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by William Barnes (1801 - 1886)

In the spring
Language: English 
My love is the maïd ov all maïdens,
  Though all mid be comely,
Her skin's lik' the jessamy blossom
  A-spread in the Spring.

Her smile is so sweet as a beäby's
  Young smile on his mother,
Her eyes be as bright as the dew drop
  A-shed in the Spring.

O grey-leafy pinks o' the geärden,
  Now bear her sweet blossoms;
Now deck wi' a rwose-bud, O briar,
  Her head in the Spring.

O light-rollèn wind blow me hither,
  The vaïce ov her talkèn,
Or bring vrom her veet the light doust,
  She do tread in the Spring.

O zun, meäke the gil'cups all glitter,
  In goold all around her;
An' meäke o' the deäisys' white flowers
  A bed in the Spring.

O whissle gäy birds, up bezide her,
  In drong-way, an' woodlands,
O zing, swingèn lark, now the clouds,
  Be a-vled in the Spring.

An' who, you mid ax, be my praïses
  A-meäken so much o',
An' oh! 'tis the maïd I'm a-hopèn
  To wed in the Spring.

Text Authorship:

  • by William Barnes (1801 - 1886), "In the Spring", appears in Poems of rural life in the Dorset dialect [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 Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "In the spring" [ voice and piano ], from Dorset Delight, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "In the spring", published 1952 [ medium voice and piano ], London : Oxford University Press [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-10-26
Line count: 28
Word count: 168

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