by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
A boy's summer song
Language: English
'Tis fine to play In the fragrant hay, And romp on the golden load; To ride old Jack To the barn and back, Or tramp by a shady road. To pause and drink, At a mossy brink; Ah, that is the best of joy, And so I say On summer's day, What's so fine as being a boy? Ha, Ha! With line and hook By a babbling brook, The fisherman's sport we ply; And list the song Of the feathered throng That flit in the branches nigh. At last we strip For a quiet dip; Ah, that is the best of joy. For this I say On a summer's day, What's so fine as being a boy? Ha, Ha!
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), appears in Lyrics of Sunshine and Shadow, first published 1901 [author's text not yet checked 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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "A boy's summer song", 2013 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2017-11-14
Line count: 24
Word count: 119