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by Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837 - 1909)

A Lyke‑Wake Song
Language: English 
Fair of face, full of pride,
Sit ye down by a dead man's side.

Ye sang songs a' the day:
Sit down at night in the red worm's way.

Proud ye were a' day long:
Ye'll be but lean at evensong.

Ye had gowd kells on your hair:
Nae man kens what ye were.

Ye set scorn by the silken stuff:
Now the grave is clean enough.

Ye set scorn by the rubis ring:
Now the worm is a saft sweet thing.

Fine gold and blithe fair face,
Ye are come to a grimly place.

Gold hair and glad grey een,
Nae man kens if ye have been.

Authorship:

  • by Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837 - 1909), "A Lyke-Wake Song", appears in Lesbia Brandon, first published 1877, rev. 1889 [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 John Reginald Lang-Hyde (1899 - 1990), "A Lyke-Wake Song", 1949. [voice and piano] [
     text not verified 
    ]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2009-01-27
Line count: 16
Word count: 108

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