The Cuckoo Song

When daisies pied and violets blue
And lady-smocks all silver-white
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight

The cuckoo then, on every tree
Mocks married men, for thus sings he,
Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo: O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!

When shepherds pipe on oaten straws
And merry larks are ploughmen's clocks
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws
And maidens bleach their summer smocks

The cuckoo then, on every tree
Mocks married men, for thus sings he,
Cuckoo, cuckoo, cuckoo: O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!