Song Cycle by John Ireland (1879-1962)

1. Newborn

Authorship

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) , no title, from Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, published 1872

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Your brother has a falcon,
	Your sister has a flower.
But what is left for mannikin,
	Born within an hour?

I'll nurse you on my knee, my knee,
	My own little son;
I'll rock you, rock you, in my arms,
	My least little one.

2. The Only Child

Authorship

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) , no title, from Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, published 1872

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Crying, my little one, footsore and weary?
	Fall asleep, pretty one, warm on my shoulder:
I must tramp on through the winter night dreary,
	While the snow falls on me, colder and colder.

You are my one, and I have not another;
	Sleep soft, my darling, my trouble and treasure;
Sleep warm and soft, in the arms of your mother,
	Dreaming of pretty things, dreaming of pleasure.

3. Hope

Authorship

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) , no title, from Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, published 1872

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I dug and dug amongst the snow,
	And thought the flowers would never grow;
I dug and dug amongst the sand,
	And still no green thing came to hand.

Melt, o snow! the warm winds blow
	To thaw the flowers and melt the snow;
But all the winds from every land
	Will rear no blossom from the sand.

4. Skylark and Nightingale

Authorship

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) , no title, from Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, published 1872

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When a mounting skylark sings
	In the sunlit summer morn,
I know that heaven is up on high,
	And on earth are fields of corn.

But when a nightingale sings,
	In the moonlit summer even,
I know not if earth is merely earth,
	Only that heaven is heaven.

5. The Blind Boy

Authorship

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) , no title, from Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, published 1893

Blind from my birth,
Where flowers are springing
I sit on earth
All dark.
Hark! hark!
A lark is singing,
His notes are all for me.
For me his mirth:
Till some day I shall see
Beautiful flowers
And birds in bowers
Where ail joy-bells are ringing.

6. Baby

Authorship

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) , no title, from Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, published 1872

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Love me, - I love you,
	Love me, my baby;
Sing it high, sing it low,
	Sing it as may be.

Mother's arms under you,
	Her[e?] eyes above you;
Sing it high, sing it low,
	Love me, - I love you.

7. Death-parting

Authorship

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) , no title, from Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, published 1872

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"Good-bye in fear, good-bye in sorrow,
	Good-bye, and all in vain,
Never to meet again, my dear" -
	"Never to part again."

"Good-bye today, good-bye tomorrow,
	Good-bye till earth shall wane,
Never to meet again, my dear" -
	"Never to part again."

8. The Garland

Authorship

by Christina Georgina Rossetti (1830-1894) , no title, from Sing-song: a nursery rhyme book, published 1872

Roses blushing red and white,
	For delight;
Honeysuckle wreaths above,
	For love:
Dim sweet-scented heliotrope,
	For hope:
Shining lilies tall and straight,
	For royal state;
Dusky pansies, let them be
	For mernory;
With violets of fragrant breath,
	For death.

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