I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me (Stevenson, set by Mark Andrews, Norah Blaney, William Bradley, Thomas Crawford, Ethel Crowningshield, Edward Falk, Caroline Susan Theodora Grosvenor, Henry Kimball Hadley, Liza Lehmann, Franco Leoni, Oskar Morawetz, Marvin Radnor, Homer Samuels, Thomas Griffen Shepard, Eleanor Smith, Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir, Ward Stephens, Joseph Wardale, John Brown Russell Whitfield) (The LiederNet Archive: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)

I have a little shadow that goes in and...

Language: English

I have a little shadow that goes in and out with me,
And what can be the use of him is more than I can see.
He is very, very like me from the heels up to the head;
And I see him jump before me, when I jump into my bed.

The funniest thing about him is the way he likes to grow --
Not at all like proper children, which is always very slow;
For he sometimes shoots up taller like an india-rubber ball,
And he sometimes goes so little that there's none of him at all.

He hasn't got a notion of how children ought to play,
And can only make a fool of me in every sort of way.
He stays so close behind me, he's a coward you can see;
I'd think shame to stick to nursie as that shadow sticks to me!

One morning, very early, before the sun was up,
I rose and found the shining dew on every buttercup;
But my lazy little shadow, like an arrant sleepy-head,
Had stayed at home behind me and was fast asleep in bed.

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Authorship

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "My shadow", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885 [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 Mark Andrews (1875 - 1939), "My shadow", published 1911 [voice and piano], from Nine songs from "A Child's Garden of Verse" [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Norah Blaney , "My shadow", published 1918. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by William Bradley , "My shadow", published 1914. [unison chorus and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Thomas Crawford , "My shadow", published 1915 [voice and piano], from Songs with Music from "A Child's Garden of Verses", no. 3. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Ethel Crowningshield , "My shadow", published 1910 [voice and piano], from Robert Louis Stevenson Songs [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Edward Falk , "My shadow", published <<1940 [voice and piano], from A Child's Garden of Verses [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Caroline Susan Theodora Grosvenor (1858 - 1940?), "My shadow", published <<1940 [voice and piano], from Six songs from "A Child's Garden of Verses" [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Henry Kimball Hadley (1871 - 1937), "My shadow", op. 29 no. 1, published 1903 [voice and piano], from Four Stevenson Songs, no. 1. [ sung text checked 1 time]
by Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "My shadow", published 1902 [voice or vocal quartet and piano], from More daisies: new songs of childhood, no. 9. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Franco Leoni (1864 - 1949), "My shadow", published 1908. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Oskar Morawetz (b. 1917), "My shadow", 1972 [soprano and piano], from A child's garden of verses [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Marvin Radnor , "My shadow", published 1923. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Homer Samuels , "My shadow", published 1919. [high voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Thomas Griffen (Griffin?) Shepard (1848 - 1905), "My shadow", published 1901 [voice and piano], from A cycle of songs [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Eleanor Smith , "The shadow", published <<1940 [voice and piano], from Song Pictures [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "My shadow", op. 30 no. 6, published 1892 [unison chorus and piano], from A Child's Garland of Songs, no. 6. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Ward Stephens (1872 - 1940), "My shadow", published <<1940. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by Joseph Wardale , "My shadow", published 1963. [unison chorus and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
by John Brown Russell Whitfield , "My shadow", published 1958. [unison chorus and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

Text added to the website: 2008-12-07 00:00:00
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:03:01
Line count: 16
Word count: 187