The Voice of the Sluggard

Feeling a little sluggish after the festive season? There is a song for you if the condition persists.

The Sluggard

'Tis the voice of the sluggard; I heard him complain,
"You have waked me too soon, I must slumber again."
As the door on its hinges, so he on his bed,
Turns his sides and his shoulders and his heavy head.

"A little more sleep, and a little more slumber;"
Thus he wastes half his days, and his hours without number,
And when he gets up, he sits folding his hands,
Or walks about sauntering, or trifling he stands.

I pass'd by his garden, and saw the wild brier,
The thorn and the thistle grow broader and higher;
The clothes that hang on him are turning to rags;
And his money still wastes till he starves or he begs.

I made him a visit, still hoping to find
That he took better care for improving his mind:
He told me his dreams, talked of eating and drinking;
But scarce reads his Bible, and never loves thinking.

Said I then to my heart, "Here's a lesson for me,"
This man's but a picture of what I might be:
But thanks to my friends for their care in my breeding,
Who taught me betimes to love working and reading.

The above poem was written by Isaac Watts, who sounds like an American blues singer, but was actually an English nonconformist  [1674 – 1748].

The lines can also be set to music and sung. 'The Voice of the Sluggard' was a favourite of Dickens. He used to accompany himself on an accordion. I have heard it on the BBC sung by Hugh Summers of Portsmouth Cathedral Choir but I cannot find a copy on iTunes or Amazon.

The Voice of the Lobster

'Tis the Voice of the Lobster' was Carroll's parody of 'The Sluggard' and appeared in 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'. 

'Tis the voice of the Lobster: I heard him declare
"You have baked me too brown, I must sugar my hair."
As a duck with its eyelids, so he with his nose
Trims his belt and his buttons, and turns out his toes.
When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark,
And will talk in contemptuous tones of the Shark;
But, when the tide rises and sharks are around,
His voice has a timid and tremulous sound.

I particularly like these lines. Don't we all know someone like the lobster?

When the sands are all dry, he is gay as a lark,
And will talk in contemptuous tones of the Shark;
But, when the tide rises and sharks are around,
His voice has a timid and tremulous sound.

Lewis Carroll loved to parody Watts. He did it with 'Against Idleness and Mischief' which became 'How Doth the Little Crocodile'. The busy and virtuous bee in Watt's poem becomes a sly and predatory crocodile in Carroll's parody.