The Times Table
Robert Frost
Track 30 on West-Running Brook
1 viewer
The Times Table Lyrics
More than halfway up the pass
Was a spring with a broken drinking glass,
And whether the farmer drank or not
His mare was sure to observe the spot
By cramping the wheel on a water-bar,
turning her forehead with a star,
And straining her ribs for a monster sigh;
To which the farmer would make reply,
'A sigh for every so many breath,
And for every so many sigh a death.
That's what I always tell my wife
Is the multiplication table of life.'
The saying may be ever so true;
But it's just the kind of a thing that you
Nor I, nor nobody else may say,
Unless our purpose is doing harm,
And then I know of no better way
To close a road, abandon a farm,
Reduce the births of the human race,
And bring back nature in people's place.
Was a spring with a broken drinking glass,
And whether the farmer drank or not
His mare was sure to observe the spot
By cramping the wheel on a water-bar,
turning her forehead with a star,
And straining her ribs for a monster sigh;
To which the farmer would make reply,
'A sigh for every so many breath,
And for every so many sigh a death.
That's what I always tell my wife
Is the multiplication table of life.'
The saying may be ever so true;
But it's just the kind of a thing that you
Nor I, nor nobody else may say,
Unless our purpose is doing harm,
And then I know of no better way
To close a road, abandon a farm,
Reduce the births of the human race,
And bring back nature in people's place.
About
Have the inside scoop on this song?
Sign up and drop some knowledge
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
- 1.Spring Pools
- 5.Atmosphere
- 6.Devotion
- 8.The Cocoon
- 10.A Peck of Gold
- 11.Acceptance
- 13.Lodged
- 14.A Minor Bird
- 15.Bereft
- 18.The Thatch
- 19.A Winter Eden
- 20.The Flood
- 24.Sand Dunes
- 25.Canis Major
- 26.A Soldier
- 27.Immigrants
- 28.Hannibal
- 29.The Flower Boat
- 30.The Times Table
- 31.The Investment
- 32.The Last Mowing
- 33.The Birthplace
- 35.Dust in the Eyes
- 37.The Armful
- 38.What Fifty Said
- 39.Riders
- 41.The Bear
Comments