The ragwort (Cornford, set by A. Bliss) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


The thistles on the sandy flats
Are courtiers with crimson hats;
The ragworts, growing up so straight,
Are emperors who stand in state,
And march about, so proud and bold,
In crowns of fairy-story gold.

The people passing home at night
Rejoice to see the shining [sight]¹;
They quite [forget]² the sands and sea
Which are as grey as grey can be,
Nor even [heed]³ the gulls who cry
Like peevish children in the sky.

View text without footnotes
¹ Bliss: "light"
² Bliss: "forgot"
³ Bliss: "heard"

Input by Ted Perry

Authorship

Frances Cornford (1886-1960)

Poems

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, Sir (1891-1975)

Two Nursery Rhymes

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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