There was a man was half a clown (It's so my father tells of it). He saw the church in [Claremont]1 town And laughed to hear the bells of it. He laughed to hear the bells that ring In Claremont Church and round of it; He heard the verger's daughter sing, And loved her for the sound of it. The verger's daughter said him nay; She had the right of choice in it. He left the town at break of day; He hadn't had a voice in it. The road went up, the road went down, And there the matter ended it. He broke his heart in Claremont town. At Pontgibaud they mended it.
Three Songs of Hilaire Belloc
Song Cycle by Archie James Potter (b. 1918)
?. Auvergnat  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Authorship:
- by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953), "Auvergnat", appears in Verses and Sonnets, first published 1896
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View original text (without footnotes)1 Goodhart: "Clermont" throughout.
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
?. Epigram on a Sleeping Friend  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Lady, when your lovely head Droops to sink among the Dead, And the quiet places keep You that so divinely sleep; Then the dead shall blessed be With a new solemnity, For such Beauty, so descending, Pledges them that Death is ending. Sleep your fill but when you wake Dawn shall over Lethe break.
Authorship:
- by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953), "On a Sleeping Friend", appears in Sonnets and Verse (1923), first published 1923
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]?. The night  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Most Holy Night, that still dost keep The keys of all the doors of sleep, To me when my tired eyelids close Give thou repose. And let the far lament of them That chaunt the dead day's requiem Make in my ears, who wakeful lie, Soft lullaby. Let them that guard the hornèd moon By my bedside their memories croon. So shall I have new dreams and blest In my brief rest. Fold your great wings about my face, Hide dawning from my resting-place, And cheat me with your false delight, Most Holy Night.
Authorship:
- by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953), "The night", appears in Verses and Sonnets, first published 1896
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]Total word count: 262