"As I laye a-thynkynge" is the last poem written by "Thomas Ingoldsby" (Richard Barham). It was set to music by the English composer Edward Elgar

Edward Elgar

Sir Edward William Elgar, 1st Baronet OM, GCVO was an English composer, many of whose works have entered the British and international classical concert repertoire. Among his best-known compositions are orchestral works including the Enigma Variations, the Pomp and Circumstance Marches, concertos...

.

The song was published in 1888 by Beare & Son, though may have been written in the previous year. It is a song for soprano or tenor.

Elgar omitted the two verses enclosed in square brackets [ ] - the fifth and sixth verses of the poem.

Lyrics

AS I LAYE A-THYNKYNGE

As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Merrie sang the Birde as she sat upon the spraye!

There came a noble Knyghte

Knight

A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

,

With his hauberke shynynge brighte,

And his gallant heart was lyghte,

Free and gaye;

As I laye a-thynkynge, he rode upon his waye.

As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Sadly sang the Birde as she sat upon the tree!

There seemed a crimson plain,

Where a gallant Knyghte lay slayne,

And a steed with broken rein

Ran free,

As I laye a-thynkynge, most pitiful to see!

As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Merrie sang the Birde as she sat upon the boughe;

A lovely Mayde came by,

And a gentil youth was nyghe,

And he breathed many a syghe

And a vowe;

As I laye a-thynkynge, her heart was gladsome now.

As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Sadly sang the Birde as she sat upon the thorne;

No more a youth was there,

But a Maiden rent her haire,

And cried out in sad despaire,

'That I was borne!'

As I laye a-thynkynge, she perished forlorne.

[ As I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

Sweetly sang the Birde as she sat upon the briar;

There came a lovely Childe,

And his face was meek and mild,

Yet joyously he smiled

On his sire;

As I laye a-thynkynge, a Cherub

Cherub

A cherub is a type of spiritual being mentioned in the Hebrew Bible and cited later on in the Christian biblical canons, usually associated with the presence of God...

mote admire.

But I laye a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge, a-thynkynge,

And sadly sang the Birde as it perch'd upon a bier;

That joyous smile was gone,

And that face was white and wan,

As the downe upon the Swan

Doth appear

As I laye a-thynkynge - oh! bitter flow'd the tear! ]

As I laye a-thynkynge the golden sun was sinking,

O merrie sang that Birde as it glittered on her breast

With a thousand gorgeous dyes,

While soaring to the skies,

'Mid the stars she seem'd to rise,

As to her nest;

As I laye a-thynkynge, her meaning was exprest:-

'Follow, follow me away,

It boots not to delay,'-

'Twas so she seem'd to saye,

'HERE IS REST!'

T. I.

Recordings

• Songs and Piano Music by Edward Elgar Premiere recording of "As I laye a-thynkynge" performed by Amanda Pitt (soprano), with David Owen Norris (piano).