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by John Clare (1793 - 1864)

Little Trotty Wagtail
 (Sung text for setting by T. Greaves)
 Matches base text
Language: English 
Little Trotty Wagtail he went in the rain
And twittering, tottering sideways he ne'er got straight again,
He stooped to get a worm and looked up to get a fly,
And then he flew away ere his feathers they were dry.

Little Trotty Wagtail he waddled in the mud,
And left his little footmarks, trample where he would.
He waddled in the water pudge and waggle went his tail,
And chirrupt up his wings to dry upon the garden rail.

Little Trotty Wagtail, you nimble all about,
And in the dimpling waterpudge you waddle in and out;
Your home is nigh at hand and in the warm pig stye,
So, little Master Wagtail, I'll bid you a goodbye.

Composition:

    Set to music by Terence Greaves (b. 1933), "Little Trotty Wagtail", 1976 [ soprano and clarinet or viola ], from Three Rustic Poems, no. 1, Emerson Publishing

Text Authorship:

  • by John Clare (1793 - 1864), "Little Trotty Wagtail", appears in Life and Remains of John Clare, first published 1873

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: 12
Word count: 118

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