Attention! Some of this material is not in the public domain.
It is illegal to copy and distribute our copyright-protected material without permission. It is also illegal to reprint copyright texts or translations without the name of the author or translator.
To inquire about permissions and rates, contact Emily Ezust at
If you wish to reprint translations, please make sure you include the names of the translators in your email. They are below each translation.
Note: You must use the copyright symbol © when you reprint copyright-protected material.
Oh, when I was in love with you, Then I was [clean]1 and brave, And miles around the wonder grew [How]2 well did I behave. [And]3 now the fancy passes by, And nothing will remain, And miles around they'll say that I Am quite myself again.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)1 Hagen: "sweet"
2 Hagen: "so"
3 Hagen: "But"
Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 18, 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, when I was in love with you", from Housman Songs, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vernon Duke (1903 - 1969), "Oh, when I was in love", published 1955 [ medium voice and piano ], from Six Songs from "A Shropshire Lad" [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Woods Duke (1899 - 1984), "Oh, when I was in love", 1983 [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Chester Duncan (1913 - 2002), "Oh, when I was in love with you", 1938 [ medium voice and piano ], from Four Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Daron Aric Hagen (b. 1961), "O, when I was in love with you", 1983-99, first performed 1999 [ voice and piano ], from Heart of the Stranger, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by George Heussenstamm (b. 1926), "Oh, when I was in love with you", published 1970 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Timothy Hoekman , "Oh, when I was in love with you", 1980, published 1988 [ voice and piano ], from Seven Housman Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Juli Nunlist , "Oh, when I was in love with you", published 1972 [ medium voice and piano ], in the collection Contemporary Art Song Album, volume II [sung text not yet checked]
- by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "Oh, when I was in love with you", 1926, published 1927 [ tenor and piano ], from Five Songs from "A Shropshire Lad", no. 3, note: publication in the set occurred in 1959 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Nick Peros (b. 1963), "Oh, when I was in love with you" [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Oh, when I was in love with you", 1908-9, published 1911, rev. 1946 [ tenor, piano, and string quartet ad libitum ], from On Wenlock Edge, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Mervin Whitcomb , "Oh, when I was in love", published 1953 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Two Housman Poems [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "Oh, when I was in love with you" [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Walter A. Aue) , "Oh, als verliebt ich war in dich", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Ted Perry
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 46
Oh, als verliebt ich war in dich, war tapfer ich und rein; da wunderten die Leute sich, wie brav ich konnte sein. Doch jetzt, da das Gefühl verblich und ganz verließ den Sinn, schwör'n Leute hier, daß wieder ich voll nun der Alte bin.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to German (Deutsch) copyright © 2008 by Walter A. Aue, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you must ask the copyright-holder(s) directly for permission. If you receive no response, you must consider it a refusal.
Walter A. Aue. Contact: waue (AT) dal (DOT) ca
If you wish to commission a new translation, please contact:
Based on:
- a text in English by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 18, first published 1896
This text was added to the website: 2008-06-01
Line count: 8
Word count: 44