The Invitation: To Tom Hughes
Come away with me, Tom,
Term and talk are done;
My poor lads are reaping,
Busy every one.
Curates mind the parish,
Sweepers mind the court;
We'll away to Snowdon
For our ten days' sport;
Fish the August evening
Till the eve is past,
Whoop like boys, at pounders
Fairly played and grassed.
When they cease to dimple,
Lunge, and swerve, and leap,
Then up over Siabod,
Choose our nest, and sleep.
Up a thousand feet, Tom,
Round the lion's head,
Find soft stones to leeward
And make up our bed.
Eat our bread and bacon,
Smoke the pipe of peace,
And, ere we be drowsy,
Give our boots a grease.
Homer's heroes did so,
Why not such as we?
What are sheets and servants?
Superfluity!
Pray for wives and children
Safe in slumber curled,
Then to chat till midnight
O'er this babbling world-
Of the workmen's college,
Of the price of grain,
Of the tree of knowledge,
Of the chance of rain;
If Sir A. goes Romeward,
If Miss B. sings true,
If the fleet comes homeward,
If the mare will do,-
Anything and everything-
Up there in the sky
Angels understand us,
And no 'saints' are by.
Down, and bathe at day-dawn,
Tramp from lake to lake,
Washing brain and heart clean
Every step we take.
Leave to Robert Browning
Beggars, fleas, and vines;
Leave to mournful Ruskin
Popish Apennines,
Dirty Stones of Venice
And his Gas-lamps Seven-
We've the stones of Snowdon
And the lamps of heaven.
Where's the mighty credit
In admiring Alps?
Any goose sees 'glory'
In their 'snowy scalps.'
Leave such signs and wonders
For the dullard brain,
As aesthetic brandy,
Opium and cayenne.
Give me Bramshill common
(St. John's harriers by),
Or the vale of Windsor,
England's golden eye.
Show me life and progress,
Beauty, health, and man;
Houses fair, trim gardens,
Turn where'er I can.
Or, if bored with 'High Art,'
And such popish stuff,
One's poor ear need airing,
Snowdon's high enough.
While we find God's signet
Fresh on English ground,
Why go gallivanting
With the nations round?
Though we try no ventures
Desperate or strange;
Feed on commonplaces
In a narrow range;
Never sought for Franklin
Round the frozen Capes;
Even, with Macdougall, {295}
Bagged our brace of apes;
Never had our chance, Tom,
In that black Redan;
Can't avenge poor Brereton
Out in Sakarran;
Tho' we earn our bread, Tom,
By the dirty pen,
What we can we will be,
Honest Englishmen.
Do the work that's nearest,
Though it's dull at whiles,
Helping, when we meet them,
Lame dogs over stiles;
See in every hedgerow
Marks of angels' feet,
Epics in each pebble
Underneath our feet;
Once a year, like schoolboys,
Robin-Hooding go,
Leaving fops and fogies
A thousand feet below.
Eversley, August 1856.
poem by Charles Kingsley
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Related quotes
Fishing Song: To J.A. Froude and Tom Hughes
Oh, Mr. Froude, how wise and good,
To point us out this way to glory-
They're no great shakes, those Snowdon Lakes,
And all their pounders myth and story.
Blow Snowdon! What's Lake Gwynant to Killarney,
Or spluttering Welsh to tender blarney, blarney, blarney?
So Thomas Hughes, sir, if you choose,
I'll tell you where we think of going,
To swate and far o'er cliff and scar,
Hear horns of Elfland faintly blowing;
Blow Snowdon! There's a hundred lakes to try in,
And fresh caught salmon daily, frying, frying, frying.
Geology and botany
A hundred wonders shall diskiver,
We'll flog and troll in strid and hole,
And skim the cream of lake and river,
Blow Snowdon! give me Ireland for my pennies,
Hurrah! for salmon, grilse, and-Dennis, Dennis, Dennis!
Eversley, 1856.
poem by Charles Kingsley
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Could Feel The Whole World Turn Around Underneath Me
When I first saw you this strange kind of feeling set my head a-reeling
Like I hit the ceiling.
