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by John Keats (1795 - 1821)

There was a naughty boy
Language: English 
There was a naughty boy,
  A naughty boy was he,
He would not stop at home,
  He could not quiet be --
    He took
    In his knapsack
    A book
    Full of vowels
    And a shirt
    With some towels,
    A slight cap
    For night cap,
    A hair brush,
    Comb ditto,
    New stockings
    For old ones
    Would split O!
    This knapsack
    Tight at's back
    He rivetted close
  And followed his nose
    To the north,
    To the north,
  And follow'd his nose
    To the north.

There was a naughty boy
  And a naughty boy was he,
For nothing would he do
  But scribble poetry --
    He took
    An ink stand
    In his hand
    And a pen
    Big as ten
    In the other,
    And away
    In a pother
    He ran
    To the mountains
    And fountains
    And ghostes
    And postes
    And witches
    And ditches
    And wrote
    In his coat
    When the weather
    Was cool,
    Fear of gout,
    And without
    When the weather
    Was warm --
    Och the charm
    When we choose
  To follow one's nose
    To the north,
    To the north,
  To follow one's nose
    To the north!

There was a naughty boy
  And a naughty boy was he,
He kept little fishes
  In washing tubs three
    In spite
    Of the might
    Of the maid
    Nor afraid
    Of his Granny-good --
    He often would
    Hurly burly
    Get up early
    And go
    By hook or crook
    To the brook
    And bring home
    Miller's thumb,
    Tittlebat
    Not over fat,
    Minnows small
    As the stall
    Of a glove,
    Not above
    The size
    Of a nice
    Little baby's
    Little fingers --
    O he made
    'Twas his trade
  Of fish a pretty kettle
    A kettle --
    A kettle
  Of fish a pretty kettle
    A kettle!

There was a naughty boy,
  And a naughty boy was he,
He ran away to Scotland
  The people for to see --
    There he found
    That the ground
    Was as hard,
    That a yard
    Was as long,
    That a song
    Was as merry,
    That a cherry
    Was as red,
    That lead
    Was as weighty,
    That fourscore
    Was as eighty,
    That a door
    Was as wooden
    As in England --
  So he stood in his shoes
    And he wonder'd,
    He wonder'd,
  He stood in his
    Shoes and he wonder'd.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by John Keats (1795 - 1821), "A song about myself", first published 1883 [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 Dominick Argento (1927 - 2019), "There was a naughty boy", 1968, published 1969 [ mixed chorus a cappella ], from A Nation of Cowslips, no. 6, NY: Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Ronald A. Beckett , "A song about myself", 2013, from To One who has been Long in City Pent. Four Poems by John Keats, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Martin Best , "There was a naughty boy" [ voice and guitar ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by William Bowie (1925? - 1970), "There was a naughty boy", published 1965 [ three-part men's chorus and piano ], from Harmonious Young Men, London : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Nina Brough , "There was a naughty boy", published 1965 [ unison chorus or 2-part women's chorus and piano ], London : Boosey & Hawkes [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Michael John Hurd (1928 - 2006), "There was a naughty boy", published 1970 [ unison chorus, piano, descant recorders, glockenspiel, percussion ], from Diversions, London: Novello [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Paul Kapp (b. 1907), "There was a naughty boy", published 1966 [ voice and piano ], from Cock-A-Doodle-Doo! Cock-A-Doodle-Dandy! [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2010-12-17
Line count: 118
Word count: 365

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