by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
Say, lad, have you things to do? Matches original text
Language: English
Say, lad, have you things to do? Quick then, while your day's at prime. Quick, and if 'tis work for two, Here am I, man: now's your time. Send me now, and I shall go; Call me, I shall hear you call; Use me ere they lay me low Where a man's no use at all; Ere the wholesome flesh decay, And the willing nerve be numb, And the lips lack breath to say, "No, my lad, I cannot come."
Composition:
- Set to music by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "Say, lad, have you things to do?", published 1911, from Songs of a Shropshire Lad, no. 4
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 24, no. 24, 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: 80