by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll
Translation by Henri Bué (1843 - 1929)
You are old, father William," the young...
Language: English
"You are old, father William," the young man said, "And your hair has become very white; And yet you incessantly stand on your head-- Do you think, at your age, it is right?" "In my youth," father William replied to his son, "I feared it might injure the brain; But now that I'm perfectly sure I have none, Why, I do it again and again." "You are old," said the youth, "as I mentioned before, And have grown most uncommonly fat; Yet you turned a back-somersault in at the door-- Pray what is the reason of that?" "In my youth," said the sage, as he shook his grey locks, "I kept all my limbs very supple By the use of this ointment--one shilling the box-- Allow me to sell you a couple?" "You are old," said the youth, "and your jaws are to weak For anything tougher than suet; Yet you finished the goose, with the bones and the beak-- Pray, how did you manage to do it?" "In my youth," said his father, "I took to the law, And argued each case with my wife; And the muscular strength, which it gave to my jaw, Has lasted the rest of my life." "You are old," said the youth, "one would hardly suppose That your eye was as steady as ever; Yet you balanced an eel on the end of your nose-- What made you so awfully clever?" "I have answered three questions, and that is enough," Said the father. "Don't give yourself airs! Do you think I can listen all day to such stuff? Be off, or I'll kick you down stairs!"
About the headline (FAQ)
Note: this text is a parody of Robert Southey's The Old Man's Comforts and How he Gained Them.Authorship:
- by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, no title, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, London, Macmillan ; chapter 5, first published 1865 [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):
- by Richard Farber (b. 1945), "You Are Old, Father William", 2020 [ voice and piano ], from Songs on Verse by Lewis Carroll, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Derek Healey (b. 1936), "You are old, Father William", op. 136 no. 4 (2014) [ mezzo-soprano or baritone and piano ], from Alice: Five Lewis Carroll Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Liza Lehmann (1862 - 1918), "You Are Old, Father William", published 1908 [ vocal duet for tenor and bass ], from Nonsense Songs: The Songs That Came Out Wrong, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Henri Bué) , no title
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2004-04-27
Line count: 32
Word count: 273
Vous êtes vieux, Père William, dit le...
Language: French (Français)  after the English
« Vous êtes vieux, Père William, dit le jeune homme, Et vos cheveux sont devenus très blancs ; Sur la tête pourtant vous continuez à marcher Est-ce bien raisonnable, à votre âge, vraiment ? » « Dans ma jeunesse, répondit Père William à son fils, Je craignais que cela ne m’abîme le cerveau ; Mais, maintenant, je suis convaincu de ne pas en avoir, Je peux donc faire cet exercice, encore et encore. » « Vous êtes vieux, dit le jeune, comme je vous l’ai déjà dit, Et vous êtes devenu extraordinairement gros ; Pourtant, vous franchissez la porte d’un saut périlleux arrière… Je vous en prie, quelle la raison de tout cela ? » « Dans ma jeunesse, dit le vénérable, en remuant ses mèches grises, Je conservais la souplesse de mes membres Par la vertu de cet onguent : un shilling la boite ; Permets-moi de t’en vendre deux. » « Vous êtes vieux, dit le jeune, et vos mâchoires sont trop faibles Pour tout ce qui est plus dur que le beurre ; Et pourtant vous avez mangé l’oie, avec le bec et les os… Je vous en prie, comment avez-vous réussi à faire cela ? » « Dans ma jeunesse, dit le Père, je faisais dans le Droit, Et argumentais toutes les choses de la vie, avec ma femme ; La force musculaire que ma mâchoire a ainsi acquise, A duré toute ma vie. » « Vous êtes vieux, dit le jeune, et nul ne pourrait supposer Que votre vue est aussi bonne que dans le temps ; Sur le bout de votre nez, pourtant, vous tenez en équilibre une anguille… Qu’est ce qui vous a fait si habile ? » « J’ai répondu à trois questions, et cela suffit, Dit le père ; ne te donnes pas des airs ! Penses-tu que je peux écouter chaque jour de telles bêtises ? Files ! Ou je te fais descendre les escaliers avec mon pied ! »
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Henri Bué (1843 - 1929), no title [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Based on:
- a text in English by Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (1832 - 1898), as Lewis Carroll, no title, appears in Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, London, Macmillan ; chapter 5, first published 1865
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- [ None yet in the database ]
Researcher for this page: Guy Laffaille [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website: 2016-04-12
Line count: 32
Word count: 330