by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
The stars have not dealt me the worst...
Language: English
The stars have not dealt me the worst they could do: My pleasures are plenty, my troubles are two. But oh, my two troubles they reave me of rest, The brains in my head and the heart in my breast. Oh grant me the ease that is granted so free, The birthright of multitudes, give it to me, That relish their victuals and rest on their bed With flint in the bosom and guts in the head.
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Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A. E. H., first published 1937 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "The birthright of multitudes", 1980. [low voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
- by Irwin Heilner (b. 1908), "The stars have not dealt me the worst they could do", copyright © 1965. [medium voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-19
Line count: 8
Word count: 77