The same thing happened to me then, baby.
Something kind of crazy and everything went hazy.
Lightning and thunder shook the ground.
And I could feet the whole world turn round underneath me.
I could feet the whole world turn round.
My, have you never been set on fire?
Burning with desire growing higher and higher.
Like on a funny fair big wheel stopping when you are to topping,
The you feel it dropping
Rising and heaven falling down.
And I could feet the whole world turn round underneath me.
I could feet the whole world turn round.
I took my breath as though Ive been running.
Quite completely stunning, holy, overcoming.
And in a funny way it seemed frightening.
Tension and a hardening
Thunder and the lightning
And Ive grown the singer who wrote that song.
And I could feet the whole world turn round underneath me.
I could feet the whole world turn round when youre near me.
I could feet the whole world turn round.
I could feet the whole world turn round underneath me.
I could feet the whole world turn round when youre near me.
I could feet the whole world turn round.
song performed by by Rod Stewart
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Round Midnight
It begins to tell,
round midnight, midnight.
I do pretty well, till after sundown,
Suppertime Im feelin sad;
But it really gets bad,
round midnight.
Memories always start round midnight
Havent got the heart to stand those memories,
When my heart is still with you,
And ol midnight knows it, too.
When a quarrel we had needs mending,
Does it mean that our love is ending.
Darlin I need you, lately I find
Youre out of my heart,
And Im out of my mind.
Let our hearts take wings
round midnight, midnight
Let the angels sing,
For your returning.
Till our love is safe and sound.
And old midnight comes around.
Feelin sad,
Really gets bad
Round.....round.......round....mid.....night....
song performed by by Ella Fitzgerald
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Im Not The One
Im not the one
That youll be shootin for
Im not the one
Whos coming back for more
(you know why)
Weve been through this so many a-times
(you know why)
Its never clear its pantomime
Goin round and round
(round and round)
cause you cant get on your feet
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Still takin all the heat
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Never lettin down
Im not the one
Whose memory you still keepin
Im not the one
Whos talkin in your sleep
(you know why)
I dont have to tell you twice
(you know why)
Knew you when you werent so nice
Goin round and round
(round and round)
cause you cant get on your feet
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Still takin all the heat
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Never touchin down
Im not the one
That youll be breakin in
And Im not the one
That youll be takin in
(you know why)
Tried and tried to crack the shell
(you know why)
When you fake its hard to tell
Goin round and round
(round and round)
cause you cant get on your feet
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Still takin all the heat
Goin round and round
(round and round)
cause you cant get on your feet
Goin round and round
(round and round)
Still takin all the heat
Goin round and round
(round and round)
(round and round)
Goin round and round
(round and round)
(round and round and round and round)
Goin round and round
(round and round)
(cause you cant get on your feet)
Goin (round and round)
(still takin all the heat)
(round and round)
(cause you cant get on your feet)
(round and round)
(still takin all the heat)
(round and round)
(cause you cant get on your feet)
(round and round)
(still takin all the heat)
[fade]
song performed by by Cars
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To Sir, With Love
Lyrics by don black
Music by marc london
The time has come
For closing books, and long last looks must end
And as i leave
I know that i am leaving my best friend
A friend who taught me right from wrong
And weak from strong
That's a lot to learn
What, what can i give you in return?
If you wanted the moon
I would try to make a start
But i, would rather let me give my heart
To you, with love
Those schoolgirl days
Of telling tales and biting nails are gone, yeah
But in my mind
I know that they live on and on and on and on
But how do you thank someone
Who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
Well it's not easy
But i'll try
If you wanted the sky
I would write across the sky in letters
That would soar a thousand feet high
To you, with love
Those awkward years have hurried by
Why did they fly, fly away
Why is it sir children, grow up to be people one day?
What takes the place of climbing tres and dirty knees in the world outside?
What, what is there that i can buy?
