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"Is my team ploughing,
That I was used to drive
And hear the harness jingle
When I was man alive?"
Ay, the horses trample,
The harness jingles now;
No change though you lie under
The land you used to plough.
...
"Is my girl happy,
That I thought hard to leave,
And has she tired of weeping
As she lies down at eve?"
Ay, she lies down lightly,
She lies not down to weep:
Your girl is well contented.
Be still, my lad, and sleep.
"Is my friend hearty,
Now I am thin and pine,
And has he found to sleep in
A better bed than mine?"
Yes, lad, I lie easy,
I lie as lads would choose;
I cheer a dead man's sweetheart,
Never ask me whose.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2, 5-8 of the original text.
Composition:
- Set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Is my team ploughing", 1908-9, published 1911, stanzas 1-2, 5-8 [ tenor, piano, and string quartet ad libitum ], from On Wenlock Edge, no. 3
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 27, first published 1896
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Patricia Dillard Eguchi) , "Mon attelage laboure-t-il ?", copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HEB Hebrew (עברית) (Max Mader) , "האם הצמד שלי חורש", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 32
Word count: 168
Mon attelage laboure t-il,
Que j’avais l’habitude de mener,
Entendant les grelots des harnais,
Alors que j’étais vivant ?
Oui, les chevaux piétinent,
Les grelots des harnais tintent,
Rien n’a changé bien que tu reposes,
Sous la terre que tu labourais.
...
Ma bien-aimée est-elle heureuse,
Qu’il m’était si dur de quitter,
Et s’est-elle lassée de pleurer,
Quand elle s’allonge la nuit ?
Oui, elle s’allonge sans souci,
Elle ne se repose pas pour pleurer,
Ta bien-aimée est contente,
Sois tranquille, mon gars, et dors.
Et mon meilleur ami est-il joyeux,
Maintenant que je suis maigre et que je me languis,
Et a t-il trouvé pour y dormir,
Un meilleur lit que le mien ?
Oui mon gars, je m’y repose heureux,
Je m’y repose comme tous le voudraient ;
Je réconforte la bien-aimée d’un mort,
Ne me demande pas de qui.
Note: the text above is taken from stanzas 1-2, 5-8 of the original text.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2018 by Patricia Dillard Eguchi, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
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Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 27, first published 1896
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This text was added to the website: 2018-08-21
Line count: 32
Word count: 180