When I Was
One And Twenty

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard a wise man say,
"Give crowns and pounds and guineas
But not your heart away;
Give pearls away and rubies
But keep your fancy free."
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me.

When I was one-and-twenty
I heard him say again,
"The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain;
'Tis paid with sighs aplenty
And sold for endless rue."
And I am two-and-twenty
And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.

Notes

A.E. Housman (1859-1936) was born Alfred Edward Housman in Fockbury, England. He was a good student but failed his final exams at Oxford. However, he did not let that stop him. He continued his studies while working at the Patent Office in London and eventually he earned an M.A. in classical studies.

Housman became a Latin professor at University College in London and in 1910 he was appointed to be a professor of Latin at Cambridge University, where he remained until his death. As a scholar he wrote and taught extensively on classical Latin authors and he earned a reputation as a great classical teacher.

Housman’s first collection of poems was published, at Housman’s expense, in 1896, and titled, “A Shropshire Lad.” Shortly thereafter a contemporary of Housman, George Butterworth, added music to many of Housman’s poems from “A Shropshire Lad.”

Butterworth also made a song out of Housman’s “When I Was One and Twenty.”

Various musical recordings of “When I Was One and Twenty” and “A Shropshire Lad” are available though difficult to obtain.

Also note that an exceptional play by Tom Stoppard, titled “The Invention of Love,” was written about Houseman’s poetic themes of hopeless love and the inevitability of death. Some called Stoppard’s play, “the most emotionally powerful and enthralling play of his career.”

Housman’s remarkable poem, “When I Was One and Twenty,” is simple, elegant and direct, as are many of his poems. He writes of youth typically not heeding wise advice. The youth is advised that his ability to love is far more valuable than jewels and riches and that it should not be given too freely. The youth does not give due attention to the advice and soon meets with a hopeless rejection, discovering that the advice is too true.

A couple of other themes in Housman’s poetry include the beauty of the English countryside and homosexual love. Some of his other well-known poems on these themes include “To An Athlete Dying Young,” “With Rue My Heart Is Laden,” and “Far in a Western Brookland.”

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