by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
Oh fair enough are sky and plain
Language: English
Oh fair enough are sky and plain, But I know fairer far: Those are as beautiful again That in the water are; The pools and rivers wash so clean The trees and clouds and air, The like on earth was never seen, And oh that I were there. These are the thoughts I often think As I stand gazing down In act upon the cressy brink To strip and dive and drown; But in the golden-sanded brooks And azure meres I spy A silly lad that longs and looks And wishes he were I.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 20, 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 fair enough are sky and plain", from Housman Songs, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by George Sainton Kaye Butterworth (1885 - 1916), "Oh fair enough are sky and plain", published 1912 [ voice and piano ], from Bredon Hill and other songs, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Louis Crerar , "Oh fair enough are sky and plain", 1954 [ high voice and piano ], from Housman Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henryk Mikołaj Górecki (1933 - 2010), "Oh fair enough are sky and plain", c1933 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Oh fair enough are sky and plain", R. 100, published 1957 [ baritone and piano ], Joseph Williams [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "Oh fair enough are sky and plain", 1931, published 1934 [ baritone and piano ], from Seven Songs from "A Shropshire Lad", no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Oh fair enough are sky and plain", op. 187 (1948) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Corbett C. Sumsion , "Oh fair enough are sky and plain", published c1936 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Freda Mary Swain (1902 - 1985), "Oh fair enough are sky and plain", 1925 [ tenor and piano ensemble ], from The Lost Heart [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "Oh fair enough are sky and plain" [ baritone 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: 16
Word count: 94