The Daddy Long-legs and the Fly (2024) by bobcohenmusic

The Daddy Long-legs and the Fly

Once Mr. Daddy Long-legs*, Dressed in brown and gray, Walked about upon the sands Upon a summer's day; And there a-mong the pebbles, When the wind was rather cold, He met with Mr. Floppy Fly, All dressed in blue and gold. And as it was too soon to dine, They drank some Periwinkle-wine, And played an hour or two, or more, At battlecock and shuttledore.**

Said Mr. Daddy Long-legs To Mr. Floppy Fly, 'Why do you nev-r come to court? I wish you'd tell me why. All gold and shine, in dress so fine, You'd quite delight the court. Why do you never go at all? I really think you ought! And if you went, you'd see such sights! Such rugs! Such jugs! and candlelights! And more than all, the King and Queen, One in red, and one in green!'

'O Mr. Daddy Long-legs,' Said Mr. Floppy Fly, 'It's true I never go to court, And I will tell you why. If I had six long legs like yours, At once I'd go to court! But oh! I can't, because my legs Are so extremely short. And I'm afraid the King and Queen (One in red, and one in green) Would say aloud, "You are not fit, You Fly, to come to court a bit!"'

'O Mr. Daddy Long-legs,'

Said Mr. Floppy Fly, 'I wish you'd sing one little song! One mumbian melody! You used to sing so aw-ful well In former days gone by, But now you never sing at all; I wish you'd tell me why: For if you would, the silv’ry sound Would please the shrimps and cockles round, And all the crabs would gladly come To hear you sing, "Ah, hum di Hum"!'

Said Mr. Daddy Long-legs, 'I can never sing again!

And if you wish, I'll tell you why, Although it gives me pain. For years I cannot hum a bit, Or sing the smallest song; And this the dreadful reason is, My legs are grown too long! My six long legs, all here and there, Op-press my bosom with despair; And if I stand, or lie, or sit, I cannot sing one little bit!'

So Mr. Daddy Long-legs And Mr. Floppy Fly

Sat down in silence by the sea, And gazed upon the sky. They said, 'This is a dreadful thing! The world has all gone wrong, Since one has legs too short by half, The other much too long! One never more can go to court, Because his legs have grown too short; The other cannot sing a song, Because his legs have grown too long!'

Then Mr. Daddy Long-legs And Mr. Floppy Fly

Rushed downward to the foamy sea With one sponge-taneous cry; And there they found a little boat, Whose sails were pink and gray; And off they sailed among the waves, Far, and far away. They sailed across the si-lent main, And reached the great Gromboolian plain; And there they play for ever-more At battlecock and shuttledoor.

*a Crane fly (not a mosquito or spider) **actually, battledore & shuttlecock, an early sport related to modern badminton

Composer's Note:

While the poem satirizes the class differences and vanity of the 19th Century Victorian era - especially, the Court - its theme of not "fitting in" has particular resonance these days.

The Daddy Long-legs and the Fly

                  Soprano Alto Tenor Bass Piano           

capriccioso

capriccioso ca. ca.            =126 =126                                S A T B Pno. 5                         cresc. poco a poco accel. accel.                                                  Once    Once                                   =152 =152 rit. rit.      

Moderato

Atempo Atempo 9 9

MisterDaddyLonglegs,

Dressedinbrownandgray,

WalkedaboutthesandsU

MisterDaddyLonglegs,

Dressedinbrownandgray,

WalkedaboutthesandsU

ponasummer'sday;

      S

Pno.      

A T B

     

              

     

                  

     

                   S A T B Pno. 12      

     

    And     And                      thereamongthepebbles,Whenthe        

                He     He          windwasrathercold,He          windwasrathercold,He                        4TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

ponasummer'sday;

thereamongthepebbles,Whenthe

metwithMister.FloppyFly,All

      S A T B Pno. 15        

       

                     

       dressedinblueandgold.       

