by Walter Raleigh, Sir (1552? - 1618)
To His Sonne
Language: English
Three thinges there bee that prosper up apace And flourish, whilest they growe a sunder farr, But on a day, they meet all in one place, And when they meet, they one an other marr; And they bee theise, the wood, the weede, the wagg. The wood is that, which makes the Gallow tree, The weed is that, which strings the Hangmans bagg, The wagg my pritty knave betokeneth thee. Mark well deare boy whilest theise assemble not, Green springs the tree, hempe growes, the wagg is wilde, But when they meet, it makes the timber rott, It frets the halter, and it choakes the child. Then bless thee, and beware, and lett us praye. Wee part not with thee at this meeting day.
Authorship:
- by Walter Raleigh, Sir (1552? - 1618), "To His Sonne" [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):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Boris Leonidovich Pasternak (1890 - 1960) ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-11-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 124