Bredon Hill
by
A.E. Housman |
| In summertime on Bredon |
| The bells they sound so clear; |
| Round both the shires they ring them |
| In steeples far and near, |
A happy noise to hear.
|
| Here of a Sunday morning |
| My love and I would lie, |
| And see the coloured counties, |
| And hear the larks so high |
About us in the sky.
|
| The bells would ring to call her |
| In valleys miles away: |
| ‘Come all to church, good people; |
| Good people, come and pray.’ |
But here my love would stay.
|
| And I would turn and answer |
| Among the springing thyme, |
| ‘Oh, peal upon our wedding, |
| And we will hear the chime, |
And come to church in time.’
|
| But when the snows at Christmas |
| On Bredon top were strown, |
| My love rose up so early |
| And stole out unbeknown |
And went to church alone.
|
|
They tolled the one bell only, |
|
Groom there was none to see, |
|
The mourners followed after, |
|
And so to church went she, |
And would not wait for me.
|
|
The bells they sound on Bredon, |
|
And still the steeples hum. |
|
'Come all to church, good people,' - |
|
Oh, noisy bells, be dumb; |
I hear you, I will come.
|
|
A.E. Housman |
Classic Poems |
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[ Bredon Hill ] [ Clunton and Clunbury ] [ 'Is my team ploughing ] [ Parta Quies ] [ On Wenlock Edge the wood's in trouble; ] [ Loveliest of trees, the cherry now ] [ The Merry Guide ] [ 'Tis time, I think by Wenlock Town ] [ When I came last to Ludlow ] [ When I was one-and-twenty ] |
