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by Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833 - 1908)

Prithee tell me, Dimple‑Chin
Language: English 
Prithee tell me, Dimple-Chin,
At what age does Love begin?
Your blue eyes have scarcely seen
Summers three, my fairy queen,
But a miracle of sweets,
Soft approaches, sly retreats,
Show the little archer there,
Hidden in your pretty hair;
When didst learn a heart to win?
Prithee tell me, Dimple-Chin!

⁠    "Oh!" the rosy lips reply,
⁠    "I can't tell you if I try.
    'T is so long I can't remember:
⁠    Ask some younger lass than I!"

Tell, O tell me, Grizzled-Face,
Do your heart and head keep pace?
When does hoary Love expire,
When do frosts put out the fire?
Can its embers burn below
All that chill December snow?
Care you still soft hands to press,
Bonny heads to smooth and bless?
When does Love give up the chase?
Tell, O tell me, Grizzled-Face!

    ⁠"Ah!" the wise old lips reply,
⁠    "Youth may pass and strength may die;
    But of Love I can't foretoken:
⁠    Ask some older sage than I!"

About the headline (FAQ)

Confirmed with The poems of Edmund Clarence Stedman, Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1908, pages 368-369.


Text Authorship:

  • by Edmund Clarence Stedman (1833 - 1908), "Toujours amour" [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 Samuel Coleridge-Taylor (1875 - 1912), "Tell, O tell me", published 1914 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2022-01-08
Line count: 28
Word count: 165

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