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by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882)

MAIDEN./ O weathercock on the village...
Language: English 
MAIDEN.
 O weathercock on the village spire,
 With your golden feathers all on fire,
 Tell me, what can you see from your perch
 Above there over the tower of the church? 

WEATHERCOCK.
 I can see the roofs and the streets below,
 And the people moving to and fro,
 And beyond, without either roof or street,
 The great salt sea, and the fisherman's fleet. 

 I can see a ship come sailing in
 Beyond the headlands and harbor of Lynn,
 And a young man standing on the deck,
 With a silken kerchief round his neck. 

 Now he is pressing it to his lips,
 And now he is kissing his finger-tips,
 And now he is lifting and waving his hand
 And blowing the kisses toward the land. 

MAIDEN.
 Ah, that is the ship from over the sea,
 That is bringing my lover back to me,
 Bringing my lover so fond and true,
 Who does not change with the wind like you. 

WEATHERCOCK.
 If I change with all the winds that blow,
 It is only because they made me so,
 And people would think it wondrous strange,
 If I, a Weathercock, should not change. 

 O pretty Maiden, so fine and fair,
 With your dreamy eyes and your golden hair,
 When you and your lover meet to-day
 You will thank me for looking some other way.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807 - 1882), "Maiden and weathercock", appears in Ultima Thule, in Folk-Songs, first published 1880 [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 Walter Austin (1864 - 1929), "Maiden and the weathercock", published 1880-96 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "The weathercock", published 1913 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Charles F. Noyes , "Maiden and weathercock", published 1897 [ partsong for chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Henry Bickford Pasmore (1857 - 1944), "The maiden and the weathercock", published 1931 [ voice and piano ], from Eight Songs [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-06-20
Line count: 32
Word count: 221

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