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Pieces of Peacock Pie

Song Cycle by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947)

1. The lost shoe
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Poor little Lucy
  By some mischance,
Lost her shoe
  As she did dance -
'Twas not on the stairs,
  Not in the hall;
Not where they sat
  At supper at all.
She looked in the garden,
  But there it was not;
Henhouse, or kennel,
  Or high dovecote.
Dairy and meadow,
  And wild woods through
Showed not a trace
  Of Lucy's shoe.
Bird nor bunny
  Nor glimmering moon
Breathed a whisper
  Of where 'twas gone.
It was cried and cried,
  Oyez and Oyez!
In French, Dutch, Latin,
  And Portuguese.
Ships the dark seas
  Went plunging through,
But none brought news
  Of Lucy's shoe;
And still she patters
  In silk and leather,
O'er snow, sand, shingle,
  In every weather;
Spain, and Africa,
  Hindustan,
Java, China,
  And lamped Japan;
Plain and desert,
  She hops-hops through,
Pernambuco
  To gold Peru;
Mountain and forest,
  And river too,
All the world over
  For her lost shoe.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The lost shoe", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 2. Boys and Girls, no. 4, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

2. Tired Tim
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Poor Tired Tim! It's sad for him.
He lags the long bright morning through,
Ever so tired of nothing to do;
He moons and mopes the livelong day,
Nothing to think about, nothing to say;
Up to bed with his candle to creep,
Too tired to yawn, too tired to sleep:
Poor Tired Tim! It's sad for him.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Tired Tim", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 1. Up and Down, no. 22, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

3. The huntsmen
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Three jolly gentlemen,
  In coats of red,
Rode their horses
  Up to bed.
Three jolly gentlemen
  Snored till morn,
Their horses champing
  The golden corn.
Three jolly gentlemen
  At break of day,
Came clitter-clatter down the stairs
  And galloped away.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The huntsmen", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 1. Up and Down, no. 21, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], page 39.

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

4. Some one
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Some one came knocking
  At my wee, small door;
Some one came knocking,
  I'm sure - sure - sure;
I listened, I opened,
  I looked to left and right,
But naught there was a-stirring
  In the still dark night;
Only the busy beetle
  Tap-tapping in the wall,
Only from the forest
  The screech-owl's call,
Only the cricket whistling
  While the dewdrops fall,
So I know not who came knocking,
  At all, at all, at all.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Some one", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 1. Up and Down, no. 10, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

5. Miss T.
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
It's a very odd thing -----
  As odd as can be ---
That whatever Miss T. eats
  Turns into Miss T.;
Porridge and apples,
  Mince, muffins and mutton,
Jam, junket, jumbles ----
  Not a rap, not a button
It matters; the moment
  They're out of her plate,
Though shared by Miss Butcher
  And sour Mr. Bate;
Tiny and cheerful,
  And neat as can be,
Whatever Miss T. eats
  Turns into Miss T.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Miss T.", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 1. Up and Down, no. 15, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

6. The cupboard
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
I know a little cupboard,
With a teeny tiny key,
And there's a jar of Lollypops
  For me, me, me.

It has a little shelf, my dear,
As dark as dark can be,
And there's a dish of Banbury Cakes
  For me, me, me.

I have a small fat grandmamma,
With a very slippery knee,
And she's the Keeper of the Cupboard
  With the key, key, key.

And I'm very good, my dear,
As good as good can be,
There's Banbury Cakes, and Lollypops
  For me, me, me.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The cupboard", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 1. Up and Down, no. 24, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

7. Hide and seek
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Hide and seek, says the Wind,
  In the shade of the woods;
Hide and seek, says the Moon,
  To the hazel buds;
Hide and seek, says the Cloud,
  Star on to star;
Hide and seek, says the Wave,
  At the harbour bar;
Hide and seek, say I,
  To myself, and step
Out of the dream of Wake
  Into the dream of Sleep.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Hide and seek", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 1. Up and Down, no. 19, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], page 35.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

8. Then
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Twenty, forty, sixty, eighty
  A hundred years ago,
All through the night with lantern bright
  The Watch trudged to and fro,
And little boys tucked snug abed
  Would wake from dreams to hear -
'Two o' the morning by the clock,
  And the stars a-shining clear!'
Or, when across the chimney-tops
  Screamed shrill a North-East gale,
A faint and shaken voice would shout,
  'Three! And a storm of hail!'

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Then", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 2. Boys and Girls, no. 1, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

9. Full moon
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
One night as Dick lay half asleep,
  Into his drowsy eyes
A great still light begins to creep
  From out the silent skies.
It was lovely moon's, for when
  He raised his dreamy head,
Her surge of silver filled the pane
  And streamed across his bed.
So, for a while, each gazed at each -
  Dick and the solemn moon -
Till, climbing slowly on her way,
  She vanished, and was gone.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Full moon", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 2. Boys and Girls, no. 5, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], page 56.


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

10. Poor Henry
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Thick in its glass
  The physic stands,
Poor Henry lifts
  Distracted hands;
His round cheek wans
  In the candlelight,
To smell that smell!
  To see that sight!

Finger and thumb
  Clinch his small nose,
A gurgle, a gasp,
  And down it goes;
Scowls Henry now;
  But mark that cheek,
Sleek with the bloom
  Of health next week!

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Poor Henry", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 2. Boys and Girls, no. 3, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], page 50.


Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]

11. Will ever?
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Will he ever be weary of wandering,
  The flaming sun?
Ever weary of waning in lovelight,
  The white still moon?
Will ever a shepherd come
  With a crook of simple gold,
And lead all the little stars 
  Like lambs to the fold?

Will ever the Wanderer sail
  From over the sea,
Up the river of water,
  To the stones to me?
Will he take us all into his ship,
  Dreaming, and waft us far,
To where in the clouds of the West
  The Islands are?

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Will ever?", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 7. Earth and Air, no. 5, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920].

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

12. Song of the secret
 (Sung text)

Language: English 
Where is beauty?
       Gone, gone:
The cold winds have taken it
  With their faint moan;
The white stars have shaken it,
  Trembling down,
Into the pathless deeps of the sea.
       Gone, gone
  Is beauty from me.

The clear naked flower
  Is faded and dead;
The green-leafed willow,
  Drooping her head,
Whispers low to the shade
  Of her boughs in the stream,
       Sighing a beauty,
       Secret as dream.

Text Authorship:

  • by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The song of the secret", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 8. Songs, no. 1, first published 1913

See other settings of this text.

Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.

Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], page 168.

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

Total word count: 887
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