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by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)

Oh, sick I am to see you, will you never...
Language: English 
"Oh, sick I am to see you, will you never let me be?
You may be good for something, but you are not good for me.
Oh, go where you are wanted, for you are not wanted here.
And that was all the farewell when I parted from my dear.

"I will go where I am wanted, to a lady born and bred
Who will dress me free for nothing in a uniform of red;
She will not be sick to see me if I only keep it clean:
I will go where I am wanted for a soldier of the Queen.

"I will go where I am wanted, for the sergeant does not mind;
He may be sick to see me but he treats me very kind:
He gives me beer and breakfast and a ribbon for my cap,
And I never knew a sweetheart spend her money on a chap.

"I will go where I am wanted, where there's room for one or two,
And the men are none too many for the work there is to do;
Where the standing line wears thinner and the dropping dead lie thick;
And the enemies of England they shall see me and be sick."

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Text Authorship:

  • by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), "The new mistress", appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 34, first published 1896 [author's text checked 2 times 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 Robert F. Baksa (b. 1938), "Oh, sick am I to see you", from Housman Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Hubert James Foss (1899 - 1953), "The new mistress", published 1925 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Christabel Marillier , "A farewell", published 1920 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "The new mistress - Oh, sick I am to see you" [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2004-12-28
Line count: 16
Word count: 204

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