by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 1863)
Werther had a love for Charlotte
Language: English
Werther had a love for Charlotte Such as words could never utter; Would you know how first he met her? She was cutting bread and butter. Charlotte was a married lady, And a moral man was Werther, And, for all the wealth of Indies, Would do nothing for to hurt her. So he sighed and pined and ogled, And his passion boiled and bubbled, Till he blew his silly brains out, And no more was by it troubled. Charlotte, having seen his body Borne before her on a shutter, Like a well-conducted person, Went on cutting bread and butter.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Makepeace Thackeray (1811 - 1863), "Sorrows of Werther", appears in Miscellanies: Prose and Verse, Volume I, first published 1855 [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 Seymour Barab (1921 - 2014), "Bread and butter", copyright © 1988 [ soprano or tenor, violin, cello, and harpsichord or piano ], from Airs and Fancies, no. 4, New York : Galaxy Music : Contemporary Art Song Series [sung text not yet checked]
- by Carey Blyton (1932 - 2002), "Cutting him dead", published 1974 [ SSA chorus a cappella ], from Ladies Only, London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
- by Richard Henry Walthew (1872 - 1951), "Sorrows of Werther", published 1923 [ voice and piano ], from Five Songs from Thackeray, London : Stainer & Bell [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2010-04-22
Line count: 16
Word count: 100