by John Clare (1793 - 1864)
The birds are gone to bed, the cows are...
Language: English
The birds are gone to bed, the cows are still And sheep lie panting on each old mole hill And underneath the willow's grey-green bough Like toil a-resting -- lies the fallow plough. The timid hares throw daylight's fears away On the lane's road to dust, and dance and play, Then dabble in the grain by nought deterred To lick the dewfall from the barley's beard. Then out they sturt again and round the hill Like happy thoughts -- dance -- squat -- and loiter still. Till milking maidens in the early morn Jingle their yokes and sturt them in the corn. Through well known beaten paths each nimbling hare Sturts quick as fear -- and seeks its hidden lair.
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Authorship:
- by John Clare (1793 - 1864), "Hares at play" [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 James Walter Wilson (b. 1922), "The birds are gone to bed", 1968 [soprano or tenor and piano], from Bucolics, no. 3. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-22
Line count: 14
Word count: 115