The Owl and the Pussycat

Lyrics: Edward Lear (1871)\  Music: Farewell Sweet Lovely Nancy (Trad)


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\performance{Sing it in A; works well with multi-part harmony.}

The words here are as Lear wrote them, not as I (and Oak, Ash, and Thorn) sing them. Leave off the italicized repeats (i.e., ``You are,/You are...'').

G C G
The  Owl and the Pussy-cat w ent to s ea
D7 G
In a beautiful p ea green b oat,
C G
They took some honey, and pl enty of m oney,
D7 G
Wrapped up in a f ive pound n ote.
C G C G C
The  Owl l ooked up t o the st ars ab ove,
G C G D7
  And s ang t o a small guit ar,
G C G
'O l ovely Pussy! O P ussy my l ove,
D7 G
What a beautiful P ussy you  are,
You are, You are!What a beautiful Pussy you are!'

Pussy said to the Owl, 'You elegant fowl!
How charmingly sweet you sing!
O let us be married! too long we have tarried:
But what shall we do for a ring?'
They sailed away, for a year and a day,
To the land where the Bong-tree grows
And there in a wood a Piggy-wig stood
With a ring at the end of his nose,
His nose, His nose,With a ring at the end of his nose.

'Dear pig, are you willing to sell for one shilling
Your ring?' Said the Piggy, 'I will.'
So they took it away, and were married next day
By the Turkey who lives on the hill.
They dined on mince, and slices of quince,
Which they ate with a runcible spoon;
And hand in hand, on the edge of the sand,
They danced by the light of the moon,
The moon, The moon,They danced by the light of the moon.

For the moment we'll forego speculation about what kind of produce one gets from a Bong-tree.