If you wanted the world
I'd surround it with a wall i'd scrawl
These words withe letters ten feet tall
To you, with love
song performed by by Vonda Shepard
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To Sir With Love (feat. Al Green)
The time has come for closing books and long last looks must end
And as I leave I know that I am leaving my best friend
A friend who taught me right from wrong and weak from strong
That's a lot to learn,
What, what can I give you in return?
If you wanted the moon
I would try to make a start
But I, would rather you let me give my heart
To you, with love
Those schoolgirl days of telling tales and biting nails are gone, yeah
But in my mind I know that they live on and on and on and on
But how do you thank someone
Who has taken you from crayons to perfume?
Well it it's not easy, but I'll try
If you wanted the sky
I would write across the sky in letters
That would soar a thousand feet high
To you, with love
Those awkward years have hurried by, why did they fly, fly away?
Why is it Sir, children grow up to be people one day?
What takes the place of climbing trees,
And dirty knees, in the world outside?
What, what is there that I can buy?
If you wanted the world,
I'd surround it with a wall, I'd scrawl
These words with letters ten feet tall
To you, with love
song performed by by Vonda Shepard
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Life Is ~ The Stones Under My Feet
Life is the stones under my feet
All the places I've walked
All the places I haven't
They say something about who I am
The pebbles that I pick up to toss in the ocean
The boulders I've sat on
The skipping stones I throw across the lake
Gravel and sand
And cobblestone streets
Places with history
Places where history is about to be written
And what it has to say for my history
All those stones that I've crunched
Under my boots
Or sandals
Or sneakers
Or just my bare feet
Walking carefully
And there occasionally is a piece of glass
When I cut myself I bleed
But I heal in the end
Then I get up to walk on more stones
Because life is where you choose to walk
And where you don't
poem by Indigo Rosedragon
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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No Step
I looked out of my window, saw a stencil black,
No step. no step.
There were nervous mothers with children crying in the back.
No step. no step.
Someone bought me my ticket, now Im on the wing.
Hope my angels are watching me, do I hear them sing?
No step. no step.
Those afterburners cut in and kicked us high.
No step. no step.
The thin air shimmered, the sun cut through and burned my eye.
No step. no step.
Someone bought me my ticket, now Im on the wing.
Hope my angels are watching me, do I hear them sing?
No step.
No step no step.
No step no step.
No step no step.
Give me a jet stream schooner or a crew-legged goose.
No step. no step.
Im a clear-air jockey when they turn me loose
No step. no step.
Someone bought me my ticket to the captains seat.
Will the shakes soon leave me, will I find my feet?
No step. no step.
No step. no step.
No step.
song performed by by Jethro Tull
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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To Sir, With Love
[ original version by lulu ]
Those schoolgirl days of telling tales and biting nails are gone
But in my mind I know they will still live on and on
But how do you thank someone who has taken you from crayons to
Perfume?
It isnt easy but Ill try
If you wanted the sky I would write across the sky
In letters that would soar a thousand feet high
To sir, with love
Those awkward years have hurried by - why do they fly away?
Why is it, sir, that children grow up to be people one day?
What takes the place of climbing trees and dirty knees in the world
Outside?
What is there for you I can buy?
If you wanted the world Id surround it with a wall
Id scrawl in words with letters ten feet tall
To sir, with love
The time has come for closing books and long last looks must end
And as I leave, I know that I am leaving my best friend
A friend who taught me right from wrong and weak from strong
Thats a lot to learn - what can I give you in return?
If you wanted the moon I would try to make a start
But I would rather you let me give my heart
To sir, with love
song performed by by 10000 Maniacs
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Klondike
Never mind the day we left, or the day the women clung to us;
All we need now is the last way they looked at us.
Never mind the twelve men there amid the cheering—
Twelve men or one man, ’t will soon be all the same;
For this is what we know: we are five men together,
Five left o’ twelve men to find the golden river.
Far we came to find it out, but the place was here for all of us;
Far, far we came, and here we have the last of us.
