The Ballad of Reading Gaol: VI

  1. V
  2. The Ballad of Reading Gaol
    • In Reading gaol by Reading town
    • There is a pit of shame,
    • And in it lies a wretched man
    • Eaten by teeth of flame,
    • In a burning winding-sheet he lies,
    • And his grave has got no name.
    • And there, till Christ call forth the dead,
    • In silence let him lie:
    • No need to waste the foolish tear,
    • Or heave the windy sigh:
    • The man had killed the thing he loved,
    • And so he had to die.
    • And all men kill the thing they love,
    • By all let this be heard,
    • Some do it with a bitter look,
    • Some with a flattering word,
    • The coward does it with a kiss,
    • The brave man with a sword!
  1. V
  2. The Ballad of Reading Gaol