by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll
'Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard...
Language: English
'Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare "You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair." As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose Trims his belt and his buttons, and turns out his toes. When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark, And will talk in contemptuous tones of the Shark; But, when the tide rises and sharks are around, His voice has a timid and tremulous sound. I passed by his garden, and marked, with one eye, How the Owl and the Panther were sharing a pie: The Panther took pie-crust, and gravy, and meat, While the Owl had the dish as its share of the treat. When the pie was all finished, the Owl, as a boon, Was kindly permitted to pocket the spoon; While the Panther received knife and fork with a growl, And concluded the banquet by --- 1
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Note: Alice's recitation is interrupted by the Mock Turtle, who calls the poem "the most confusing thing I ever heard"; in Nicholson's setting, the final words are added in a whisper: "eating the owl". Further changes may exist not noted above.
Text Authorship:
- by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, no title, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, London, Macmillan ; chapter 10, first published 1865 [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 George Nicholson (b. 1949), "I passed by his garden", 1984 [ soprano and piano ], from Peripheral Visions, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by David Evan Thomas (b. 1958), "'Tis the voice of the Lobster", published 2004, first performed 2004 [ SATB chorus, piano, and incidental percussion ], from Earthly Delights, no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Henri Bué) , no title
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-01-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 155