by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936)
When smoke stood up from Ludlow
Language: English
When smoke stood up from Ludlow, And mist blew off from Teme, And blithe afield to ploughing Against the morning beam I strode beside my team, The blackbird in the coppice Looked out to see me stride, And hearkened as I whistled The trampling team beside, And fluted and replied: "Lie down, lie down, young yeoman; What use to rise and rise? Rise man a thousand mornings Yet down at last he lies, And then the man is wise." I heard the tune he sang me, And spied his yellow bill; I picked a stone and aimed it And threw it with a will: Then the bird was still. Then my soul within me Took up the blackbird's strain, And still beside the horses Along the dewy lane It sang the song again: "Lie down, lie down, young yeoman; The sun moves always west; The road one treads to labour Will lead one home to rest, And that will be the best."
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Text Authorship:
- by Alfred Edward Housman (1859 - 1936), no title, appears in A Shropshire Lad, no. 7, 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 William W. Colson (b. 1945), "When smoke stood up from Ludlow" [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ivor (Bertie) Gurney (1890 - 1937), "When smoke stood up from Ludlow", 1919, published 1923 [ tenor, string quartet, and piano ], from Ludlow and Teme, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Leonard J[ordan] Lehrman (b. 1949), "When smoke stood up from Ludlow", op. 8 (1966) [ SSAA chorus with flute and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ernest John Moeran (1894 - 1950), "When smoke stood up from Ludlow", R. 9 no. 1 (1920), published 1924 [ baritone and piano ], from Ludlow Town, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893 - 1976), "When smoke stood up from Ludlow", 1928, published 1934 [ baritone and piano ], from Seven Songs from "A Shropshire Lad", no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Leslie Russell , "Ludlow Town", 1970-4 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Ramsden Williamson (1929 - 2015), "The ploughman", published 2010 [ baritone and piano ], Brandon Music [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: 30
Word count: 162