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by Charles Henry Ross (1842 - 1897)

The wisest old man that ever was known
Language: English 
Choose for Diff
The wisest old man that ever was known
In the famous Wiseacre nation,
Sat up all night, with his head in a sling,
To make this calculation:-
If Tom’s father was John’s son,
But John’s son hadn’t a father,
What would John’s son’s son have done,
If Tom’s son’s father wouldn’t rather?
He worked all night, and he worked all day,
Till he came to this conclusion,
That Tom’s son’s father’s father’s son
Was the cause of much confusion.

Available sung texts:   ← What is this?

•   C. Bray 

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Charles Henry Ross (1842 - 1897) [author's text not yet checked 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 Charlotte Bray (b. 1982), no title, 2026, first performed 2026 [ soprano and horn ], from Curious Calculations, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]

Researcher for this page: Joost van der Linden [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2026-08-08
Line count: 12
Word count: 79

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