SOUTHDOWN SONG.
1
“When the sheep are on the hill,
In the early summer day,
They may wander at their will,
While I go myself astray.
Chorus (sustained by sheep and Jack).
We may wander at our will,
While you go to sleep, or play!
2
“If the May wind hath an edge
Rather winterly and cold,
I shall sit beneath a hedge,
While they wander o’er the wold.
Chorus (by the same performers).
There you sit beneath the hedge,
Singing like a minstrel bold!
3
“Should ill-natured people say
That I loiter, or do ill,
Pick a hole in me they may—
When they see me through the hill.
Chorus.
If they catch you at your play,
Whip you merrily they will.
4
“Playful creatures grow not old;
Play is healthy nature’s pledge.
’Tis the dull heart gives the hold
For the point of trouble’s wedge.
Chorus.
These reflections are as old
As the saws of rush and sedge.
5
“Frisky lambkins in the grass,
Mint and pepper, if they spy,
Do they weep, and cry ‘alas!’?
Nay, but whisk their tails on high.
Chorus.
Weep, indeed, and cry ‘alas!’
Sooner you, than we or I.
6
“Look, how soon the shadows pass,
How the sun hath chased the gloom!
If our life is only grass—
Grass is where the flowers bloom.
Chorus.
If we mainly live on grass,
Many a flower we consume.”
And so may we leave them singing.