Arthur Quiller-Couch, ed. 1919. The Oxford Book of English Verse: 1250–1900.
James Hogg. 17701835513. A Boy’s Song
WHERE the pools are bright and deep, | |
Where the grey trout lies asleep, | |
Up the river and over the lea, | |
That ‘s the way for Billy and me. | |
Where the blackbird sings the latest, | 5 |
Where the hawthorn blooms the sweetest, | |
Where the nestlings chirp and flee, | |
That ‘s the way for Billy and me. | |
Where the mowers mow the cleanest, | |
Where the hay lies thick and greenest, | 10 |
There to track the homeward bee, | |
That ‘s the way for Billy and me. | |
Where the hazel bank is steepest, | |
Where the shadow falls the deepest, | |
Where the clustering nuts fall free, | 15 |
That ‘s the way for Billy and me. | |
Why the boys should drive away | |
Little sweet maidens from the play, | |
Or love to banter and fight so well, | |
That ‘s the thing I never could tell. | 20 |
But this I know, I love to play | |
Through the meadow, among the hay; | |
Up the water and over the lea, | |
That ‘s the way for Billy and me. |