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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 football playing Along the river-shore, With lads to chase the leather, Now I stand up no more?" Ay, the ball is flying, The lads play heart and soul; The goal stands up, the keeper Stands up to keep the goal. "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.
R. Vaughan Williams sets stanzas 1-2, 5-8
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 27, 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 Benjamin Burrows (1891 - 1966), "Is my team ploughing", 1927 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Sainton Kaye Butterworth (1885 - 1916), "Is my team ploughing", published 1911 [ voice and piano ], from Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Alfred Redgrave Cripps (1882 - 1950), "Is my team ploughing", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ], from Nine "Shropshire Lad" Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Is my team ploughing", 1918, published 1926 [ baritone, string quartet, and piano ], from The Western Playland, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "Is my team ploughing", published 1925-7 [ tenor and piano ], from Five Songs from "A Shropshire Lad" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ned Rorem (1923 - 2022), "Is my team ploughing", 1997, published 1999, from Evidence of Things Not Seen, no. 23 [sung text checked 1 time]
- 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 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "Is my team ploughing" [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
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
"האם הצמד שלי חורש שאני הייתי מוביל ושומע את צילצוך הריתמה כשהייתי עוד בחיים?" "כן, הסוסים דורכים, הריתמה עדיין מצלצל. אין שינוי למרות שאתה מונח מתחת האדמה שהיית חורש". "האם משחקים כדורגל לאורך שפת הנהר, והבחורים רצים אחרי הכדור, עכשיו שאינני עומד עוד?" "כן, הכדור אף, הבחורים משחקים במלוא המרץ. השער עומדת והשוער עומד לשמור על השער." "האם חברתי מאושרת שחשבתי שקשה לעזוב, והאם הפסיקה לבכות כשהיא שוכבת בערב?" "כן, היא שוכבת בקלות. היא אינה שוכבת לבכות. חברתך מאוד מבסוטה. תירגע, ידידי, ותישן" "האם חברי מאושר עכשיו שאני רזה ומתגעגע. האם הוא מצא לישון בה מיטה טובה משלי?" "כן, חבר, אני שוכב בנוח. אני שוכב כפי שבחורים בוחרים. אני משמח חברתו של אדם מת. אל תשאל של מי ..."Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Hebrew (עברית) copyright © 2014 by Max Mader, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 27, first published 1896
This text was added to the website: 2014-02-17
Line count: 32
Word count: 120
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