by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953)
The microbe
Language: English
The Microbe is so very small You cannot make him out at all, But many sanguine people hope To see him through a microscope. His jointed tongue that lies beneath A hundred curious rows of teeth; His seven tufted tails with lots Of lovely pink and purple spots, On each of which a pattern stands, Composed of forty separate bands; His eyebrows of a tender green; All these have never yet been seen-- But Scientists, who ought to know, Assure us that they must be so.... Oh! let us never, never doubt What nobody is sure about!
Text Authorship:
- by (Joseph) Hilaire Belloc (1870 - 1953), "The microbe", appears in More Beasts for Worse Children, first published 1897 [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 Donald James Martino (1931 - 2005), "The microbe", 1952, from From "The Bad Child's Book of Beasts", no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vincent Persichetti (1915 - 1987), "The microbe", published 1965 [ medium voice and piano ], from Hilaire Belloc Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-09-08
Line count: 16
Word count: 98