by Anonymous / Unidentified Author
A grasshopper and a fly
Language: English
Available translation(s): HEB
A grasshopper and a fly, In summer hot and dry, In eager argument were met About, about priority. Says the fly to the grasshopper: "From mighty race I spring, Bright Phoebus was my dad 'tis known, And I eat and drink with a king." Says the grasshopper to the fly: "Such rogues are still preferr'd; Your father might be of high degree, But your mother was but a turd." So, rebel Jemmy Scott, That did to the empire soar, His father might be the Lord knows what, But his mother we knew a whore, A whore, a whore, a whore.
Note (from Ehud Shapiro): James "Jemmy" Scott, the first Duke of Monmouth was the eldest -- and probably favourite -- of Charles II's twelve bastard children. When Charles II brother was elected to succeed him as James II, he led a rebellion against his uncle. He lost and got beheaded (after 6 failed trials with the ax so they say). Brave Purcell published this song in support of Jemmy's uncle one year after Jemmy's deafeat and death.
Researcher for this page: Ehud Shapiro
Authorship:
- by Anonymous / Unidentified Author [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Henry Purcell (1658/9 - 1695), "A grasshopper and a fly", Z. 481 (1686). [text verified 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations, and transliterations (if applicable):
- HEB Hebrew (עברית) (Ehud Shapiro) , title 1: "צרצר ויתוש", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Ehud Shapiro
This text was added to the website: 2014-01-25
Line count: 17
Word count: 100