Thomas Humphry Ward, ed. The English Poets. 1880–1918.rnVol. V. Browning to Rupert Brooke

Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837–1909)

Extracts from Poems and Ballads, Third Series: A Reiver’s Neck-Verse

SOME die singing, and some die swinging,

And weel mot a’ they be:

Some die playing, and some die praying,

And I wot sae winna we, my dear,

And I wot sae winna we.

Some die sailing, and some die wailing,

And some die fair and free:

Some die flyting, and some die fighting,

But I for a fause love’s fee, my dear,

But I for a fause love’s fee.

Some die laughing, and some die quaffing,

And some die high on tree:

Some die spinning, and some die sinning,

But faggot and fire for ye, my dear,

Faggot and fire for ye.

Some die weeping, and some die sleeping,

And some die under the sea:

Some die ganging, and some die hanging,

And a twine of a tow for me, my dear,

A twine of a tow for me.