A child should always say what's true
And speak when he is spoken to,
And behave mannerly at table:
At least as far as he is able.
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 (Robert) Houston Bright (1916 - 1970), "Whole duty of children", published 1967 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from From "A Child's Garden of Verses" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Falk , "Whole duty of children", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ], from A Child's Garden of Verses [sung text not yet checked]
- by Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson (1931 - 2003), "Whole duty of children", published 1968 [ high voice and piano ], from From a child's garden, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "I doveri di ogni bambino", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 4
Word count: 27
Un bimbo deve sempre dire la verità
Aprire bocca solo se interpellato,
stare composto a tavola e ben educato;
almeno fino a quando ce la fa.