Songs
Sir Walter Raleigh to His Sonne
by Dmitri Shostakovich From Six Romances on Verses by British Poets (1942) Op. 62
If you would like to use our texts and translations, please click here for more information.
Text
Sir Walter Raleigh to His Sonne
source:
Walter Raleigh
Three things there be that prosper up apace
And flourish, while they grow asunder far,
But on a day, they meet all in a place,
And when they meet, they one another mar;
And they be these: the wood, the weed, the wag.
The wood is that which makes the gallows tree;
The weed is that which strings the hangman’s bag;
The wag, my pretty knave, betokeneth thee.
Now mark well, dear boy, while these assemble not,
Green springs the tree, hemp grows, the wag is wild,
But when they meet, it makes the timber rot,
It frets the halter, and it chokes the child.
Then bless thee, and beware, and let us pray
We part not with thee at this meeting day.
And flourish, while they grow asunder far,
But on a day, they meet all in a place,
And when they meet, they one another mar;
And they be these: the wood, the weed, the wag.
The wood is that which makes the gallows tree;
The weed is that which strings the hangman’s bag;
The wag, my pretty knave, betokeneth thee.
Now mark well, dear boy, while these assemble not,
Green springs the tree, hemp grows, the wag is wild,
But when they meet, it makes the timber rot,
It frets the halter, and it chokes the child.
Then bless thee, and beware, and let us pray
We part not with thee at this meeting day.
Composer
Dmitri Shostakovich
Dmitri Shostakovich was a Russian composer and pianist. He achieved fame in the Soviet Union, although later developed a more complex and difficult relationship with the government. As a composer, he combined a variety of different musical…