We that were the front men, we that would be early,
We that had the faith, and the triumph in our eyes:
We that had the wrong road, twelve men together,—
Singing when the devil sang to find the golden river.
Say the gleam was not for us, but never say we doubted it;
Say the wrong road was right before we followed it.
We that were the front men, fit for all forage,—
Say that while we dwindle we are front men still;
For this is what we know tonight: we’re starving here together—
Starving on the wrong road to find the golden river.
Wrong, we say, but wait a little: hear him in the corner there;
He knows more than we, and he’ll tell us if we listen there—
He that fought the snow-sleep less than all the others
Stays awhile yet, and he knows where he stays:
Foot and hand a frozen clout, brain a freezing feather,
Still he’s here to talk with us and to the golden river.
“Flow,” he says, “and flow along, but you cannot flow away from us;
All the world’s ice will never keep you far from us;
Every man that heeds your call takes the way that leads him—
The one way that’s his way, and lives his own life:
Starve or laugh, the game goes on, and on goes the river;
Gold or no, they go their way—twelve men together.
“Twelve,” he says, “who sold their shame for a lure you call too fair for them—
You that laugh and flow to the same word that urges them:
Twelve who left the old town shining in the sunset,
Left the weary street and the small safe days:
Twelve who knew but one way out, wide the way or narrow:
Twelve who took the frozen chance and laid their lives on yellow.
“Flow by night and flow by day, nor ever once be seen by them;
Flow, freeze, and flow, till time shall hide the bones of them;
Laugh and wash their names away, leave them all forgotten,
Leave the old town to crumble where it sleeps;
Leave it there as they have left it, shining in the valley,—
Leave the town to crumble down and let the women marry.
“Twelve of us or five,” he says, “we know the night is on us now:
Five while we last, and we may as well be thinking now:
Thinking each his own thought, knowing, when the light comes,
Five left or none left, the game will not be lost.
Crouch or sleep, we go the way, the last way together:
Five or none, the game goes on, and on goes the river.
“For after all that we have done and all that we have failed to do,
Life will be life and a world will have its work to do:
Every man who follows us will heed in his own fashion
The calling and the warning and the friends who do not know:
Each will hold an icy knife to punish his heart’s lover,
And each will go the frozen way to find the golden river.”
There you hear him, all he says, and the last we’ll ever get from him.
Now he wants to sleep, and that will be the best for him.
Let him have his own way—no, you needn’t shake him—
Your own turn will come, so let the man sleep.
For this is what we know: we are stalled here together—
Hands and feet and hearts of us, to find the golden river.
And there’s a quicker way than sleep? … Never mind the looks of him:
All he needs now is a finger on the eyes of him.
You there on the left hand, reach a little over—
Shut the stars away, or he’ll see them all night:
He’ll see them all night and he’ll see them all tomorrow,
Crawling down the frozen sky, cold and hard and yellow.
Won’t you move an inch or two—to keep the stars away from him?
—No, he won’t move, and there’s no need of asking him.
Never mind the twelve men, never mind the women;
Three while we last, we’ll let them all go;
And we’ll hold our thoughts north while we starve here together,
Looking each his own way to find the golden river.
poem by Edwin Arlington Robinson
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Scenes In London I - Piccadilly
THE sun is on the crowded street,
It kindles those old towers;
Where England's noblest memories meet,
Of old historic hours.
Vast, shadowy, dark, and indistinct,
Tradition's giant fane,
Whereto a thousand years are linked,
In one electric chain.
So stands it when the morning light
First steals upon the skies;
And shadow'd by the fallen night,
The sleeping city lies.
It stands with darkness round it cast,
Touched by the first cold shine;
Vast, vague, and mighty as the past,
Of which it is the shrine.
'Tis lovely when the moonlight falls
Around the sculptured stone
Giving a softness to the walls,
Like love that mourns the gone.
Then comes the gentlest influence
The human heart can know,
The mourning over those gone hence
To the still dust below.
The smoke, the noise, the dust of day,
Have vanished from the scene;
The pale lamps gleam with spirit ray
O'er the park's sweeping green.
