From his cradle in the glamourie They have stolen my wee brother, Housed a changeling in his swaddlings For to fret my own poor mother. Pules it in the candle light Wi' a cheek so lean and white, Chinkling up its eyne so wee Wailing shrill at her an' me. It we'll neither rock nor tend Till the Silent Silent send, Lapping in their awesome arms Him they stole with spells and charms, Till they take this changeling creature Back to its own fairy nature -- Cry! Cry! As long as may be, Ye shall ne'er be woman's baby!
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Text Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "Peak and Puke", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 6. Witches and Fairies, no. 6, first published 1913 [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 Percy Marshall Young (1912 - 2004), "Peak and Puke", published 1951 [ SSA chorus and piano ], from Three songs from "Peacock Pie" [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-13
Line count: 16
Word count: 98