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