Sad shining on her lonely path,
The moon's calm smile above,
Seems as it lulled life's toil and wrath
With universal love.
Past that still hour, and its pale moon,
The city is alive;
It is the busy hour of noon,
When man must seek and strive.
The pressure of our actual life
Is on the waking brow;
Labour and care, endurance, strife,
These are around him now.
How wonderful the common street,
Its tumult and its throng,
The hurrying of the thousand feet
That bear life's cares along.
How strongly is the present felt,
With such a scene beside;
All sounds in one vast murmur melt
The thunder of the tide.
All hurry on—none pause to look
Upon another's face:
The present is an open book
None read, yet all must trace.
The poor man hurries on his race,
His daily bread to find;
The rich man has yet wearier chase,
For pleasure's hard to bind.
All hurry, though it is to pass
For which they live so fast—
What doth the present but amass,
The wealth that makes the past.
The past is round us—those old spires
That glimmer o'er our head;
Not from the present is their fires,
Their light is from the dead.
But for the past, the present's powers
Were waste of toil and mind;
But for those long and glorious hours
Which leave themselves behind.
poem by Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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I Get Around
Round round get around
I get around
Yeah
Get around round round I get around
I get around
Get around round round I get around
From town to town
Get around round round I get around
Im a real cool head
Get around round round I get around
Im makin real good bread
Im gettin bugged driving up and down the same old strip
I gotta finda new place where the kids are hip
My buddies and me are getting real well known
Yeah, the bad guys know us and they leave us alone
I get around
Get around round round I get around
From town to town
Get around round round I get around
Im a real cool head
Get around round round I get around
Im makin real good bread
Get around round round I get around
I get around
Round
Get around round round oooo
Wah wa ooo
Wah wa ooo
Wah wa ooo
We always take my car cause its never been beat
And weve never missed yet with the girls we meet
None of the guys go steady cause it wouldnt be right
To leave their best girl home now on saturday night
I get around
Get around round round I get around
From town to town
Get around round round I get around
Im a real cool head
Get around round round I get around
Im makin real good bread
Get around round round I get around
I get around
Round
Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah
Round round get around
I get around
Yeah
Get around round round I get around
Get around round round I get around
Wah wa ooo
Get around round round I get around
Oooo ooo ooo
Get around round round I get around
Ahh ooo ooo
Get around round round I get around
Ahh ooo ooo
Get around round round I get around
Ahh ooo ooo
song performed by by Beach Boys
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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The Ant Explorer
Once a little sugar ant made up his mind to roam-
To fare away far away, far away from home.
He had eaten all his breakfast, and he had his ma's consent
To see what he should chance to see and here's the way he went
Up and down a fern frond, round and round a stone,
Down a gloomy gully where he loathed to be alone,
Up a mighty mountain range, seven inches high,
Through the fearful forest grass that nearly hid the sky,
Out along a bracken bridge, bending in the moss,
Till he reached a dreadful desert that was feet and feet across.
'Twas a dry, deserted desert, and a trackless land to tread,
He wished that he was home again and tucked-up tight in bed.
His little legs were wobbly, his strength was nearly spent,
And so he turned around again and here's the way he went-
Back away from desert lands feet and feet across,
Back along the bracken bridge bending in the moss,
Through the fearful forest grass shutting out the sky,
Up a mighty mountain range seven inches high,
Down a gloomy gully, where he loathed to be alone,
Up and down a fern frond and round and round a stone.
A dreary ant, a weary ant, resolved no more to roam,
He staggered up the garden path and popped back home.
poem by Clarence Michael James Stanislaus Dennis
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Crazy Me
Am I crazy? Maybe I am?
