I spied John Mouldy in his cellar, Deep down twenty steps of stone; In the dusk he sat a-smiling, Smiling there alone. He read no book, he snuffed no candle; The rats ran in, the rats ran out; And far and near, the drip of water Went whispering about. The dusk was still, with dew a-falling, I saw the Dog Star bleak and grim, I saw a slim brown rat of Norway Creep over him. I spied John Mouldy in his cellar, Deep down twenty steps of stone; In the dusk he sat a-smiling, Smiling there alone.
Please note: this text, provided here for educational and research use, is in the public domain in Canada and the U.S., but it may still be copyright in other legal jurisdictions. The LiederNet Archive makes no guarantee that the above text is public domain in your country. Please consult your country's copyright statutes or a qualified IP attorney to verify whether a certain text is in the public domain in your country or if downloading or distributing a copy constitutes fair use. The LiederNet Archive assumes no legal responsibility or liability for the copyright compliance of third parties.
Text Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "John Mouldy", appears in Songs of Childhood, first published 1902 [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 John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "John Mouldy", 1958 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "John Mouldy", op. 30 (Two Songs) no. 1, published 1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by J. Frederick Keel (1871 - 1954), "John Mouldy", published 1920 [ voice and piano ], from Four "Songs of Childhood" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Baron Pitfield (1903 - 1999), "John Mouldy", published 1937 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Halsey Stevens (1908 - 1989), "John Mouldy", 1955 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Veitch , "John Mouldy", published 1940 [ children's chorus or women's chorus in unison and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Cyril Winn (b. 1886), "John Mouldy", published 1927 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-09
Line count: 16
Word count: 97