by John Keats (1795 - 1821)
There was a naughty boy
Language: English
There was a naughty boy, A naughty boy was he, He would not stop at home, He could not quiet be -- He took In his knapsack A book Full of vowels And a shirt With some towels, A slight cap For night cap, A hair brush, Comb ditto, New stockings For old ones Would split O! This knapsack Tight at's back He rivetted close And followed his nose To the north, To the north, And follow'd his nose To the north. There was a naughty boy And a naughty boy was he, For nothing would he do But scribble poetry -- He took An ink stand In his hand And a pen Big as ten In the other, And away In a pother He ran To the mountains And fountains And ghostes And postes And witches And ditches And wrote In his coat When the weather Was cool, Fear of gout, And without When the weather Was warm -- Och the charm When we choose To follow one's nose To the north, To the north, To follow one's nose To the north! There was a naughty boy And a naughty boy was he, He kept little fishes In washing tubs three In spite Of the might Of the maid Nor afraid Of his Granny-good -- He often would Hurly burly Get up early And go By hook or crook To the brook And bring home Miller's thumb, Tittlebat Not over fat, Minnows small As the stall Of a glove, Not above The size Of a nice Little baby's Little fingers -- O he made 'Twas his trade Of fish a pretty kettle A kettle -- A kettle Of fish a pretty kettle A kettle! There was a naughty boy, And a naughty boy was he, He ran away to Scotland The people for to see -- There he found That the ground Was as hard, That a yard Was as long, That a song Was as merry, That a cherry Was as red, That lead Was as weighty, That fourscore Was as eighty, That a door Was as wooden As in England -- So he stood in his shoes And he wonder'd, He wonder'd, He stood in his Shoes and he wonder'd.
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Authorship:
- by John Keats (1795 - 1821), "A song about myself", first published 1883 [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 Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019), "There was a naughty boy", 1968, published 1969 [ mixed chorus a cappella ], from A Nation of Cowslips, no. 6, NY: Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ronald A. Beckett , "A song about myself", 2013, from To One who has been Long in City Pent. Four Poems by John Keats, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Martin Best , "There was a naughty boy" [ voice and guitar ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Bowie (1925? - 1970), "There was a naughty boy", published 1965 [ three-part men's chorus and piano ], from Harmonious Young Men, London : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Nina Brough , "There was a naughty boy", published 1965 [ unison chorus or 2-part women's chorus and piano ], London : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael John Hurd (1928 - 2006), "There was a naughty boy", published 1970 [ unison chorus, piano, descant recorders, glockenspiel, percussion ], from Diversions, London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Kapp (b. 1907), "There was a naughty boy", published 1966 [ voice and piano ], from Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! Cock-A-Doodle-Dandy! [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-12-17
Line count: 118
Word count: 365