'I'm tired -- oh, tired of books,' said Jack, 'I long for meadows green, And woods where shadowy violets Nod their cool leaves between; I long to see the ploughman stride His darkening acres o'er, To hear the hoarse sea-waters drive Their billows 'gainst the shore; I long to watch the sea-mew wheel Back to her rock-perched mate; Or, where the breathing cows are housed, Lean dreaming o'er the gate. Something has gone, and ink and print Will never bring it back; I long for the green fields again, I'm tired of books,' said Jack.
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Confirmed with Peacock Pie. A Book of Rhymes by Walter de la Mare, London: Constable & Co. Ltd., [1920], p. 64
Authorship:
- by Walter De la Mare (1873 - 1956), "The bookworm", appears in Peacock Pie: A Book of Rhymes, in 2. Boys and Girls, no. 9, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time 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):
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Researcher for this page: Sharon Krebs [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2014-02-25
Line count: 16
Word count: 94