by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
If it chance your eye offend you
Language: English
If it chance your eye offend you, Pluck it out, lad, and be sound: 'Twill hurt, but here are salves to friend you, And many a balsam grows on ground. And if your hand or foot offend you, Cut it off, lad, and be whole; But play the man, stand up and end you, When your sickness is your soul.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 45, 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 Robert F. Baksa (b. 1938), "If it chance your eye offend you", from Housman Songs, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edward Toner Cone (b. 1917), "If it chance your eye offend you" [ soprano and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Parks Grant (b. 1910), "If it chance your eye offend you", op. 7 (A Shropshire Lad) no. ? [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Jeffreys (1927 - 2010), "If it chance your eye offend you " [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 60