My bed is like a little boat (Stevenson, set by (Harry Brook, Antonio Giacometti, William Wallace Gilchrist, Cecilia Loftus, Graham Peel, Marvin Radnor, Teresa del Riego, Percy Purvis Turnbull, Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson)) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

My bed is like a little boat

Language: English

Available translation(s): ITA

My bed is like a little boat;
Nurse helps me in when I embark;
She girds me in my sailor's coat
And starts me in the dark.

At night, I go on board and say
Good night to all my friends on shore;
I shut my eyes and sail away
And see and hear no more.

And sometimes things to bed I take,
As prudent sailors have to do:
Perhaps a slice of wedding-cake,
Perhaps a toy or two.

All night across the dark we steer:
But when the day returns at last,
Safe in my room, beside the pier,
I find my vessel fast.

About the headline (FAQ)

Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "My bed is a boat", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885 [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 Harry Brook (1893 - ?), "My bed is a boat", published 1930. [unison chorus and piano] [
text not verified
]
by Antonio Giacometti (b. 1957), "My bed is a boat", 2005 [baritone and piano], from Seven Stevenson Songs, no. 1. [
text not verified
]
by William Wallace Gilchrist (1846 - 1916), "My bed is a boat", published 1897 [voice and piano], from the collection The Stevenson Song-Book [
text not verified
]
by Cecilia (Cissie) Loftus , "My bed is like a little boat", published <<1940. [voice and piano] [
text not verified
]
by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "My bed is a boat", published 1910. [voice and piano] [
text not verified
]
by Marvin Radnor , "My bed is a boat", published 1923. [voice and piano] [
text not verified
]
by Teresa del Riego (c1876 - 1968), "My bed is a boat", published 1909 [voice and piano], from Children's pictures [
text not verified
]
by Percy Purvis Turnbull (b. 1902), "My bed is a boat", published c1925. [unison chorus and piano] [
text not verified
]
by Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson (b. 1931), "My bed is a boat", published 1968 [high voice and piano], from From a child's garden, no. 8. [
text verified 1 time
]

Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 105