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by William Henry Davies (1871 - 1940)

Good people keep their holy day
Language: English 
Good people keep their holy day,
They rest from labour on a Sunday;
But we keep holy every day,
And rest from Monday until Monday.

And yet the noblest work on earth
Is done when beggars do their part:
They work, dear ladies, on the soft 
And tender feelings in your heart.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by William Henry Davies (1871 - 1940), "Beggar's song", appears in True Travellers, first published 1923 [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 Samuel Barber (1910 - 1981), "The beggar's song", 1936. [baritone and piano] [
     text verified 1 time
    ]
  • by William (Southcombe) Lloyd Webber (1914 - 1982), "Beggar's song", published 1951 [baritone and piano], from Four Bibulous Songs, no. 2. [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2013-07-03
Line count: 8
Word count: 52

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