Thomas Haynes Bayly est un poète, parolier, dramaturge, et écrivain anglais.
Fils d’un riche avocat à Bath, Bayly se destine à devenir avocat comme son père, mais change d’avis et pense entrer dans l'Église, mais il abandonne cette idée aussi, pour se consacrer à l’écriture pour la scène et la presse périodique. Il est surtout connu pour ses chansons qui, sur la musique de Bishop et d’autres éminents compositeurs, sont accueillies universellement. Certaines sont écrites sur sa propre musique. Il a également écrit plusieurs romans, et de nombreuses comédies. Bien que gagnant un revenu important de ses écrits, en plus de ceux de sa femme, il rencontre des problèmes financiers.
Ses chansons les plus connues comprennent “Old House at Home”, “I’d be a Butterfly”, “Oh, no, we never mention him”, “She wore a Wreath of Roses”, “The Mistletoe Bough”, et “Long, Long Ago”. Wikipedia
“Absence makes the heart grow fonder:
Isle of Beauty, fare thee well!”
Isle of Beauty, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Compare: "I find that absence still increases love", Charles Hopkins, To C. C.; "Distance sometimes endears friendship, and absence sweeteneth it", Howell, Familiar Letters, book i. sect. i. No. 6.
“I'd be a butterfly born in a bower,
Where roses and lilies and violets meet.”
I'd be a Butterfly, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Tell me the tales that to me were so dear,
Long, long ago, long, long ago.”
Long, long ago, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Fear not, but trust in Providence,
Wherever thou may'st be.”
The Pilot, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
We met, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Parodied by Thomas Hood: We met,—'t was in a mob.
“She wore a wreath of roses
The first night that we met.”
She wore a Wreath, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
Oh no! we never mention her, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Variant: "Oh, no, we never mention him". <br class="br"> Psychæ; or, Songs on butterflies &c http://books.google.com/books?id=M2IIAAAAQAAJ&q=%22Oh+no+we+never+mention+her+Her+name+is+never+heard+My+lips+are+now+forbid+to+speak+That+once+familiar+word%22&pg=PA20#v=onepage (1828).
“The rose that all are praising
Is not the rose for me.”
The Rose that all are praising, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Gayly the troubadour
Touched his guitar.”
Welcome me Home, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Friends depart, and memory takes them
To her caverns, pure and deep.”
Teach me to forget, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Why don't the men propose, Mamma?
Why don't the men propose?”
Why don't the Men propose?, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Those that have wealth must be watchful and wary,
Power, alas! naught but misery brings!”
I'd be a Butterfly, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“Surely 't is better, when summer is over
To die when all fair things are fading away.”
I'd be a Butterfly, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
Oh, steer my Bark to Erin's Isle, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
Don't sing English ballads to me!
Don't Sing English Ballads to Me; reported in Hoyt's New Cyclopedia Of Practical Quotations (1922), p. 56.
“Oh pilot, 't is a fearful night!
There's danger on the deep.”
The Pilot, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
To my Wife, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
“The mistletoe hung in the castle hall,
The holly-branch shone on the old oak wall.”
The Mistletoe Bough, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919).
You think I have a merry heart, reported in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 10th ed. (1919). Compare: "I can’t sing. As a singist I am not a success. I am saddest when I sing. So are those who hear me. They are sadder even than I am", Artemus Ward, Lecture.
