Speak roughly to your little boy,
And beat him when he sneezes;
He only does it to annoy,
Because he knows it teases.

I speak severely to my boy,
I beat him when he sneezes;
For he can thoroughly enjoy
The pepper when he pleases!

Note: this is a parody of David Bates' "Speak Gently."

Composition:

Set to music by Nicholas Maw (1935 - 2009), "Speak roughly to your little boy", published 1978 [ voice (or unison voices) and piano ], from Caroline Pink (and other Nonsense Rhymes), no. 1, London ; New York : Boosey & Hawkes

Text Authorship:

• by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, first published 1865

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• FRE French (Français) (Henri Bué) , no title

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-04-11
Line count: 8
Word count: 45