by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll
Translation by Henri Bué (1843 - 1929)
Will you walk a little faster?" said a...
Language: English
"Will you walk a little faster?" said a whiting to a snail. "There's a porpoise close behind us, and he's treading on my tail. See how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance! They are waiting on the shingle -- will you come and join the dance? Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance? "You can really have no notion how delightful it will be When they take us up and throw us, with the lobsters, out to sea!" But the snail replied "Too far, too far!" and gave a look askance -- Said he thanked the whiting kindly, but he would not join the dance. Would not, could not, would not, could not, would not join the dance. "What matters it how far we go?" his scaly friend replied. "There is another shore, you know, upon the other side. The [further]1 off from England the nearer is to France -- Then turn not pale, beloved snail, but come and join the dance. Will you, won't you, will you, won't you, will you join the dance?"
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Armer, Ligeti: "farther"
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, London, Macmillan, first published 1865 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Elinor Armer (b. 1939), "Lobster Quadrille", 2011 [ voice and piano ], from Will You, Won't You?, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "The Lobster Quadrille", 1982 [ baritone and piano ], from Five Lewis Carroll Poems, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Derek Healey (b. 1936), "The Lobster Quadrille", op. 136 no. 5 (2014) [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], from Alice: Five Lewis Carroll Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "Will You Walk a Little Faster", published 1908 [ soprano, contralto, tenor, bass ], from Nonsense Songs: The Songs That Came Out Wrong, no. 5, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by György Ligeti (1923 - 2006), "The Lobster Quadrille", 1988-1993, from Nonsense Madrigals, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Henri Bué) , no title
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 15
Word count: 181
Le merlan dit à l’escargot...
Language: French (Français) after the English
Le merlan dit à l’escargot : « Pourriez-vous vous presser un peu ? Il y a un marsouin, juste derrière nous, qui me marche sur la queue. Voyez avec quelle impatience les homards et les tortues s’avancent ! Ils attendent sur les galets… Voulez-vous entrer dans la danse ? Voulez-vous, ne voulez-vous pas, voulez-vous, ne voulez-vous pas, voulez-vous entrer dans la danse ? « Vous n’avez pas la moindre idée du plaisir que cela peut faire Lorsqu’on vous prend et qu’on vous jette, avec les homards à la mer ! » L’escargot répondit : « Trop loin, trop loin ! et, le toisant avec méfiance, Dit qu’il remerciait le merlan, mais qu’il ne voulait pas entrer dans la danse. Ne voulait pas, ne pouvait pas, ne voulait pas, ne pouvait pas, ne voulait pas entrer dans la danse. Ne voulait pas, ne pouvait pas, ne voulait pas, ne pouvait pas, ne pouvait pas entrer dans la danse. » Son écailleux ami lui répondit : Qu’importe la distance ? Il y a un autre rivage, vous savez, une autre espérance. Plus on s’éloigne de l’Angleterre, plus on s’approche de la France… Ne pâlissez donc pas, bien-aimé escargot, entrez plutôt dans la danse. Voulez-vous, ne voulez-vous pas, voulez-vous, ne voulez-vous pas, voulez-vous entrer dans la danse ?
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Henri Bué (1843 - 1929), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, London, Macmillan, first published 1865
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2016-04-12
Line count: 16
Word count: 204