The Hawk and the Nightingale — Nursery Rhyme Lyrics
A Nightingale, sitting aloft upon an oak, was seen by a Hawk, who made a swoop down, and seized him. The Nightingale earnestly besought the Hawk to let him go, saying that he was not big enough to satisfy the hunger of a Hawk, who ought to pursue the larger birds. The Hawk said: "I should indeed have lost my senses if I should let go food ready to my hand, for the sake of pursuing birds which are not yet even within sight."
A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
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- rhymes with aloft
- rhymes with and
- rhymes with are
- rhymes with besought
- rhymes with big
- rhymes with bird
- rhymes with birds
- rhymes with down
- rhymes with earnestly
- rhymes with enough
- rhymes with even
- rhymes with food
- rhymes with for
- rhymes with hand
- rhymes with have
- rhymes with hawk
- rhymes with him
- rhymes with hunger
- rhymes with indeed
- rhymes with larger
Look Up Definitions
- aloft definition
- are definition
- big definition
- bird definition
- down definition
- earnestly definition
- enough definition
- even definition
- food definition
- hand definition
- have definition
- hawk definition
- hunger definition
- indeed definition
- larger definition
- let definition
- lost definition
- made definition
- nightingale definition
- not definition
More Nursery Rhymes
Learning from "The Hawk and the Nightingale"
Nursery rhymes are some of the best teachers of rhythm and rhyme. "The Hawk and the Nightingale" uses 2 lines to create a memorable verse — proof that effective poetry doesn't need to be long. Pay attention to the meter: the pattern of stressed and unstressed syllables is what makes the rhyme stick in your head.
Songwriters and poets can borrow these patterns. Try writing your own lyrics using the same rhyme scheme and line length as this nursery rhyme. You can also use words from the poem above as starting points — click any word to find rhymes or look up its definition, then build from there.
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Generate a verseFrequently asked questions
- What are the words to The Hawk and the Nightingale?
- The lyrics to The Hawk and the Nightingale are: A Nightingale, sitting aloft upon an oak, was seen by a Hawk, who made a swoop down, and seized him. The Nightingale earnestly besought the Hawk to let him go, saying that he was not big enough to satisfy the hunger of a Hawk, who ought to pursue the larger birds. The Hawk said: "I should indeed have lost my senses if I should let go food ready to my hand, for the sake of pursuing birds which are not yet even within sight." / A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush.
- How many lines does The Hawk and the Nightingale have?
- "The Hawk and the Nightingale" has 2 lines of verse.
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