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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.

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), "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

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