by Arthur Guiterman (1871 - 1943)
On the vanity of earthly greatness
Language: English
The tusks which clashed in mighty brawls Of mastodons, are billiard balls. The sword of Charlemagne the Just Is Ferric Oxide, known as rust. The grizzly bear, whose potent hug, Was feared by all, is now a rug. Great Caesar's bust is on the shelf, And I don't feel so well myself.
Text Authorship:
- by Arthur Guiterman (1871 - 1943), "On the vanity of earthly greatness", appears in Gaily the Troubadour, first published 1936 [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 Gary Bachlund (b. 1947), "On the vanity of earthly greatness", 2010 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2011-12-27
Line count: 8
Word count: 52