      

                               --      S A T B Pno. 18    And    And                     dolce dolce     asitwastoo     asitwastoo              dolce    soontodine,    soontodine,                The5 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

dressedinblueandgold.

Periwinklewine,

      S A T B Pno. 21     Theydranksome     Theydranksome                      

     

   And    And               dolce dolce       playedanhouror     playedanhouror                     S A T B Pno. 24         two,ormore,At       two,ormore,At              poco rit. poco rit. giocoso giocoso       battlecockandshuttle       battlecockandshuttle       battlecockandshuttle       battlecockandshuttle                 a tempo a tempo   giocoso giocoso    dore.    dore.    dore.    dore.                        6TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

wishyou'dtellmewhy.All

goldandshine,indresssofine,You'd

wishyou'dtellmewhy.All

goldandshine,indresssofine,You'd

wishyou'dtellmewhy.

don'tyoucometocourt?I

wishyou'dtellmewhy.

      S A T B Pno. 27    Said    Said    Said    Said                                              Mister.DaddyLonglegsTo       Mister.DaddyLonglegsTo     DaddyLonglegsTo     DaddyLonglegsTo               28 28          Mister.FloppyFly,'Why         Mister.FloppyFly,'Why      FloppyFly,'Why       FloppyFly,'Why                    S A T B Pno. 30         doyounevercometocourt?I         doyounevercometocourt?I      

     

don'tyoucometocourt?I

                      

       

     

                        

       

               The7 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

quitedelightthecourt.

Suchrugs!

Suchjugs!

      S A T B Pno. 33       

      

    Why     Why                              doyounevergoatall?I         doyounevergoatall?I                      And    And        reallythinkyouought!        reallythinkyouought!                      dolce dolce      S A T B Pno. 36     ifyouwent,you'd     ifyouwent,you'd    Oo   Oo                  dolce dolce       seesuchsights!Such       seesuchsights!Such     Ahh    Ahh                             rugs!Suchjugs!and            

       

      

                        8TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

rugs!Suchjugs!and

candlelights!

candlelights!And

Oneinred,

                                          S A T B Pno. 39     

    

candlelights!

      

                            

    Kingand      

     

                   poco rit. poco rit.   Queen,   Queen,   Queen,   Queen,                                                       S A T B Pno. 42                   maestoso                                   

Kingand

morethanall,theKingand

      and                    a tempo a tempo      The9 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

oneingreen!'

Mister.DaddyLonglegs,'Said

            S A T B Pno. 45          

                                               'O                              S A T B Pno.       

  Ahh   Ahh   Ahh                48 48       Mister.FloppyFly,    Oo      Oo'It's   Oo                             trueInevergotocourt,And                   10TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

      S A T B Pno. 51     If       

                              Ihadsixlonglegslikeyours,At     At                       onceI'dgotocourt!       onceI'dgotocourt!      But                                                S A T B Pno. 54     Are     Are     Are          oh!Ican't,becausemylegs                                soextremelyshort.AndI'ma            soextremelyshort.AndI'ma        soextremelyshort.                          fraidtheKingandQueen      fraidtheKingandQueen       afraid                    -The11 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

Iwilltellyouwhy.

(Oneinred,andoneingreen)

Wouldsayaloud,"Youarenot

(Oneinred,andoneingreen)

Wouldsayaloud,"Youarenot

(Oneinred,andoneingreen)

Wouldsayaloud,"Youarenot

      S A T B Pno. 57           

        

                           

       

                         fit,AndI'ma        fit,AndI'ma                      -      S A T B Pno. 60       fraidtheKingandQueen       fraidtheKingandQueen     afraid                             

        

                             

(Oneinred,andoneingreen)

        

       

            --  12TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

fit,YouFly,to

cometocourtabit!"'

Youarenot

Mister.DaddyLonglegs,'Said

      S A T B Pno. 63         

        

         

                            cometocourtabit!"'        cometocourtabit!"'        cometocourtabit!"'       

