When I was one-and-twenty | When I was one-and-twenty

by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)

When I was one‑and‑twenty

Language: English

Our translations: FRE GER HEB

When I was one-and-twenty
 I heard [a wise man]¹ say,
"Give crowns and pounds and guineas
 But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies
 But keep your fancy free."
But I was one-and-twenty,
 No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty
 I heard him say again,
"The heart out of the bosom
 Was never given in vain;
'Tis paid with sighs a plenty
 And sold for endless rue."
And I am two-and-twenty,
 And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.

Available sung texts: ← What is this?

• D. Steele

About the headline (FAQ)

View original text (without footnotes)
¹ Steele: "an old man"

Text Authorship:

by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 13, 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 Stephen Adams (1844 - 1913), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1904 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Edwin Frank Avril (b. 1920), "When I was one-and-twenty" [ tenor and piano ], from A Shropshire Lad [sung text not yet checked]
by Robert F. Baksa (b. 1938), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1967 [ medium voice and piano ], from Housman Songs, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, Sir (1883 - 1953), "When I was one-and-twenty", 1918, published 1920 [ medium voice and piano ], from Three Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by H. L. Bilger , "When I was one-and-twenty", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Allan Blank (b. 1925), "When I was one-and-twenty" [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Arthur Edward Drummond Bliss, Sir (1891 - 1975), "When I was one-and-twenty", 1923, published 1924 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Lorraine J. Burns , "When I was one-and-twenty", 1962 [ SATB chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by George Sainton Kaye Butterworth (1885 - 1916), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1911 [ medium-high voice and piano ], from Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Louis Crerar , "When I was one-and-twenty", 1956 [ high voice and piano ], from Housman Songs [sung text not yet checked]
by Alfred Redgrave Cripps (1882 - 1950), "When I was one-and-twenty", published <<1944 [ voice and piano ], from Five "Shropshire Lad" Songs [sung text not yet checked]
by Alan DeBeer , "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1936 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Tom Dobson (1890 - 1918), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1916 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1972 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Blair Fairchild (1877 - 1933), "When I was one-and-twenty ", op. 9 no. 3 [ medium voice and piano ], confirmed with a 1989 edition, Recital Publications, Huntsville, TX [sung text checked 1 time]
by Willard Samuel Fast (b. 1922), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1972 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Robin Field (b. 1935), "When I was one-and-twenty", 1960 [ medium voice and piano ], from When I was one and twenty [sung text not yet checked]
by Isadore Freed (1900 - 1960), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1960 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Henry Balfour Gardiner (1877 - 1950), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1908 [ voice and piano ], from Two Lyrics, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Cecil Armstrong Gibbs (1889 - 1960), "When I was one-and-twenty", 1921, published 1924 [ voice and piano or strings ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Joscelyn Godwin (b. 1945), "When I was one-and-twenty" [ SSAA chorus and instrumental ensemble ], from cantata Carmina Amoris [sung text not yet checked]
by William Parks Grant (b. 1910), "When I was one-and-twenty", op. 7 (A Shropshire Lad) no. ? [ tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "When I was one-and-twenty", 1919, published 1923 [ tenor, string quartet, and piano ], from Ludlow and Teme, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
by Timothy Hoekman , "When I was one-and-twenty", 1980, published 1988 [ voice and piano ], from Seven Housman Songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Mervyn, Lord Horder, the Second Baron of Ashford (1910 - 1998), "When I was one-and-twenty", from A Shropshire Lad, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "When I was one-and-twenty" [sung text not yet checked]
by Ora Agatha Johnson , "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1915 [sung text not yet checked]
by Martin Kalmanoff (1920 - 2007), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1959 [ SATB chorus and piano or string quartet ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Alan Leichtling , "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1971 [ baritone and orchestra ], from Eleven Songs from "A Shropshire Lad", note: incorporates lines from "When I was in love with you" [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles Fonteyn Manney (1872 - 1951), "Heart wounds", published 1914, from A Shropshire Lad [sung text not yet checked]
by Ben Moore (b. 1960), "When I was one-and-twenty" [ voice and piano ], from 14 Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "When I was one-and-twenty", 1924, published 1925 [ tenor and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Nick Peros (b. 1963), "When I was one-and-twenty" [sung text checked 1 time]
by Jason Rico (b. 1978), "When I was one-and-twenty" [ voice, viola ] [sung text checked 1 time]
by Clarence Robinson , "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1950 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "When I was one-and-twenty", 1904, published 1904 [ voice and piano ], from A Shropshire Lad, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Douglas Steele (1910 - 1999), "When I was one and twenty" [ voice and piano ], Manchester, Forsyth Publications [sung text checked 1 time]
by Corbett C. Sumsion , "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1936 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by David Van Vactor (b. 1906), "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1968 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Conrad F. Wedberg , "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1946 [sung text not yet checked]
by Mervin Whitcomb , "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1953 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Two Housman Poems [sung text not yet checked]
by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "When I was one-and-twenty" [ SATB chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Stanley Wilson , "When I was one-and-twenty", published <<1967 [ SAB chorus ] [sung text not yet checked]
by C. Woolley , "When I was one-and-twenty", published 1938 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 16
Word count: 82