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by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936)

They haven't got no noses
Language: English 
They haven't got no noses,
The fallen sons of Eve;
Even the smell of roses
Is not what they supposes;
But more than mind discloses
And more than men believe.

They haven't got no noses,
They cannot even tell
When door and darkness closes
The park a Jew encloses,
Where even the law of Moses
Will let you steal a smell.

The brilliant smell of water,
The brave smell of a stone,
The smell of dew and thunder,
The old bones buried under,
Are things in which they blunder
And err, if left alone.

The wind from winter forests,
The scent of scentless flowers,
The breath of brides' adorning,
The smell of snare and warning,
The smell of Sunday morning,
God gave to us for ours

And Quoodle here discloses
All things that Quoodle can,
They haven't got no noses,
They haven't got no noses,
And goodness only knowses
The Noselessness of Man.

About the headline (FAQ)

First published in New Witness, November 1913, revised 1915

Text Authorship:

  • by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874 - 1936), "The song of the dog named Quoodle" [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "The Song of the Quoodle", 2007 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "Quoodles", op. 112 (Five Part Songs for Women's Unaccompanied Three-Part Choir) no. ? (1935) [ three-part women's chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-02-12
Line count: 30
Word count: 153

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