                                

   

    Youarenot  You    fit!  fit!  fit!  fit!                     S A T B Pno. 67    'O    'O                                   rit. rit.       

      

               a tempo a tempo 68 68        

       

                The13 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

Mister.FloppyFly,'I

wishyou'dsingonelittlesong!One

nowyouneversingatall;I

wishyou'dtellmewhy:Forifyou

nowyouneversingatall;I

wishyou'dtellmewhy:

nowyouneversingatall;I

wishyou'dtellmewhy:

nowyouneversingatall;I

wishyou'dtellmewhy:

      S A T B Pno. 70        

       

                    mumbianmelody!        mumbianmelody!     You     You                        usedtosingsoawfulwellIn         usedtosingsoawfulwellIn                                          S A T B Pno. 73     But     But          formerdaysgoneby,But          formerdaysgoneby,But                                

       

                             

      

             

---      14TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

dolce

would,thesilv’rysoundWould

pleasetheshrimpsandcocklesround,And

allthecrabswouldgladly

youwould

pleasetheshrimpsandcocklesround,And

                 

Pno. 76       

S A T B

    

    

    

           dolce   

       

ifyou

dolce leggiero leggiero

       

     ifyou      ifyou                   

     

     gladly      allcrabs                    S A T B Pno. 79       comeForifyou   come        allthecrabswouldcome        allthecrabswouldcome                       would,thesilv’rysoundWould       Forifyouwould    ifyouwould    ifyouwould          dolce         

        

      please,please,pleaseAnd       please,please,pleaseAnd              The15 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

allthecrabswouldgladly

pleasetheshrimpsandcocklesround,

      S A T B Pno. 82          

       

             "Ah,humdiHum"!'      sing,humdi  sing,        humdihum  Hum!"     humdi   rit. rit.                                     S A T B Pno. 85      hum         G.P. G.P. G.P. G.P. G.P.                         =104 =104 87 87 Menomossodolorosa  Menomossodolorosa       Said                      16TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

allthecrabswouldcomeTohearyou

MisterLonglegs,

itgivesmepain!

ifyouwish,I'lltellyouwhy,Al

            S A T B Pno. 89           

     

       

                sotto voce sotto voce           singagain         singagain      singagain          neversingagain!And                             ord. ord. ord.           wishwhy          wishwhy        

                     sotto voce sotto voce---                  S A T B Pno. 92       

      

      

        

               ord. ord.          ord. ord. ord. ord.    Hmm    Hmm  Hmm         yearsIcannothumabit,Or                      Hmm     Hmm   Hmm         singthesmallestsong;And                     The17 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

Mister.DaddyLonglegs,'Ican

itgivesmepain!

thoughitgivesmepain!For

legsaregrowntoolong!

legsaregrowntoolong!My

sixlonglegs,all

legsaregrowntoolong!

                                    S A T B Pno. 95   Hmm   Hmm   Hmm         thisthedreadfulreasonis,My                  

     

       

      

                                        sotto voce sotto voce sotto voce       sixlegs      

       

      sixlegs                            S A T B Pno. 98    here     hereOp        hereandthere,    here              ord.  solenne    oppress     pressmybosom    oppress    oppress                 ord. ord. ord. solenne solenne solenne    

   

   

                      --18TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

sixlegs

withdispair;And

withdespair;

withdispair;

ifIstand,or

dododododododo

            S

101    

A T

Pno.

       

  Hmm   Hmm                  lie,orsit,      lie,orsit,     

    

                 Ahh  Ahh   Ahh     cannotsingone                                                    litlebit!      littlebit!      littlebit!       littlebit!                -                  S A T B Pno. 105      litlebit!      littlebit!      littlebit!       littlebit!          litlebit!    littlebit!    littlebit!     littlebit!                      So    So    So                                   rit. rit.     (1or2perpart) (1or2perpart) (1or2perpart)--            The19 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

lie,orsit,

lie,orsit,I

Mister.FloppyFlySat

gazeduponthesky.They

said,'Thisisadreadfulthing!The

gazeduponthesky.

said,'Thisisadreadfulthing!The

worldhasallgonewrong,

gazeduponthesky.

said,adreadfulthing!The

                        S A T B Pno.      

