by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939)
Crazy Jane and the Bishop
Language: English
Bring me to the blasted oak That I, midnight upon the stroke, (All find safety in the tomb.) May call down curses on his head Because of my dear Jack that's dead. Coxcomb was the least he said: The solid man and the coxcomb. Nor was he Bishop when his ban Banished Jack the Journeyman, (All find safety in the tomb.) Nor so much as parish priest, Yet he, an old book in his fist, Cried that we lived like beast and beast: The solid man and the coxcomb. The Bishop has a skin, God knows, Wrinkled like the foot of a goose, (All find safety in the tomb.) Nor can he hide in holy black The heron's hunch upon his back, But a birch-tree stood my Jack: The solid man and the coxcomb. Jack had my virginity, And bids me to the oak, for he (all find safety in the tomb.) Wanders out into the night And there is shelter under it, But should that other come, I spit: The solid man and the coxcomb.
Text Authorship:
- by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "Crazy Jane and the Bishop", appears in The Winding Stair, first published 1929 [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 Stanley Grill (b. 1953), "Crazy Jane and the Bishop", 1999, copyright © 2000 [ soprano, flute, violin, viola, cello and piano ], from Crazy Jane Sings, no. 1, confirmed with an online score [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Patrick Arthur Sheldon Hadley (1899 - 1973), "Crazy Jane and the Bishop", 1958 [ soprano and harp ], from Crazy Jane, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Lidov (b. 1941), "Crazy Jane and the Bishop", 1967, rev. 1970 [ voice and piano ], from Crazy Jane's songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul Paviour (b. 1931), "Crazy Jane and the Bishop", copyright © 1969 [ soprano and piano ], from Crazy Jane, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Douglas Young (b. 1947), "Crazy Jane and the Bishop", 1970-3 [ soprano and flute ], from Realities [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-01-03
Line count: 28
Word count: 176