by Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836 - 1907)
The blackbird sings in the hazel‑brake
Language: English
The blackbird sings in the hazel-[brake]1, And the squirrel sits on the tree; And Blanche she walks in the merry greenwood, Down by the summer sea. The blackbird lies when he sings of love, And the squirrel, a thief is he; And Blanche is an arrant flirt, I swear, And light as light can be. O blackbird, die in the hazel-brake! And squirrel, starve on the tree! And Blanche -- you may walk in the merry greenwood. You are nothing more to me.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Dana: "bush"; further changes may exist not noted.
Text Authorship:
- by Thomas Bailey Aldrich (1836 - 1907), "A Ballad", appears in The Ballad of Babie Bell and Other Poems, first published 1859 [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 Henshaw Dana (1846 - 1883), "The blackbird sings in the hazel-bush", published 1883. [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2005-12-18
Line count: 12
Word count: 82