by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903)
Madam Life's a piece in bloom
Language: English
Madam Life's a piece in bloom Death goes dogging everywhere: She's the tenant of the room, He's the ruffian on the stair. You shall see her as a friend, You shall bilk him once or twice; But he'll trap you in the end, And he'll stick you for her price. With his kneebones at your chest, And his knuckles in your throat, You would reason -- plead -- protest! Clutching at her petticoat; But she's heard it all before, Well she knows you've had your fun, Gingerly she gains the door, And your little job is done.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Ernest Henley (1849 - 1903), no title, appears in Poems, first published 1898 [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 Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949), "Madam Life's a piece in bloom", op. 16 (Seven songs) no. 6 (1913) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-12-10
Line count: 16
Word count: 96