by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953)
Language: English
Do you remember an Inn, Miranda? Do you remember an Inn? And the tedding and the spreading Of the straw for a bedding, And the fleas that tease in the Highly Pyrenees, And the wine that tasted of the tar? And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers (Under the vine of the dark verandah)? Do you remember an Inn, Miranda? Do you remember an Inn? And the cheers and the jeers of the young muleteers Who hadn't got a penny And who weren't paying any, And the hammer at the doors and the din? And the hip! hop! hap! Of the clap Of the hands to the twirl and the swirl of the girl gone chancing, Glancing, Dancing, Backing and advancing, Snapping of the clapper to the spin Out and in -- And the ting, tong, tang of the guitar! Do you remember an Inn, Miranda? Do you remember an Inn? Never more; Miranda, Never more. Only the high peaks hoar: And Aragon a torrent at the door. No sound In the walls of the halls where falls The tread Of the feet of the dead to the ground, No sound: But the boom Of the far waterfall like doom.
Composition:
- Set to music by (John) Francis Toye (1883 - 1964), "The Inn", published 1925 [ baritone and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953), "Tarantella", appears in Sonnets and Verse (1923), first published 1923
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 40
Word count: 200