In everything I give my heart soul as hard as I can
So I over think, whirling brain analyses a lot
But does that mean I’ve lost the plot
Others give up when they don’t understand
But I remain questioning an answer I demand
So does this really make me mad
Looking for answers that won’t be had
My mind it turns round and round
Searching for answers not to be found
When people leave and they move on
I my brain seeks to understand what Ive done wrong
However much I try to understand they don’t speak
But does that make me crazy and weak
I look at life and things happening in the world
And question if the truth, peace ever be heard
Some call me crazy that is true
And maybe I am still mad to you
But I guess at the end of the day
I’m me crazy like it or not I’m this way
Inasmuch As Ye Did It Not . . .
If Jesus came to London,
Came to London to-day,
He would not go to the West End,
He would come down our way;
He'd talk with the children dancing
To the organ out in the street,
And say he was their big Brother,
And give them something to eat.
He wouldn't go to the mansions
Where the charitable live;
He'd come to the tenement houses
Where we ain't got nothing to give.
He'd come so kind and so homely,
And treat us to beer and bread,
And tell us how we ought to behave;
And we'd try to mind what He said.
In the warm bright West End churches
They sing and preach and pray,
They call us 'Beloved brethren,'
But they do not act that way.
And when He came to the church door
He'd call out loud and free,
You stop that preaching and praying
And show what you've done for Me.'
Then they'd say, 'O Lord, we have given
To the poor both blankets and tracts,
And we've tried to make them sober,
And we've tried to teach them facts.
But they will sneak round to the drink-shop,
And pawn the blankets for beer,
And we find them very ungrateful,
But still we persevere.'
Then He would say, 'I told you
The time I was here before,
That you were all of you brothers,
All you that I suffered for.
I won't go into your churches,
I'll stop in the sun outside.
You bring out the men your brothers,
The men for whom I died!'
Out of our beastly lodgings,
From arches and doorways about,
They'd have to do as He told them,
They'd have to call us out.
Millions and millions and millions,
Thick and crawling like flies,
We should creep out to the sunshine
And not be afraid of His eyes.
He'd see what God's image looks like
When men have dealt with the same,
Wrinkled with work that is never done,
Swollen and dirty with shame.
He'd see on the children's forehead
The branded gutter-sign
That marks the girls to be harlots,
That dooms the boys to be swine.
Then He'd say, 'What's the good of churches
When these have nowhere to sleep?
And how can I hear you praying
When they are cursing so deep?
I gave My Blood and My Body
That they might have bread and wine,
And you have taken your share and theirs
Of these good gifts of mine!'
Then some of the rich would be sorry,
And all would be very scared,
And they'd say, 'But we never knew, Lord!'
And He'd say, 'You never cared!'
And some would be sick and shameful
Because they'd know that they knew,
And the best would say, 'We were wrong, Lord.
Now tell us what to do!'
I think He'd be sitting, likely,
For someone 'ud bring Him a chair,
With a common kid cuddled up on His knee
And the common sun on His hair;
And they'd be standing before Him,
And He'd say, 'You know that you knew.
Why haven't you worked for your brothers
The same as I worked for you?
'For since you're all of you brothers
It's clear as God's blessed sun
That each must work for the others,
Not thousands work for one.
And the ones that have lived bone-idle
If they want Me to hear them pray,
Let them go and work for their livings
The only honest way!
'I've got nothing new to tell you,
You know what I always said -
But you've built their bones into churches
And stolen their wine and bread;
You with My Name on your foreheads,
Liar, and traitor, and knave,
You have lived by the death of your brothers,
These whom I died to save!'
I wish He would come and say it;
Perhaps they'd believe it then,
And work like men for their livings
And let us work like men.
Brothers? They don't believe it,
The lie on their lips is red.
They'll never believe till He comes again,
Or till we rise from the dead!
poem by Edith Nesbit
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Round Midnight (feat. Andy Summers)
It begins to tell
Round midnight, round midnight
I do pretty well
'Til after sundown
Supper time, I'm feelin' sad
But it really gets bad
Round midnight
Mem'ries always start
Round midnight, round midnight
Haven't got the heart
To stand those memories
When my heart is still with you
And old midnight
Knows it too.
When some quarrel we've had needs mending
Does that mean that our love is ending?
Darling, I need you
Lately I find
You're out of my arms
And I'm out of my mind.
