no. 9, published 1935 [ children's chorus and piano ], from Friday Afternoons, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Useful Plough", op. 270 (1950) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Tom White
This text was added to the website: 2007-10-01
Line count: 18
Word count: 109