Translation
The deaf 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 thick of hearing.” 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 go a-walking? “Speak a little louder sir, I scarcely hear you talking?” Old woman, old woman, are you good at weaving? “Pray speak a wee bit louder sir, my hearing is deceiving.” Old woman, old woman, will you do my knitting? “Hearing’s getting better now, come near to where I’m sitting.” Old woman, old woman, will you kiss me dearly? “I thank you very kindly, sir, I hear you now quite 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 John H. Powell (1882 - 1963), "The deaf 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 Steven Mark Kohn.
Researcher for this page: Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2020-12-05
Line count: 12
Word count: 116