by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956)
The little creature
Language: English
Twinkum, twankum, twirlum and twitch My great grandam -- She was a witch. Mouse in wainscot, saint in niche My great grandam -- She was a witch. The fattest pig's but a double flitch My great grandam--She was a witch. Long though the shroud, it grows stitch by stitch My great grandam -- She was a witch. Pretty and small, a mere nothing at all She'd stand by the churchyard and call and call... Red blood out and black blood in My nanny says I'm a child of sin How did I choose me my witchly kin? Twinkum, twankum, twirlum and twitch My great grandam -- She was a witch.
Text Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The little creature", appears in Down-adown-derry: a book of fairy poems, first published 1922 [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 Colin Hand (1929 - 2015), "The little creature", published 1958 [ SA chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Ferdinando Albeggiani
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-17
Line count: 15
Word count: 106