by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
Westward on the high‑hilled plains
Language: English
Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began, Still, I think, in newer veins Frets the changeless blood of man. Now that other lads than I Strip to bathe on Severn shore, They, no help, for all they try, Tread the mill I trod before. There, when hueless is the west And the darkness hushes wide, Where the lad lies down to rest Stands the troubled dream beside. There, on thoughts that once were mine, Day looks down the eastern steep, And the youth at morning shine Makes the vow he will not keep.
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Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 55, first published 1896 [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 Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Westward on the high‑hilled plains ", R. 3 no. 1 (1916) [ voice and piano ], from Four Songs from A Shropshire Lad, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "Westward on the high-hilled plains", 1937, published 1940 [ tenor and piano ], from Three Songs from "A Shropshire Lad", no. 2 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "Westward on the high-hilled plain" [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 97