by James Stephens (1882 - 1950)
Bessie Bobtail
Language: English
As down the road she wambled slow, She had not got a place to go: She had not got a place to fall And rest herself - no place at all! She stumped along, and wagged her pate; And said a thing was desperate. Her face was screwed and wrinkled tight Just like a nut - and, left and right, On either side, she wagged her head And said a thing; and what she said Was desperate as any word That ever yet a person heard. I walked behind her for a while, And watched the people nudge and smile: But ever, as she went, she said, As left and right she swung her head, "O God He knows: And, God He knows! And, surely God Almighty knows!"
Text Authorship:
- by James Stephens (1882 - 1950), "Bessie Bobtail", appears in The Hill of Vision, first published 1912 [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 Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981), "Bessie Bobtail", op. 2 (Three Songs) no. 3, published 1955 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Walter Byron Mourant (1910 - 1995), "Bessie Bobtail" [ alto and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 18
Word count: 126