A Parody on “A Psalm of Life”
Life is real, life is earnest,
And the shell is not its pen –
“Egg thou art, and egg remainest”
Was not spoken of the hen.
Art is long and Time is fleeting,
Be our bills then sharpened well,
And not like muffled drums be beating
On the inside of the shell.
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the great barnyard of life,
Be not like those lazy cattle!
Be a rooster in the strife!
Lives of roosters all remind us,
We can make our lives sublime,
And when roasted, leave behind us,
Hen tracks on the sands of time.
Hen tracks that perhaps another
Chicken drooping in the rain,
Some forlorn and henpecked brother,
When he sees, shall crow again.
poem by Oliver Wendell Holmes
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Related quotes
Voices Of The Night : A Psalm Of Life
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! -
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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The Psalm Of Life
What the heart of the young man said to the psalmist
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!--
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act,--act in the living present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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A Psalm of Life
Tell me not in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream!
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou are, to dust thou returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each tomorrow
Find us farther than today.
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
In the world's broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
Trust no Future, howe'er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act, - act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o'erhead!
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sand of time;
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o'er life's solenm main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
Let us then be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
poem by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
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Little Red Rooster
All right, listen now. at this time I would like to introduce a friend of ours,
A very talented guy named john sebastian. come on man.
Man, thats what I call a new york joint, man!
You can pick your teeth with a new york joint!
Well, Im the little red rooster
Too lazy to crow the day.
Little red rooster
Too lazy to crow the day.
Keep everything in the barnyard
Upset in every way.
Dogs begin to bark
The hounds begin to howl.
Dogs begin to bark and
The hounds begin to howl.
Look out strange cat people
The roosters on the prowl.
Yeah, dogs begin to bark
The hounds begin to howl.
Dogs begin to bark
The hounds begin to howl.
Look out strange cat people
Yeah, the roosters on the prowl.
If you see my rooster
Come on man, drive him home.
See my rooster, babe
Come on man, drive him home.
Aint been no peace in the barnyard
Since my little red rooster been gone.
Well, Im the little red rooster, babe
Too lazy to crow the day.
Well, Im the little red rooster, babe
Too lazy to crow the day.
Keep everything in the barnyard
Upset in every way.
song performed by by Doors
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Born In Baryards
Born in barnyards, see how roosters strut,
searching for a hen that is a slut.
Wherever men are born they do not care
about most women till they see them bare.
Their eyes that flash like moonshine look around
like roosters for a hen, and once they’ve found
a bird they like they do not need to beg,
and leave her long before she’s laid an egg.
Roosters in the morning crow in time
to wake their counterparts who’re with a hen,
ridiculous sometimes, sometimes sublime,
like roosters always, born as barnyard men.
poem by Gershon Hepner (19 September 2008)
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Lives of great men all remind us, we can make our lives sublime, and, departing, leave behind us, footprints on the sands of time.
quote by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Dont Leave Her Lonely Too Long
(kostas/marty stuart)
Well my friend you ask me what to do
If I were you, and feeling blue
I know inside that you still care
You want her here, but shes out there
Dont leave her lonely too long
cause shell be gone, gone, gone
Dont leave her lonely too long
cause shell be gone, gone, gone
You still have time to change her mind
She needs to know, the way you feel
And there could be no better time
Youve got to show her your love is real
Dont leave her lonely too long
cause shell be gone, gone, gone
Dont leave her lonely too long
cause shell be gone, gone, gone
Theres strangers waiting in line
To take your place and leave you behind
And then too late youll change your mind
Your heart will break a million times
Dont leave her lonely too long
cause shell be gone, gone, gone
Dont leave her lonely too long
cause shell be gone, gone, gone
Shell be gone, gone, gone
song performed by by Gary Allan
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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A Psalm of Labouring Life
Tell me not, in doctored numbers,
Life is but a name for work!
For the labour that encumbers
Me I wish that I could shirk.
Life is phony! Life is rotten!
And the wealthy have no soul;
Why should you be picking cotton,
Why should I be mining coal?
Not employment and not sorrow
Is my destined end or way;
But to act that each tomorrow
Finds me idler than today.
Work is long, and plutes are lunching;
Money is the thing I crave;
But my heart continues punching
Funeral time-clocks to the grave.
In the world's uneven battle,
In the swindle known as life,
Be not like the stockyard's cattle--
Stick your partner with the knife!
Trust no boss, however pleasant!
Capital is but a curse!
