by Edward Lear (1812 - 1888)
How pleasant to know Mr. Lear Matches base text
Language: English
How pleasant to know Mr. Lear, Who has written such volumes of stuff. Some think him ill-tempered and queer, But a few find him pleasant enough. His mind is concrete and fastidious, His nose is remarkably big; His visage is more or less hideous, His beard it resembles a wig. He has ears, and two eyes, and ten fingers, (Leastways if you reckon two thumbs); He used to be one of the singers, But now he is one of the dumbs. He sits in a beautiful parlour, With hundreds of books on the wall; He drinks a great deal of marsala, But never gets tipsy at all. He has many friends, laymen and clerical, Old Foss is the name of his cat; His body is perfectly spherical, He weareth a runcible hat. When he walks in waterproof white, The children run after him so! Calling out, "He's gone out in his night- Gown, that crazy old Englishman, oh!" He weeps by the side of the ocean, He weeps on the top of the hill; He purchases pancakes and lotion, And chocolate shrimps from the mill. He reads, but he does not speak, Spanish, He cannot abide ginger beer; Ere the days of his pilgrimage vanish, How pleasant to know Mr. Lear!
Composition:
- Set to music by Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "How pleasant to know Mr. Lear", 2008 [ medium voice or high voice and piano ]
Text Authorship:
- by Edward Lear (1812 - 1888), "By Way of Preface", appears in Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets, first published 1888
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-06
Line count: 32
Word count: 211