Herring

 

There was a big white wall – bare, bare, bare,

Against the wall a ladder – high, high, high,

And, on the floor, a pickled herring – dry, dry, dry,

 

He comes, holding in his hands – dirty, dirty, dirty,

A heavy hammer, a big nail – sharp, sharp, sharp,

A ball of string – big, big, big,

 

So he climbs the ladder – high, high, high,

And drives the sharp nail - knock, knock, knock,

High up on the big white wall – bare, bare, bare,

 

He lets go of the hammer - falling, falling, falling,

Attach the string to the nail - long, long, long,

And, at the end, the pickled herring – dry, dry, dry,

 

He's coming down the ladder - high, high, high,

Win with the hammer - heavy, heavy, heavy,

And then goes away - away, away, away,

 

And, from pickled herring – dry, dry, dry,

At the end of this string - long, long, long,

Very slowly swings – always, always, always,

 

I made up this story - simple, simple, simple,

To infuriate people - serious, serious, serious,

And entertain the children – small, small, small.

 

Charles Cros