Will Shakespear's advice to his son, from Rapp's score for Sidney Michaels "The Elizabethans" performed in 1972 at Manhattan's New Dramatist Theater
Sixpence Song © Sandy Rapp 1972
Son, I give thee sixpence,
A penny for you thoughts.
A penny if I’m in ‘em and a farthing if I’m not.
Put it in your pocket; save it for a day.
Take it to the market; spend it on the way.
Chorus
Never saw the use for money in the hand
I brighten the world up when I can.
I never lost the love o’ the river and the rain;
Over the Avon, home again.
Son, I give thee thrupence,
a penny for the stage.
And if it’s mine I’ll make it thine
the day you come of age.
Should you tell your mother I sold it out to thee.
She’ll slit my throat and buy a boat
and sink me in the sea.
Repeat chorus
Son, I give the tupence, a penny for the rain,
The valley low, the tally-ho,
the huntin’ o’ the game.
Should there come a time, son,
You break your heart in two,
The country dew will make it new
An’ gi’ it back to you.
Repeat chorus
