by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
A Wife Waits Matches base text
Language: English
Will's at the dance in the Club-room below,
Where the tall liquor-cups foam;
I on the pavement up here by the Bow,
Wait, wait, to steady him home.
Will and his partner are treading a tune,
Loving companions they be;
Willy, before we were married in June,
Said he loved no one but me;
Said he would let his old pleasures all go
Ever to live with his Dear.
Will's at the dance in the Club-room below,
Shivering I wait for him here.
Note: A "bow" is a curved corner by a cross-street.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Composition:
- Set to music by Andrew Downes (1950 - 2023), "A Wife Waits", op. 1 no. 3 (1973), from Casterbridge Fair, no. 3
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "A Wife Waits", appears in Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, in At Casterbridge Fair, no. 6, first published 1909
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: 84