by John Clare (1793 - 1864)
Farm Breakfast
Language: English
Maids shout to breakfast in a merry strife, And the cat runs to hear the whetted knife, And dogs are ever in the way to watch The mouldy crust and falling bone to catch. The wooden dishes round in haste are set, And round the table all the boys are met; All know their own save Hodge who would be first, But every one his master leaves the worst. On every wooden dish, a humble claim, Two rude cut letters mark the owner's name; From every nook the smile of plenty calls, And rusty flitches decorate the walls, Moore's Almanack where wonders never cease -- All smeared with candle snuff and bacon grease.
Authorship:
- by John Clare (1793 - 1864), "Farm Breakfast", appears in John Clare: Poems, first published 1920 [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 Trevor Hold (1939 - 2004), "Farm Breakfast", 1975 [ tenor and piano ], from Gathered from the Field [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-12-19
Line count: 14
Word count: 112