by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906)
O li'l' lamb out in de col'
Language: English
O li'l' lamb out in de col',
De Mastah call you to de fol',
O li'l' lamb!
He hyeah you bleatin' on de hill;
Come hyeah an' keep yo' mou'nin' still,
O li'l' lamb!
De Mastah sen' de Shepud fo'f;
He wandah souf, he wandah no'f,
O li'l' lamb!
He wandah eas', he wandah wes';
De win' a-wrenchin' at his breas',
O li'l' lamb!
Oh, tell de Shepud whaih you hide;
He want you walkin' by his side,
O li'l' lamb!
He know you weak, he know you so';
But come, don' stay away no mo',
O li'l' lamb!
An' af'ah while de lamb he hyeah
De Shepud's voice a-callin' cleah --
Sweet li'l' lamb!
He answah f'om de brambles thick,
"O Shepud, I's a-comin' quick" --
O li'l' lamb!
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Paul Laurence Dunbar (1872 - 1906), "Hymn", appears in Lyrics of the Hearthside, first published 1899 [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 Herbert Haufrecht (1909 - 1998), "O li'l lamb", published 1951 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-07-27
Line count: 24
Word count: 128