by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953)
Ballad of Hell and of Mrs Roebeck Matches original text
Language: English
I'm going out to dine at Gray's With Bertie Morden, Charles and Kit, And Manderly who never pays, And Jane who wins in spite of it, And Algernon who won't admit The truth about his curious hair And teeth that very nearly fit: And Mrs Roebeck will be there. And then to-morrow someone says That someone else has made a hit In one of Mister Twister's plays. And off we go to yawn at it; And when it's petered out we quit For number 20, Taunton Square, And smoke, and drink, and dance a bit: And Mrs Roebeck will be there. And so through each declining phase Of emptied effort, jaded wit, And day by day of London days Obscurely, more obscurely, lit ; Until the uncertain shadows flit Announcing to the shuddering air A Darkening, and the end of it : And Mrs Roebeck will be there. Princes, on their iron thrones they sit, Impassible to our despair, The dreadful Guardians of the Pit: And Mrs Roebeck will be there.
Composition:
- Set to music by Robert McCauley , "Ballad of Hell and of Mrs Roebeck", 2019, from Poems of Hilaire Belloc, no. 4
Text Authorship:
- by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953), "Ballad of Hell and of Mrs Roebeck"
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2020-01-09
Line count: 28
Word count: 169