Light the lamps up, lamplighter, The people are in the street Without a light They have no sight, And where will they plant their feet? Some will tread in the gutter And some in the mud, oh dear! Light the lamps up, lamplighter, Because the night is here. Light the candles, grandmother, The children are going to bed Without a wick They'll stumble and stick, And where will they lay their head? Some will sleep on the staircase, And some on the hearth -- oh dear! Light the candles, grandmother, Because the night is here. Light the stars up, Gabriel, The cherubs are out to fly If heaven is blind How will they find Their way across the sky? Some will splash in the Milky Way, Or bump on the moon, oh dear! Light the stars up, Gabriel, Because the night is here.
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Text Authorship:
- by Eleanor Farjeon (1881 - 1965) [author's text not yet checked 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 Elizabeth Maconchy (1907 - 1994), "Light the lamps up, lamplighter", 1978, published 1979 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Four Miniatures, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2012-02-13
Line count: 27
Word count: 142