When I Was One-and-Twenty is the first line of the untitled Poem XIII from

A. E. Housman Alfred Edward Housman (; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936) was an English classics, classical scholar and poet. He showed early promise as a student at the University of Oxford, but he failed his final examination in ''literae humaniores'' and t ...

’s ''

A Shropshire Lad ''A Shropshire Lad'' is a collection of 63 poems by the English poet Alfred Edward Housman, published in 1896. Selling slowly at first, it then rapidly grew in popularity, particularly among young readers. Composers began setting the poems to ...

'' (1896), but has often been anthologised and given musical settings under that title. The piece is simply worded but contains references to the now superseded coins

guineas The guinea (; commonly abbreviated gn., or gns. in plural) was a coin, minted in Great Britain between 1663 and 1814, that contained approximately one-quarter of an ounce of gold. The name came from the Guinea region in West Africa, from where m ...

and crowns. It is the monologue of a young man of twenty-two who reflects on the truth of the advice given him a year before not to give his heart away in love. Writing to his publisher in December, 1920, Housman scornfully observed of an illustrated edition of the poem, “How like an artist to think that the speaker is a woman!” A

heterosexual Heterosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the opposite sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, heterosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions ...

male reading could still be given the lament then because, at the time, Housman's homosexuality was unsuspected. Later the possibility that the poem refers to Housman's unrequited love for a fellow male student at university has been suggested.

Musical settings

Housman’s poem was among the first to be set by composers, beginning with

Arthur Somervell Sir Arthur Somervell (5 June 18632 May 1937) was an English composer and educationalist. After Hubert Parry, he was one of the most successful and influential writers of art song in the English music renaissance of the 1890s–1900s. According t ...

’s as part of his ''Songcycle from A Shropshire Lad'' and the single setting by Stephen Adams, both in 1904. Two frequently performed versions are

George Butterworth George Sainton Kaye Butterworth, MC (12 July 18855 August 1916) was an English composer who was best known for the orchestral idyll '' The Banks of Green Willow'' and his song settings of A. E. Housman's poems from '' A Shropshire Lad''. He wa ...

’s, from his ''Six Songs from A Shropshire Lad'' for medium high voice and piano (1911), and

Ivor Gurney Ivor Bertie Gurney (28 August 1890 – 26 December 1937) was an English poet and composer, particularly of songs. He was born and raised in Gloucester. He suffered from bipolar disorder through much of his life and spent his last 15 years in psy ...

’s from ''Ludlow and Teme'' (1919). The style of setting varies from the simplicity of the traditional tune fitted to it by Butterworth to the “chromatically overwrought” music of

Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral music ...

. As of 2025, some 44 versions are currently listed on

The LiederNet Archive The LiederNet Archive (formerly The Lied, Art Song, and Choral Texts Archive) is a donation-supported web archive of art song and choral texts founded in 1995 by Emily Ezust, an American/Canadian computer programmer and amateur violinist. The webs ...

but they do not include arrangements for choir such as those by

Richard Nance Dr. Richard Nance is an American musician. He is a former professor of music and conductor of the Choir of the West at Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, United States. Education Nance holds bachelors and master's degrees from Wes ...

as part of ''Songs of a Young Man'' (1985) and Robert Rhein in ''Three Songs from A Shropshire Lad''. There have also been popular versions, as in the solo performance by

Michael Nesmith Robert Michael Nesmith (December 30, 1942 – December 10, 2021) was an American musician, songwriter, and actor. He was best known as a member of the Monkees and co-star of their The Monkees (TV series), TV series of the same name (1966–1968) ...

and the group performance by the German folk group, Black Eye.O
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References

{{reflist Poetry by A. E. Housman 1896 poems 20th-century songs