     

     Mister.Longlegs    108 108 =88 =88 Menomosso Menomosso        Mister.FloppyFlySat       

Mister.DaddyLonglegsAnd

      Mister.FloppyFly,             downinsilencebythesea,And          downinsilencebythesea,And      downbythesea,And   --                        S A T B Pno. 111          

       

        

  

       

       

      

      

          worldhasallgonewrong,Since      

     

     

 --20TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

(1or

perpart)

worldhasallgonewrong,

onehaslegstooshortbyhalf,The

A T B Pno.

oneshort

legshavegrowntoolong.Then

legshavegrowntoolong.

leg'stooshort

leg'stooshortThe

legshavegrowntoolong.

                                    S

114        

     

    

     

oneshort

           othermuchtoolong!One            othermuchtoolong!One        othermuchtoolong!        othermuchtoolong!   tutti tutti rit. rit. tutti tutti      nevermore         nevermorecangotocourt,Be    nevermore    nevermore            =80 =80  Menomossosostenuto 116 116 Menomossosostenuto  ---                                      S A T B Pno. 117     legstooshort       causehisleg'stooshort;    

    

                     cannotsing    cannotsing    cannotsing         othercannotsingasong;his                           

      

                             -The21 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

legshavegrowntoolong

cresc. poco a poco

onespongetaneouscry;

allarg. allarg.

                        S A T B Pno.      

    Mister.Longlegs    Mister    Mister          120 120    

Mister.DaddyLonglegsAnd

cresc. poco a poco



76 

76 Maestoso Maestoso         Mister.FloppyFlyRushed       Mister.FlyRushed      Mister.Fly    Mister                      downwardtothefoamyseaWith         downwardtothefoamyseaWith      downwardfoamysea     downwardwith              ----            S A T B Pno. 123       onespongetaneouscry;       onespongetaneouscry;       onespongetaneouscry;      

                    

    And    And                      theretheyfoundalittleboat,Whose         theretheyfoundalittleboat,Whose                         22TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

cresc. poco a poco cresc. poco a poco

offtheysailedamongthewaves,

                                                S A T B Pno. 126           sailswerepinkandgray;          sailswerepinkandgray;     And    

                         

      

                            3 Far,andfaraway.They       Far,andfaraway.       Far,andfaraway.       Far,andfaraway.                     3 3        rit. rit.--                        S A T B Pno.   saileda   They    saileda   saileda           =116 =116     Leisurelywaltz Leisurelywaltz 129 129     crossthe   sailed   cross   crossthe             silent      dodododo    silent   silent             main,And       dodododododo    mainAnd    mainAnd              The23 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

And

            S A T B Pno. 133   reachedthe    reachedthe   reachedthe   reachedthe               greatGrom   greatGrom    greatGrom   greatGrom               boolian    boolian    boolian    boolian               plain;And    plainAnd   plain   plain           - -            S A T B Pno. 137   therethey   therethey      dodododo   therethey               playfor    playfor       dodododododo   playfor             allarg. allarg.    ever      ever    ever    ever                      more   more  more  more              At      --     24TheDaddyLong-legsandtheFly

                                    S A T B Pno.     battlecock     and               =80 =80 Freely Freely 142 142     At    At      shuttledore.At    At                       battlecockandshuttle       battlecockandshuttle      

      battlecockandshuttle                   -                                                S A T B Pno.                         Tempoprimo Tempoprimo 145 145 =126 =126 cresc. poco a poco                                                           accel. accel.                                    =152 =152  dore.  dore.  dore.  dore.         The25 DaddyLong-legsandtheFly

battlecockandshuttle