When the lad for longing sighs

When the lad for longing sighs,
 Mute and dull of cheer and pale,
If at death's own door he lies,
 Maiden, you can heal his ail.

Lovers' ills are all to buy:
 The wan look, the hollow tone,
The hung head, the sunken eye,
 You can have them for your own.

Buy them, buy them: even and morn
 Lovers' ills are all to sell,
Then you can lie down forlorn;
 But the lover will be well.

by Alfred Edward Housman (1859-1936) , no title, from A Shropshire Lad, no. 6, published 1896

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 (1938-) , "When the lad for longing sighs", published 1967 [medium voice and piano], from Housman Songs, no. 2.
by George Sainton Kaye Butterworth (1885-1916) , "When the lad for longing sighs", published 1912 [medium voice and piano], from Bredon Hill and other songs, no. 3.
by Alan Leichtling , "When the lad for longing sighs", published 1971 [baritone and orchestra], from Eleven Songs from "A Shropshire Lad", no. ?
by Charles Wilfred Orr (1893-1976) , "When the lad for longing sighs", published 1925. [tenor and piano]
by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878-1937) , "When the lad for longing sighs", published 1911 [voice and piano], from Songs of a Shropshire Lad, no. 2.

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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