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by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)

Shake hands, we shall never be friends,...
Language: English 
Shake hands, we shall never be friends, all's over;
  I only vex you the more I try.
All's wrong that ever I've done or said,
And nought to help it in this dull head:
  Shake hands, here's luck, good-bye.
 
But if you come to a road where danger
  Or guilt or anguish or shame's to share,
Be good to the lad that loves you true
And the soul that was born to die for you,
  And whistle and I'll be there.

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in More Poems, no. 30, first published 1936 [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):

    [ None yet in the database ]


Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2008-12-13
Line count: 10
Word count: 81

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