by John Clare (1793 - 1864)
Little Trotty Wagtail he went in the...
Language: English
Little Trotty Wagtail he went in the rain And twittering, tottering sideways he ne'er got straight again, He stooped to get a worm and looked up to get a fly, And then he flew away ere his feathers they were dry. Little Trotty Wagtail he waddled in the mud, And left his little footmarks, trample where he would. He waddled in the water pudge and waggle went his tail, And chirrupt up his wings to dry upon the garden rail. Little Trotty Wagtail, you nimble all about, And in the dimpling waterpudge you waddle in and out; Your home is nigh at hand and in the warm pig stye, So, little Master Wagtail, I'll bid you a goodbye.
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Text Authorship:
- by John Clare (1793 - 1864), "Little Trotty Wagtail", appears in Life and Remains of John Clare, first published 1873 [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 Edgar Leslie Bainton (1880 - 1956), "Little Trotty Wagtail", published 1929 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alan Bullard (b. 1947), "Little Trotty Wagtail", 1985, first performed 1985 [ baritone and piano ], from Three Bird Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ian Alfred Copley (b. 1926), "Little Trotty Wagtail", published 1963 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stephen Dodgson (b. 1924), "Trotty Wagtail", first performed 1963 [ high voice and guitar ], from Four Poems of John Clare [sung text not yet checked]
- by Terence Greaves (b. 1933), "Little Trotty Wagtail", 1976 [ soprano and clarinet or viola ], from Three Rustic Poems, no. 1, Emerson Publishing [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob (1895 - 1984), "Little Trotty Wagtail", published 1963 [ SS chorus and piano ], from The Cheerful Birds [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "Little Trotty Wagtail" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Little Trotty Wagtail", op. 414 (1953) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edmund Duncan Rubbra (1901 - 1986), "Little Trotty Wagtail", published 1938 [ children's chorus in unison and piano ], from Three Bird Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Martin Edward Fallas Shaw (1875 - 1958), "Little Trotty Wagtail", published 1927 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Peter Warlock (1894 - 1930), "Little Trotty Wagtail", 1922, published 1923 [ voice, piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by James Walter Wilson (b. 1922), "Trotty Wagtail", 1966 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Three Birds [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 118