by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928)
The Market‑Girl
Language: English
Nobody took any notice of her as she stood on the causey kerb, All eager to sell her honey and apples and bunches of garden herb; And if she had offered to give her wares and herself with them too that day, I doubt if a soul would have cared to take a bargain so choice away. But chancing to trace her sunburnt grace that morning as I passed nigh, I went and I said, "Poor maidy dear! -- and will none of the people buy?" And so it began; and soon we knew what the end of it all must be, And I found that though no others had bid, a prize had been won by me.
First published in The Venture, 1903, rev. 1909
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Hardy (1840 - 1928), "The Market-Girl", appears in Time's Laughingstocks and Other Verses, in At Casterbridge Fair, no. 4 [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 Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, Sir (1883 - 1953), "The Market-Girl", 1922, published 1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Gerald Finzi (1901 - 1956), "The Market-Girl", op. 19a no. 3, published 1958 [ voice and piano ], from Till Earth Outwears, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Frederic Goossen (b. 1927), "The Market-Girl" [ duet for mezzo-soprano and baritone with piano ], from At Casterbridge Fair, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Alfred Matthew Hale (1875 - 1960), "The Market-Girl", op. 27 no. 4 [ voice and piano ], from At Casterbridge Fair, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 117