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by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)

Say, lad, have you things to do?
Language: English 
Say, lad, have you things to do?
  Quick then, while your day's at prime.
Quick, and if 'tis work for two,
  Here am I, man: now's your time.

Send me now, and I shall go;
  Call me, I shall hear you call;
Use me ere they lay me low
  Where a man's no use at all;

Ere the wholesome flesh decay,
  And the willing nerve be numb,
And the lips lack breath to say,
  "No, my lad, I cannot come."

About the headline (FAQ)

Text Authorship:

  • by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 24, no. 24, 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 Robin Field (b. 1935), "Say, lad, have you things to do?", 1960 [ medium voice and piano ], from When I was one and twenty [sung text not yet checked]
  • by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "Say, lad, have you things to do?", R. 9 no. 3 (1920), published 1924 [ baritone and piano ], from Ludlow Town, no. 3 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "Say, lad, have you things to do?", published 1911, from Songs of a Shropshire Lad, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
  • by David Van Vactor (b. 1906), "Say, lad, have you things to do?", published 1968 [ SATB chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
  • by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "Say, lad, have you things to do " [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this page: Ted Perry

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 80

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