Translation
The old woman's courtship
Language: English  after the English
Old woman, old woman, will you go a-shearing? “Speak a little louder sir, I’m rather hard of hearing.” Old woman, old woman, are you good at weaving? “Pray speak a little louder sir, my hearing is deceiving.” Old woman, old woman, will you go a-walking? “Speak a little louder sir, or what’s the use of talking?” Old woman, old woman, are you fond of spinning? “Pray speak a little louder sir, I only see you grinning.” Old woman, old woman, will you do my knitting? “My hearing’s getting better now, come near to where I’m sitting.” Old woman, old woman, shall I kiss you dearly? “Oh, Lord have mercy on my soul, sir. Now I hear you clearly.”
The text shown is a variant of another text. [ View differences ]
It is based on
- a text in English from Volkslieder (Folksongs) [text unavailable]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Steven Mark Kohn (b. 1957), "The old woman's courtship" [sung text checked 1 time]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by Benjamin Britten.
- Also set in English, [adaptation] ; composed by John H. Powell.
Researcher for this page: Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2020-12-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 118