by John Godfrey Saxe (1816–1887)
All audio files can be found on our catalog page: http://librivox.org/early-rising-by-john-godfrey-saxe/
Each fortnight a poem is chosen to be recorded by as many LibriVox volunteers as possible!The words "dutiful" and "pious" never applied to the aspiring satirist. Bored by his legal work, Saxe began publishing poems for The Knickerbocker, of which "The Rhyme of the Rail" is his most famous early work. He soon caught the attention of the prominent Boston publishing house, Ticknor and Fields. Though he received no royalties for his first volume, it ran to ten reprintings and eventually outsold works by Hawthorne and Tennyson.(summary by Wikipedia)
This fortnight’s poem can be found here.
Please be sure that your recording software is set to the following technical specifications:
Channels: 1 (Mono)
Bit Rate: 128 kbps
Sample Rate: 44100 kHz
Have questions on "how"?
Check LV's Recording Notes thread before recording: http://librivox.org/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6427#6430
If this is your first recording, you'll also find this useful: http://wiki.librivox.org/index.php/How_to_Send_Your_Recording
Begin your reading with the abbreviated LibriVox disclaimer:
(Please leave no more than 0.5-1 second of silence at the beginning of your recording!)
Then read the poem:Early Rising by John Godfrey Saxe, read for LibriVox.org by [your name].
[Add, if you wish, date, your location, and/or your personal url.]
At the end of your reading, leave a space and then say:
"GOD bless the man who first invented sleep!"
So Sancho Panza said, and so say I:
And bless him, also, that he didn't keep
His great discovery to himself; nor try
To make it—as the lucky fellow might—
A close monopoly by patent-right!
Yes; bless the man who first invented sleep
(I really can't avoid the iteration),
But blast the man, with curses loud and deep,
Whate'er the rascal's name, or age, or station,
Who first invented, and went round advising,
That artificial cut-off, Early Rising!
"Rise with the lark, and with the lark to bed,"
Observes some solemn, sentimental owl;
Maxims like these are very cheaply said;
But, ere you make yourself a fool or fowl,
Pray just inquire about his rise and fall,
And whether larks have any beds at all!
The time for honest folks to be a-bed
Is in the morning, if I reason right;
And he who cannot keep his precious head
Upon his pillow till it 's fairly light,
And so enjoy his forty morning winks,
Is up to knavery; or else—he drinks!
Thomson, who sung about the "Seasons," said
It was a glorious thing to rise in season;
But then he said it—lying—in his bed,
At ten o'clock A.M.,—the very reason
He wrote so charmingly. The simple fact is,
His preaching was n't sanctioned by his practice.
'Tis, doubtless, well to be sometimes awake,—
Awake to duty, and awake to truth,—
But when, alas! a nice review we take
Of our best deeds and days, we find, in sooth,
The hours that leave the slightest cause to weep
Are those we passed in childhood or asleep!
'Tis beautiful to leave the world awhile
For the soft visions of the gentle night;
And free, at last, from mortal care or guile,
To live as only in the angels' sight,
In sleep's sweet realm so cosily shut in,
Where, at the worst, we only dream of sin!
So let us sleep, and give the Maker praise.
I like the lad who, when his father thought
To clip his morning nap by hackneyed phrase
Of vagrant worm by early songster caught,
Cried, "Served him right!—it 's not at all surprising;
The worm was punished, sir, for early rising!"
Please leave 5 seconds of silence at the end of your recording.End of poem. This recording is in the public domain.
Save your recording as an mp3 file using the following filename and ID3 tag format:
File name - all in lowercase:earlyrising_saxe_[your initials in lowercase].mp3 (eg. earlyrising_saxe_klh.mp3)
ID3 tags (Version 2):
Artist: John Godfrey Saxe
Title: Early Rising - Read by [YOUR INITIALS] (eg. Early Rising - Read by KLH)
Album: LibriVox Fortnightly Poetry
Comments: (optional) Recorded by [your name]
Transfer of files (completed recordings)
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You'll need to select the MC, which for this project is: dl - aradlaw
Please post a link to your file in this thread.
When you post your link, please include your name as you would like it credited on the catalogue page and any URL by which you would like it accompanied. (Note: This is only necessary if you have not done so for another project.)
If you wish to contribute, please have your readings submitted by 0600 GMT Sunday, January 16th, 2011 (12:00am CDT)
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(And remember, anyone can suggest a poem for a certain week and/or coordinate an upcoming fortnightly poem! If you'd like to suggest a poem or coordinate a future Poetry project, please visit this thread.)
