by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow...
Language: English
The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come in for the fair, There's men from the barn and the forge and the mill and the fold, The lads for the girls and the lads for the liquor are there, And there with the rest are the lads that will never be old. There's chaps from the town and the field and the till and the cart, And many to count are the stalwart, and many the brave, And many the handsome of face and the handsome of heart, And few that will carry their looks or their truth to the grave. I wish one could know them, I wish there were tokens to tell The fortunate fellows that now you can never discern; And then one could talk with them friendly and wish them farewell And watch them depart on the way that they will not return. But now you may stare as you like and there's nothing to scan; And brushing your elbow unguessed-at and not to be told They carry back bright to the coiner the mintage of man, The lads that will die in their glory and never be old.
Available sung texts: ← What is this?
• G. Butterworth • I. Gurney • E. Moeran • C. Orr • A. SomervellAbout the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 23, 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 George Sainton Kaye Butterworth (1885 - 1916), "The lads in their hundreds", published 1911 [ medium-high voice and piano ], from Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad, no. 5 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Alfred Redgrave Cripps (1882 - 1950), "The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come in for the fair", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ], from Nine "Shropshire Lad" Songs [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "Ludlow Fair", 1919, published 1923 [ tenor, string quartet, and piano ], from Ludlow and Teme, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come in for the fair", R. 9 no. 4 (1920), published 1924 [ baritone and piano ], from Ludlow Town, no. 4 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "The lads in their hundreds", 1936, published 1937 [ tenor and piano ] [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "The Lads in their Hundreds", op. 570 (1960) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Arthur Somervell, Sir (1863 - 1937), "The lads in their hundreds to Ludlow come in for the fair", 1904, published 1904 [ voice and piano ], from A Shropshire Lad, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "The lads in their hundreds" [ baritone and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Stanley Wilson , "Ludlow Fair", published <<1967 [ TTBB chorus a cappella ], from Four Songs from "A Shropshire Lad" [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Patricia Dillard Eguchi) , copyright © 2018, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- HEB Hebrew (עברית) (Max Mader) , "הבחורים במאות", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
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: 193