by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
The encounter Matches original text
Language: English
The street sounds to the soldiers' tread, And out we troop to see: A single redcoat turns his head, He turns and looks at me. My man, from sky to sky's so far, We never crossed before; Such leagues apart the world's ends are, We're like to meet no more. What thoughts at heart have you and I We cannot stop to tell; But dead or living, drunk or dry, Soldier, I wish you well.
Composition:
- Set to music by John (Nicholson) Ireland (1879 - 1962), "The encounter", published 1921 [ voice and piano ], from The Land of Lost Content, no. 5
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 22, first published 1896
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 75