Let our hearts take wing
Round midnight, round midnight
Let the angels sing
For your returning
Let our love be safe and sound
'Til old midnight
Comes around
song performed by by Sting
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Palm Sunday
Ye whose hearts are beating high
With the pulse of Poesy,
Heirs of more than royal race,
Fram’d by Heaven’s peculiar grace,
God’s own work to do on earth,
(If the word be not too bold,)
Giving virtue a new birth,
And a life that ne’er grows old—
Sovereign masters of all hearts!
Know ye, who hath set your parts?
He who gave you breath to sing,
By whose strength ye sweep the string,
He hath chosen you, to lead
His Hosannas here below;—
Mount, and claim your glorious meed;
Linger not with sin and woe.
But if ye should hold your peace,
Deem not that the song would cease—
Angels round his glory-throne,
Stars, His guiding hand that own,
Flowers, that grow beneath our feet,
Stones in earth’s dark womb that rest,
High and low in choir shall meet,
Ere His Name shall be unblest.
Lord, by every minstrel tongue
Be thy praise so duly sung,
That thine angels’ harps may ne’er
Fail to find fit echoing here:
We the while, of meaner birth,
Who in that divinest spell
Dare not hope to join on earth,
Give us grace to listen well.
But should thankless silence seal
Lips, that might half Heaven reveal,
Should bards in idol-hymns profane
The sacred soul-enthralling strain,
(As in this bad world below
Nobles things find vilest using,)
Then, thy power and mercy shew,
In vile things noble breath infusing;
Then waken into sound divine
The very pavement of thy shrine,
Till we, like Heaven’s star-sprinkled floor,
Faintly give back what we adore.
Childlike though the voices be,
And untunable the parts,
Thou wilt own the minstrelsy,
If it flow from childlike hearts.
poem by John Keble
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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Old Virginia
Written by dan peek and catherine peek, 1975
Found on hearts.
Hey, honey, wont you sit down
And stop here for a spell
Singin the sweet old lullabies
To forget about your health
Dont think about tomorrow
Its a whole nights sleep away
Sure would be pleased to have you stay
And its reach out old virginia
Wont you rock him close to you
The poor boys had a hotel so long
He dont know what to do
Its time to come on home
And put your feet up for a while
So much travlin round tends to take away your smile
pears to me its all a body can do to stay in tune
And youve been strainin at those strings
From mornin till noon
So come on down and hang around
Itll put you right real soon
cause nothings changed
Its all the same
Reach out old virginia
Wont you rock him close to you
The poor boys had a hotel so long
He dont know what to do
Its time to come on home
And put your feet up for a while
So much travlin round can take away your smile
Reach out old virginia
Wont you rock him close to you
The poor boys had a hotel so long
He dont know what to do
Its time to come on home
And put your feet up for a while
So much travlin round can take away your smile
song performed by by America
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Gypsy Lou
by Bob Dylan
If you getcha one girl, better get two
Case you run into Gypsy Lou
She's a ramblin' woman with a ramblin' mind
Always leavin' somebody behind.
Hey, 'round the bend
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again.
Well, I seen the whole country through
Just to find Gypsy Lou
Seen it up, seen it down
Followin' Gypsy Lou around.
Hey, 'round the bend
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again.
Well, I gotta stop and take some rest
My poor feet are second best
My poor feet are wearin' thin
Gypsy Lou's gone again.
Hey, gone again
Gypsy Lou's 'round the bend
Gypsy Lou's 'round the bend.
Well, seen her up in old Cheyenne
Turned my head and away she ran
From Denver Town to Wichita
Last I heard she's in Arkansas.
Hey, 'round the bend
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Well, I tell you what if you what if you want to do
Tell you what, you'll wear out your shoes
If you want to wear out your shoes
Try and follow Gypsy Lou.
Hey, gone again
Gypsy Lou's 'round the bend
Gypsy Lou's 'round the bend.
