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by Edward Lear (1812 - 1888)

Said the Duck to the Kangaroo
Language: English 
i.
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo,
"Good gracious! how you hop!
"Over the fields and the water, too,
"As if you never would stop!
"My life is a bore in this nasty pond,
"And I long to go out in the world beyond!
"I wish I could hop like you!"
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.

ii.
"Please give me a ride on your back!"
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.
"I would sit quite still, and say nothing but 'Quack,'
"The whole of the long day through!
"And we'd go to the Dee, and the Jelly Bo Lee,
"Over the land, and over the sea; --
"Please take me a ride! O do!"
Said the Duck to the Kangaroo.

iii.
Said the Kangaroo to the Duck,
"This requires some little reflection;
"Perhaps on the whole it might bring me luck,
"And there seems but one objection,
"Which is, if you'll let speak so bold,
"Your feet are unpleasantly wet and cold,
"And would probably give me the roo-
"Matiz!" said the Kangaroo.

iv.
Said the Duck, "As I sate on the rocks,
"I have thought over that completely,
"And I bought four pairs of worsted socks
"Which fit my web-feet neatly.
"And to keep out the cold I've bought a cloak,
"And every day a cigar I'll smoke,
"All to follow my own dear true
"Love of a Kangaroo!"

v.
Said the Kangaroo, "I'm ready!
"All on the moonlight pale;
"But to balance me well, dear Duck, sit steady!
"And quite at the end of my tail!"
So away they went with a hop and a bound,
And they hopped the whole world three times round;
And who so happy, -- O who,
As the Duck and the Kangaroo?

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Edward Lear (1812 - 1888), "The Duck and the Kangaroo", appears in Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany, and Alphabets, first published 1871 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The Duck and the Kangaroo", 2002 [ soprano and piano ], from "Calico Pie" and Other Nonsense, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Pierre Chépélov (b. 1979), "The Duck and the Kangaroo", 2006 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Mervyn Dale , "The Duck and the Kangaroo", published 1973 [ voice and piano ], from Eight Nonsense Songs [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Richard Farber (b. 1945), "The Duck and the Kangaroo", 2020 [ voice and piano ], from Five Diddles for Voice and Piano on Poems by Edward Lear, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Dudley Glass , "The Duck and the Kangaroo", published 1933 [ voice and piano ], from Nonsense Songs [sung text not yet checked]
  • by George Alfred Grant-Schaefer (1872 - 1939), "The Duck and the Kangaroo", published 1928 [ 2 soli, children's chorus, and piano ], from Derry Down Derry [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Juliana Hall (b. 1958), "The Duck and the Kangaroo", 2003 [ mezzo-soprano, bass, and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Christian Victor Hely-Hutchinson (1901 - 1947), "The Duck and the Kangaroo", published c1927 [ medium voice and piano or orchestra ], from Three Nonsense Songs, no. 3, confirmed with a score [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Joseph Horovitz (b. 1926), "Miniature trio-concerto", 1958 [ tenor or soprano, clarinet, violoncello, and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by George Ingraham , "The Duck and the Kangaroo", published <<1906 [ voice and piano ], from Nonsense Songs [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Emily Josephine Troup (d. 1912), "The Duck and the Kangaroo", published <<1907 [ voice and piano ], from Nonsense Songs [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-05-07
Line count: 45
Word count: 289

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