quote · Legacy record
Merry, merry little stream, Tell me, hast thou seen my dear? I left him with an azure dream, Calmly sleeping on his bier— But he has fled! “I passed him in his churchyard bed— A yew is sighing o’er his head, And grass-roots mingle with his hair.” What doth he there? O cruel, can he lie alone? Or in the arms of one more dear? Or hides he in that bower of stone, To cause, and kiss away my fear? “He doth not speak, he doth not moan— Blind, motionless, he lies alone; But, ere the grave-snake fleshed his sting, This one warm tear he bade me bring And lay it at thy feet Among the daisies sweet.” Moonlight whisperer, summer air, Songster of the groves above, Tell the maiden rose I wear Whether thou hast seen my love. “This night in heaven I saw him lie, Discontented with his bliss; And on my lips he left this kiss, For thee to taste and then to die.”
Merry, merry little stream, Tell me, hast thou seen my dear? I left him with an azure dream, Calmly sleeping on his bier— But he has fled! “I passed him in his churchyard bed— A yew is sighing o’er his head, And grass-roots mingle with his hair.” What doth he there? O cruel, can he lie alone? Or in the arms of one more dear? Or hides he in that bower of stone, To cause, and kiss away my fear? “He doth not speak, he doth not moan— Blind, motionless, he lies alone; But, ere the grave-snake fleshed his sting, This one warm tear he bade me bring And lay it at thy feet Among the daisies sweet.” Moonlight whisperer, summer air, Songster of the groves above, Tell the maiden rose I wear Whether thou hast seen my love. “This night in heaven I saw him lie, Discontented with his bliss; And on my lips he left this kiss, For thee to taste and then to die.”
In print by 1921 AD · modern
Recorded in a printed collection by this date; the original date of these words is still unknown.
Meaning not yet available
An individual explanation has not yet been added. We do not substitute a generic description for an interpretation of these particular words.
Begin with source-checked readings and explanations ↗Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- T. L. Beddoes (identity unresolved)
Attribution: unknown - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- In print by 1921 AD · modern
In print by 1921: recorded in My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921). Collection publication is an upper bound for this wording, not its earliest origin, composition date or the author's lifetime.
An author lifetime, approximate period or collection date is not necessarily the date when these words were first written or spoken. - Recorded source
- My Commonplace Book (third English edition,1921) (1921 AD)
Page 157 · printed citation: T. L. Beddoes (1803-1849). · compiler notes excluded
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.