Well, Gypsy Lou, I been told
Livin' down on Gallus Road
Gallus Road, Arlington
Moved away to Washington.
Hey, 'round the bend
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Well, I went down to Washington
Then she went to Oregon
I skipped the ground and hopped a train
She's back in Gallus Road again.
Hey, I can't win
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Well, the last I heard of Gypsy Lou
She's in a Memphis calaboose
She left one too many a boy behind
He committed suicide.
Hey, you can't win
Gypsy Lou's gone again
Gypsy Lou's gone again
song performed by by Bob Dylan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Midnight
1.
The night is clear and still. The moon rides high.
The green leaves whisper where the soft winds blow.
Above, the stars shine in a sapphire sky —
The city sleeps below.
2.
Sleeps? Nay. The million- fibred heart is wrung
With wild desire and ceaseless pain and fear.
Could its dumb anguish find a fitting tongue,
The very dead would hear.
3.
Under these quiet roofs, this silvery haze,
How many a captive spirit wakes and weeps!
How many a sorrow, hid from human gaze,
Each shadowy dwelling keeps!
4.
The struggling men, the lonely maids unwed,
The desolate mothers and the martyred wives,
The starving little ones that cry for bread,
Still live their suffering lives.
5.
Though moon shines fair and winds are breathing low —
Though the great dream-like city lies in light —
The smoke of all that seething human woe
Darkens my mind to- night.
6.
Brothers, for whom the world can find no place —
Brothers and sisters, born to want and wrong —
Born weak and maimed, to run a hopeless race
Against the hale and strong —
7.
How can I rest while they are racked with pain?
While they toil on with toil that cannot cease?
While hungry children wail for bread in vain,
How can I sleep in peace?
8.
Ah, hapless fate! To hope, to fail, to spend,
From chilling dawn till midnight shadows fall;
Perchance to gain no haven at the end —
No new world — after all!
9.
When poor, brief hopes and joys have passed away —
When the long toil is done and pain is past —
To reach the limit of life's little day,
And find naught else, at last
10.
When strength is spent, when soul and spirit sink —
With helpless hands outstretched and nerveless brain —
To stand alone upon that dreadful brink
And cry for light in vain!
11.
Poor mortal wanderers in immortal realms,
For whom no staff avails, no beacons shine!
My kindred soul their burden overwhelms —
My brothers' woes are mine.
12.
For me the night has come — the day is done —
A wall of darkness hides both sea and shore;
My little lamps have failed me, one by one —
I grope and crawl no more.
13.
Where am I? — oh, where am I? I can feel —
To feel my pain — but neither hear nor see;
My heart is faint, my brain begins to reel —
O God, speak Thou to me!
14.
Help me! Or, in Thy pity, take me hence
While feeling heart and thinking brain are whole —
Or give me any rag of carnal sense
To wrap my naked soul.
15.
Some common cloak of vulgar hopes and fears,
Some earth- spun veil, that shall be warm and stout
To keep this infinite Silence from mine ears —
To shut this Darkness out!
16.
The mocking moon shines on. The flowers are sweet.
The night is still. The winds are breathing balm.
The silver city clustered at my feet
Seems bathed in light and calm.
17.
But I? — I choke in this grief- laden air.
I turn and weep — I close my window now.
One voice breaks forth from my profound despair —
Beloved, where art thou?
18.
She sleeps. She stirs. She hears the lightest fall
Of my hushed footsteps on her chamber floor.
Her spirit answers to my spirit's call,
And I take heart once more.
19.
She draws me down upon that faithful breast;
I clasp her close — those sweetest lips I kiss —
And soul and body, in her arms at rest,
Swim in deep seas of bliss.
20.
She makes me strong with stronger Fate to cope —
Fresh fire to mine her beating pulses give.
O my true mate, in thee alone I hope!
In thee alone I live!
21.
O love, till blood is cold and brain is dust,
I can fight on — if thou wilt fight with me —
If I can shelter in thy truth and trust,
And bear life's woes with thee!
poem by Ada Cambridge
Submitted by Poetry Lover
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