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by Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803 - 1849)

Old Adam, the Carrion Crow
 (Sung text for setting by B. Holmes)
 Matches original text
Language: English 
Old Adam, the carrion crow,
    The old crow of Cairo;
He sat in the shower, and let it flow
    Under his tail and over his crest;
        And through every feather
        Leaked the wet weather;
    And the bough swung under his nest;
    For his beak it was heavy with marrow.
        Is that the wind dying? O no:
        It's only two devils, that blow
        Through a murderer's bones, to and fro,
            In the ghosts' moonshine.

Ho! Eve, my grey carrion wife,
    When we have supped on the kings' marrow,
Where shall we drink and make merry our life?
    Our nest it is queen Cleopatra's skull,
        'Tis cloven and cracked,
        And battered and hacked,
    But with tears of blue eyes it is full:
        Let us drink then, my raven of Cairo.
             Is that the wind dying? O no:
             It's only two devils, that blow
              Through a murderer's bones, to and fro,
            In the ghosts' moonshine.

Composition:

    Set to music by Brian Holmes (b. 1946), "Old Adam, the Carrion Crow" [ high voice, string quartet ], from Death's Jest-Book, no. 3

Text Authorship:

  • by Thomas Lovell Beddoes (1803 - 1849), no title, appears in Death's Jest Book or The Fool's Tragedy, first published 1850

See other settings of this text.


Researcher for this page: Brian Holmes

This text was added to the website: 2004-03-26
Line count: 24
Word count: 152

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