GIUSEPPE VERDI
[Born in Duchy of Parma, Italy—1813-1901.]
The life of Verdi reads as well
As any fairy tale;
To interest a girl or boy
I'm sure it could not fail.
The stork brought him to Mother Earth
In time of dreadful strife.
Hid in an ancient church belfry
His mother saved his life.
And in this church which sheltered him
From cruel blood-thirsty men
He played as the church organist
When he was only ten.
The imps of evil troubled him
But fairies came along
To help him in his sorrows
Like the proverbial mother cat
Nine lives he seemed to have
And for each injury received
There always was some salve.
Into the water once he fell
And down he went times three
Then some one rescued this young lad
As if by Fate's decree.
The poor child yearned for music land
And also longed for bread.
And for a girdle round his waist
He often wore, 'tis said,
A bit of rope which he pulled taut
When hunger did assail.
And yet this lad all poorly clad
And weak and wan and pale
Forgot his hunger and his wants
When Music's tones he heard
In rippling of the waters bright,
Close to the fence of a rich man
Whose daughter played each night
Verdi when only six years old
Would listen with delight.
This hungry lad prayed often there
That some day he might own
A lovely spinet in whose keys
Were fairies' magic tones.
One night while it was raining hard
O'er the high fence he crawled
Of an Italian wealthy man,
Signor Barezzi called.
He heard the daughter sweetly play
A grand Beethoven air
And while he lay enraptured there
A coachman found his lair
And beat the poor starved youngster whom
He called a "dirty thief,"
And drove him from the music's reach
Despite the poor child's grief.
But on the next night Verdi went
Though filled with quaking fear
And crawled again beneath the fence
Sweet music there to hear.
And here Barezzi found the lad
As by the fence he lay
And took the boy into his home
To hear his daughter play.
He took an interest in this child
And placed him in a school
Where he could learn of music
Each necessary rule.
But disappointed he became
When all the teachers said
This boy who plays so queerly
Will never rank ahead;
As a musician of true worth
He cannot hold his own
And in Apollo's circle
And so discouraged, this poor lad
Became a grocer boy
Though every night he practised hard—
This was his only joy.
And then quite foolishly alas
The grocer's daughter wed
And two small children came to him;
For them there was no bread,
And his young wife and children too
From dreadful hunger died
Just when his first great opera
Most loudly was decried
And he himself hissed off the stage.
No wonder that he thought
This life for him with sorrow's face
Forever would be fraught,
And it were better now to cross
The Border-Land's dark path
Through Suicide's short awful route
Than live 'neath dark Fate's wrath.
But after two sad dreary years
Of darkness and despair
His operas succeeded
And life seemed much more fair.
He married a good second wife
And wealthy he became;
Legion of Honor given him
Was added to his fame.
In the Italian parliament
Verdi received a seat
And many other honors great
Were cast down at his feet.
While his Il Trovatore great
When first 'twas sung in Rome
Became so very popular
'Twas heard in every home,
And e'en to-day in every land
This opera is played
And glory for its author
Will never, never fade.
The name Giuseppe Verdi
Stands for composer great
And one whose heart was ever filled
With love instead of hate.
But one bad fault this genius had
Of flying into fits,
And in great anger once he broke
And when he taught his pupils
He often boxed their ears,
So of the music master
Their hearts were filled with fears.
But he was always good and kind
To all the poor and weak,
And to help his fellow men
He would ever seek.
And when his works brought fame and wealth
Barezzi's house he bought,
Tore down the fence and made the grounds
Into a music lot.
And there this benefactor
Invited one and all
To come on every pleasant night
And hear Apollo's call.