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