by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
Could man be drunk for ever
Language: English
Could man be drunk for ever With liquor, love, or fights, Lief should I rouse at morning And lief lie down at nights. But men at whiles are sober And think by fits and starts, And if they think, they fasten Their hands upon their hearts.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in Last Poems, no. 10, first published 1922 [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 Irwin Heilner (b. 1908), "Could man be drunk for ever", copyright © 1965. [medium voice and piano] [text not verified]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "Could man be drunk for ever" [baritone and piano] [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-08-18
Line count: 8
Word count: 46