When I Was One-And-Twenty

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"
But I was one-and-twenty,
No use to talk to me..
"The heart out of the bosom
Was never given in vain ;
"Tip paid with sighs a-plenty
And sold for endless rue"
And I am two-and-twenty
And oh, 'tis true, 'tis true.

Alfred Edward Housman (/ˈhaʊsmən/; 26 March 1859 – 30 April 1936), usually known as A. E. Housman, was an English classical scholar and poet, best known to the general public for his cycle of poems A Shropshire Lad.