Vernon Scannell - A Day on the River lyrics

It moved so slowly, friendly as a dog Whose teeth would never bite; It licked the hand with cool and gentle tongue And seemed to share its parasites' delight Who moved upon its back or moored among The hairy shallows overhung With natural parasols of leaves And bubbling birdsong. Ukuleles twanged and ladies sang In punts and houseboats vivid as our own Bold paintings of the Ark; This was summer's self to any child: The plop and s** of water and the old Sweet rankness in the air beguiled With deft archaic spells the dim Deliberations of the land, Dear river, comforting More than the trailing hand. The afternoon of sandwiches and flasks Drifted away. The breeze across the shivering water grew Perceptibly in strength. The sun began to bleed. ‘Time to go home,' the punctured uncles said, And back on land We trembled at the river's faint, low growl And as birds probed the mutilated sky We knew that, with the night, The river's teeth grew sharp And they could bite.