by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
What does little birdie say
Language: English
What does little birdie say In her nest at peep of day? Let me fly, says little birdie, Mother, let me fly away. Birdie, rest a little longer Till [thy]1 little wings are stronger, So she rests a little longer Then she flies away. [What does little baby say, In her bed at peep of day?]2 Baby says, like little birdie, Let me rise and fly away. Baby, sleep a little longer, Till [thy]1 little limbs are stronger. If she sleeps a little longer Baby too shall fly away.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Bridge, Delius: "the"
2 omitted by Bridge
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), "Cradle song" [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 (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "What does little birdie say", 1914, published 1937 [ voice and piano ], in The Troubadour Song Book [sung text not yet checked]
- by Frank Bridge (1879 - 1941), "Cradle song", c1904 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934), "Little birdie", RTv. 29 no. 1 (1912) [ chorus and piano ], from 2 Songs for Children, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ellen Dickson (1819 - 1878), as Dolores, "What does little birdie say?", subtitle: "Cradle song", published 1861 [ voice and piano ], London [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Adolf Strodtmann (1829 - 1879) , no title, appears in Alfred Tennyson's ausgewählte Dichtungen, in Meeresträume ; composed by Sopran Camillo Engel.
Research team for this page: Ted Perry , Ross Klatte
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 92