POEM

Songs from the Plays - "When that I was and a little tiny boy"

by William Shakespeare

When that I was and a little tiny boy,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
A foolish thing was but a toy,
    For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came to man’s estate,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
’Gainst knaves and thieves men shut their gate,
    For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came, alas! to wive,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
By swaggering could I never thrive,
    For the rain it raineth every day.

But when I came unto my beds,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
With toss-pots still had drunken heads,
    For the rain it raineth every day.

A great while ago the world begun,
    With hey, ho, the wind and the rain,
But that’s all one, our play is done,
    And we’ll strive to please you every day.

 William  Shakespeare

Actor, dramatist, and poet, William Shakespeare (1564-1616) is the most highly regarded . . . MORE »

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Sonnet LXIV: When I have Seen by Time's Fell Hand Defaced

Sonnet CIX: O! never say that I was false of heart

Hearke, Hearke, the Larke at Heauens Gate Sings

Sonnet LXXIII: That Time of Year thou mayst in me Behold

Sonnet XVIII: Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?

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