'Tis I can weave woollen and linen,
 The finest folk wear on their backs;
So, girls, come give over your spinnin',
 And wind off your wool and your flax!1

Five year at my woollen and linen
 I've woven from mornin' to night,
With a heart that beat heavy beginnin',
 But is leapin' for ever more light.1

[For]2 with guineas full up is the stockin',
 Sewed safe in the tick of my bed,
And 'tis soon that I'll rest without rockin',
 Since at [Shrove with my Willy]3 I'll wed.1

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Stanford adds

For hark! As the bee hunts for treasure
That’s hid in the mountainy bloom,
My shuttle goes bursting with pleasure,
To gather me gold from the loom.

² Stanford: "Now"
³ Stanford: "Shrovetide with Willy"

Text Authorship:

• by Alfred Perceval Graves (1846 - 1931), "'Tis I can weave woollen and linen", appears in Irish Songs and Ballads, in Songs and Ballads [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 Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "'Tis I can weave woollen and linen", published [1882?] [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Old Ireland. A Collection of Fifty Irish Melodies Unknown in England, no. 37, arrangement ; London, Boosey & Co. ; dedicated to Johannes Brahms, August 1882 [sung text checked 1 time]

Research team for this page: Sharon Krebs [Senior Associate Editor], Mike Pearson

This text was added to the website: 2013-03-11
Line count: 12
Word count: 93