by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll
Hush‑a‑by lady, in Alice's lap!
Language: English
Our translations: FRE
Hush-a-by lady, in Alice's lap! Till the feast's ready, we've time for a nap: When the feast's over, we'll go to the ball -- Red Queen, and White Queen, and Alice, and all! To the Looking-Glass [world]1 it was Alice that said, "I've a sceptre in [hand]2, I've a crown on my head; Let the Looking-Glass creatures, whatever they be, Come and dine with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me. Then fill up the glasses as quick as you can, And sprinkle the table with buttons and bran: Put cats in the coffee, and mice in the tea -- And welcome Queen Alice with thirty-times-three! "O Looking-Glass creatures," quothe Alice, "draw near! 'Tis and honour to see me, a favour to hear: 'Tis a privilege high to have dinner and tea Along with the Red Queen, the White Queen, and me!" Then fill up the glasses with treacle and ink, Or anything else that is pleasant to drink: Mix sand with the cider, and wool with the wine -- And welcome Queen Alice with ninety-times-nine!3
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Note: this is a parody of "Bonny Dundee", a song from The Doom of Devorgoil by Sir Walter Scott
1 Bachlund: "creatures"
2 Bachlund: "my hand"
3 Bachlund adds an extra line here: "Thirty-times-three and ninety-times-nine!"
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, appears in Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There, London, Macmillan, chapter 9, first published 1871 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "Queen Alice", 1991, published 1996 [ high voice or medium voice and piano ], from "Alice" Songs, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ulf A. Grahn , "The Red Queen's Lullaby", published 1984, first performed 1992 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , no title, copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-04-11
Line count: 20
Word count: 174