By her Aunt's Grave | Sixpence a week," says the girl to her lover

by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)

By her Aunt's Grave

Language: English

"Sixpence a week," says the girl to her lover,
"Aunt used to bring me, for she could confide
In me alone, she vowed. 'Twas to cover
The cost of her headstone when she died.
And that was a year ago last June;
I've not yet fixed it. But I must soon."

"And where is the money now, my dear?"
"O, snug in my purse . . . Aunt was SO slow
In saving it--eighty weeks, or near." . . .
"Let's spend it," he hints. "For she won't know.
There's a dance to-night at the Load of Hay."
She passively nods. And they go that way.

First published in Fortnightly Review, April 1911

Authorship:

by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "By her Aunt's Grave", appears in Satires of Circumstance, Lyrics and Reveries with Miscellaneous Pieces, first published 1914 [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 Zenobia Powell Perry (1908 - 2004), "By her Aunt's Grave" [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Choral Suite no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Betty Roe (b. 1930), "By her Aunt's Grave", published 1993 [ duet for mezzo-soprano and baritone with piano ], from Satires of Circumstance, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2007-06-19
Line count: 12
Word count: 106