Songs

The little old table

by Benjamin Britten From Winter Words (1953) Op. 52

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Text

The little old table
English source: Thomas Hardy

Creak, little wood thing, creak,
When I touch you with elbow or knee;
That is the way you speak
Of the one who gave you to me!

You, little table, she brought—
brought me with her own hand,
As she looked at me with a thought:
That I did not understand.

—Whoever owns it anon,
And hears it, will never know
What a history hangs upon
This creak from long ago.

Composer

Benjamin Britten

Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British classical music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music,…

Poet

Thomas Hardy

Thomas Hardy (2 June 1840 – 11 January 1928) was an English novelist and poet. A Victorian realist in the tradition of George Eliot, he was influenced both in his novels and in his poetry by Romanticism, especially William Wordsworth. He was highly…

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