Pages

Friday, May 30, 2014

Poetry Friday: Sumer


SUMER IS ICUMEN IN

Sumer is icumen in,
Lhude sing, cuccu;
Groweth sed
and bloweth med,
And springth the wode nu;
Sing, cuccu!

Awe bleteth after lomb,
Lhouth after calue cu;
Bulluc sterteth,
Bucke uerteth,

Murie sing, cuccu!
Cuccu, cuccu,
Wel singes thu, cuccu;
Ne swic thu naver nu.

Sing, cuccu, nu; sing, cuccu;
Sing, cuccu; sing, cuccu, nu!



I won't make you click through for the translation from Middle English:

Summer has arrived,
Loudly sing, cuckoo!
The seed is growing
And the meadow is blooming,
And the wood is coming into leaf now,
Sing, cuckoo!

The ewe is bleating after her lamb,
The cow is lowing after her calf;
The bullock is prancing,
The billy-goat farting,

Sing merrily, cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo,
You sing well, cuckoo,
Never stop now.

Sing, cuckoo, now; sing, cuckoo;
Sing, cuckoo; sing, cuckoo, now!



And here it is, sung as a round:





Diane has this week's Poetry Friday roundup at Random Noodling.



13 comments:

  1. Happy Sumer! Enjoy the last days of school, too!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:09 AM

    Happy Sumer Summer Sommer!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This takes me back to grad school. My professor did a good job of reciting it, but until today I'd never heard it sung.

    Happy Summer!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Lovely song! Thanks for sharing it.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Wonderful! Merrily I toast this post of Sumer!

    ReplyDelete
  6. Today was our last day of work. Next week is play and celebrations and goodbyes. Love that you chose these merry words to celebrate, Mary Lee.

    ReplyDelete
  7. One of my favorite classes in college, that good ol' medieval English lit...
    Thanks for the Sumer wishes, and warmest, creative wishes sent your way!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Cuckoo, Cuckoo makes me think of The Sound of Music, a happy sound. Happy Summer!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Happy summer to you! And thank you for sharing the round. It made me smile. I think I will bookmark this and come back when I need to be cheered.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I didn't know how much I love Middle English poetry. What a treat. Thank you! Happy Summer!

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'm saving this one to play to myself on June 20th.! Hooray for you that summer has arrived.

    ReplyDelete
  12. That's brilliant! Enjoy the summer Mary Lee.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wonderful video! "Make a joyful noise."

    ReplyDelete

Comment moderation is turned on.