by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892)
Ay! Be merry, all birds, to‑day
Language: English
Ay! Be merry, all birds, to-day, Be merry on earth as you never were merry before, Be merry in heaven, O larks, and far away, And merry for ever and ever, and one day more. Why? For it's easy to find a rhyme. Look, look, how he flits. The fire-crown'd king of the wrens, from out of the pine ! Look how they tumble the blossom, the mad little tits ! ' Cuck-oo ! Cuck-oo ! ' was ever a May so fine ? Why? For it's easy to find a rhyme. O merry the linnet and dove, And swallow and sparrow and throstle, and have your desire ! O merry my heart, you have gotten the wings of love, And flit like the king of the wrens with a crown of fire. Why ? For it's ay ay, ay ay.
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Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Tennyson, Lord (1809 - 1892), no title, appears in The Windows, or The Loves of the Wrens, no. 10, 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 Hubert James Hales (1902 - 1965), "Ay", published 1935. [unison chorus and piano] [text not verified]
- by Sidney Thomson , "Ay", published 1893 [voice and piano], from The Window or the Song of the Wrens [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-03-22
Line count: 15
Word count: 134