Strike,--strike in the living present!
Fill, oh fill the bulging purse.!
Lives of strikers all remind us
We can make our lives a crime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Bills for double overtime.
Charges that, perhaps another,
Working for a stingy ten
Bucks a day, some mining brother
Seeing, shall walk out again.
Let us, then, be up and striking,
Discontent with all of it;
Still undoing, still disliking,
Learn to labour--and to quit.
poem by Franklin P. Adams
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Tracks We Leave Behind
In a hundred years from now
when we are not around,
I wonder if we’ll be remembered
for the tracks we leave behind,
our legacy for our short time here.
Will our meagre efforts
be rewarded with immortal fame
or will they be extinguished
like the candles flame?
We can only live in hope.
One day in the distant future
will a student over our work ponder
of how our life was reflected
in the tracks we leave behind
and the confusion we sometimes feel.
Let’s hope that future student
sees all our love within
the words we carefully chose
to represent our life
in the tracks we leave behind.
10 November 2011
poem by David Harris
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Little Red Rooster
(dixon)
I am the little red rooster
Too lazy to crow for day
I am the little red rooster
Too lazy to crow for day
Keep everything in the farm yard upset in every way
The dogs begin to bark and hounds begin to howl
Dogs begin to bark and hounds begin to howl
Watch out strange cat people
Little red roosters on the prowl
If you see my little red rooster
Please drive him home
If you see my little red rooster
Please drive him home
Aint had no peace in the farm yard
Since my little red roosters been gone
song performed by by Rolling Stones
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Little Red Rooster
I am the little red rooster, too lazy to crow today
I am the little red rooster, too lazy to crow today
Keep everything in the farmyard
Upset in evry way
The dogs begin to barkin, hounds begin to howl
Dogs begin to barkin, hounds begin to howl
Watch out strange cat people
Little red roosters on the prowl
If you see my little red rooster, please drive him home
If you see my little red rooster, please drive him home
Aint no peace in the farmyard
Since my little red roosters been gone
song performed by by Bryan Adams
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Time And Space
space is like an eggwhite
enclosing a
yellow yolk of this
chicken egg,
time grows and becomes
the chick
and it may become a hen or a rooster
but there is this element
of growing up which we call time,
time too dies, like that rooster
ran-over by a car,
the car is fate, and
fate is always acceptable as a
comfortable explanation,
the explanation becomes
your key and you switch it on
to make things move
time moves, and this time
becomes the key that strikes
the ignition to make the engine move and so
and the engine becomes your life,
and your life moves to places and travels on events of history
and sees the strips of a film of trees and post
streamlining your forehead
against a glass window
but your life can be so stagnant inside
a prison, this emptiness and this hollow space
becomes your garage, you stay put
you refuse to be free
and you are the door with lock and key.
there are many more, but this
time, time becomes so short, like
a yelping puppy.
poem by Ric S. Bastasa
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When A Woman Loves A Man
when the stars are in her eyes,
and the sun is in her smile,
the only moment in my life,
that happens the same time,
is when a woman loves a man,
she'd be a mother and our child
sacrifice the days and nights,
and the world
shed put her life in every kiss
when a woman loves a man
and youll be amazed how
when you stumble in,
shell fight for you,
and wont let you give in,
shell do all that she can,
when a woman loves a man
a soothing breeze always blows,
somebody understands another soul,
its like the planet of our lives,
ever since this has arrived
when a woman loves a man
oh youll be amazed how
when you need her there,
shell fight for you,
every minute till the end,
shell do all that she can,
when a woman loves a man,
its the greatest gift of all
hoping that ill convince that i can catch you when you fall
song performed by by Westlife
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet: ’Tis Heaven’s Way
Who says that Keats could have writ even more,
If he were given longer lease of life?
No one can say when we exit Earth’s door;
Our performance improves with added strife.
For, what is predestined, we do not know;
We function freely in the time given;
To sufferings, our achievements, we owe
And reach a state of life Will-power driven.
Yet, time is precious, we must hurry up;
The thief called death may come at any time,
When we must leave, deserting our life’s cup;
The lucky few had made their lives sublime.
Great things men do when Heaven gives the ‘go, ’
Big dreams get shattered if the Lord says ‘no.’
poem by John Celes
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The Sea Limits
Consider the sea's listless chime;
Time's self it is, made audible -
The murmur of the earth's own shell.
Secret continuance sublime
Is the sea's end: our sight may pass
No furlong further. Since time was,
This sound hath told the lapse of time.
