proverb · Words worth keeping
He that sings on Friday shall weep on Sunday.
He that sings on Friday shall weep on Sunday.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
The saying predicts Sunday sorrow for someone who sings on Friday. It turns enjoyment on one day into an omen about another.
What the words are saying
Singing and weeping provide opposite moods attached to named weekdays. The rhyme can reveal a superstition about timing, but it does not establish a reason that joy must cause sadness. A useful reading identifies the claimed reversal without discouraging harmless enjoyment or treating a later disappointment as proof that the omen worked.
Everyday example
Someone discussing weekday beliefs distinguishes a memorable rhyme from evidence that singing brings misfortune.
When to use it
Use it to examine a weekday omen critically.
What it does not mean
The rhyme does not establish causation between singing and later sorrow.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 638 · Friday
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English