No quiet, which is death's -it hath
The mournfulness of ancient life,
Enduring always at dull strife.
As the world's heart of rest and wrath,
Its painful pulse is in the sands.
Last utterly, the whole sky stands
Grey and not known, along its path.
poem by Dante Gabriel Rossetti
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She Used To Say That To Me
Lets take a rest
Your kisses take my breath
You are the best
Its never been like this
Chorus:
She used to say that to me
Over and over so sweet
Shell tell you shell never leave
She used to say that to me
It thrills you so
When she whispers soft and low
Please hold me tight
I need your love tonight
Repeat Chorus
Im yours, she sighs
And she means it at the time
But someday shell go
If youre wonderin how I know
She used to say that to me
Over and over so sweet
Shell tell you shell never leave
She used to say that
She used to say that to me
Over and over so sweet
Shell tell you shell never leave
She used to say that to me
She used to say that to me
song performed by by George Strait
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Living Inside Myself
In my life
Ive felt so self assured
But suddenly its all changed
Shes a cloud
That hangs above my world
And I find myself wondring in the rain
And now I cant go on
cause I am lost
Living inside myself
Living inside this shell
Living outside your love
I am lost
Somewhere inside my own dreams
Afraid of what life really means
Living without your love
I need a guiding light
To shine on my darkest days
I was young, and time was on my side
But like a fool I let it slip away
And now those days are gone
And I am lost
Living inside myself
Living inside this shell
Living outside your love
I am lost
Somewhere inside my own dreams
Afraid of what life really means
Living without your love
In my life
Ive felt so self-assured
But oh how all the seasons change
And now Im not that strong
cause I am lost
Living inside myself
Living inside this hell
Living outside your love
I am lost
Somewhere inside my own dreams
Afraid of what life really means
Living without your love
I am lost
Living inside myself
Living inside this shell
Living outside your love
I am lost
song performed by by Gino Vanelli
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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I Go Back
Jack and Diane" painted a picture of my life and my dreams,
Suddenly this crazy world made more sense to me
Well I heard it today and I couldn't help but sing along
Cause everytime I hear that song...
I go back to a two toned short bed Chevy
Drivin my first love out to the levvy
Livin life with no sense of time
And I go back to the feel of a fifty yard line
A blanket, a girl, some raspberry wine
Wishin time would stop right in its tracks
Everytime I hear that song, I go back
I used to rock all night long to "Keep On Rockin Me Baby"
Frat parties, college bars, just tryin to impress the ladies
I heard it today and I couldn't help but sing along
Cause everytime I hear that song....
I go back to the smell of an old gym floor
The taste of salt on the Carolina shore
After graduation and drinkin goodbye to friends
And I go back to watchin summer fade to fall
Growin up too fast and I do recall
Wishin time would stop right in its tracks
Everytime I hear that song, I go back, I go back
We all have a song that somehow stamped our lives
Takes us to another place and time
So I go back to a pew,preacher, and a choir
Singin bout God, brimstone, and fire
And the smell of Sunday chicken after church
And I go back to the loss of a real good friend
And the sixteen summers I shared with him
Now "Only The Good Die Young" stops me in my tracks
Everytime I hear that song, I go back....
song performed by by Kenny Chesney
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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Sonnet: About God
I know Thou art the most Supreme Being;
For long a time, I’ve known this true feeling;
At any time, my life may have to go;
When Thou bid me come, I will never know.
Thou must protect me God from all evil,
The ones perpetrated by the devil;
Thou knowst my life and strife too well on earth,
The temptations, I came under since birth.
No man ever lives by his toil alone!
Equally matter, God’s words and His tone;
All words uttered in scriptures surely stay;
O God, to live as per Thy code, I pray.
What a magnificent world, Thou gave me,
To live a while and earn Eternity!
poem by John Celes
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Crow Black Chicken
(laurence wilson)
Well, I went on the mountain
And I gave my horn a blow
Thought I heard some purty gal say
Yonder come my beau
Crow black chicken and crow for a day
Crow black chicken and fly away
Crow black chicken and-a ...
I like chicken pie
Well, the hardest work that ever I done
Is plowin a field of rye
The easiest work that ever I done
Was eatin chicken pie
Chicken crow for midnight
And chicken crow for a day
Along come an owl, lord, have mercy
And stole my chicken away
song performed by by Ry Cooder
Submitted by Lucian Velea
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