A Shropshire Lad: XXXI, As through the wild green hills of Wyre, by Alfred Edward Housman

	XXXVII			Q

	As through the wild green hills of Wyre		C
	The train ran, changing sky and shire,		C
	And far behind, a fading crest,
	Low in the forsaken west			Q
	Sank the high-reared head of Clee,	5	C
	My hand lay empty on my knee.
V	Aching on my knee it lay:
V	That morning half a shire away
V	So many an honest fellow's fist
V	Had well-nigh wrung it from the wrist.	10
	Hand, said I, since now we part
	From fields and men we know by heart,
	For strangers' faces, strangers' lands, -
	Hand, you have held true fellows' hands.
V	Be clean then; rot before you do	15
	A thing they'd not believe of you.
	You and I must keep from shame
	In London streets the Shropshire name;
	On banks of Thames they must not say
	Severn breeds worse men than they;	20
V	And friends abroad must bear in mind			Q
V	Friends at home they leave behind.
	Oh, I shall be stiff and cold
V	When I forget you, hearts of gold;
V	The land where I shall mind you not	25
V	Is the land where all's forgot.
	And if my foot returns no more
	To Teme nor Corve nor Severn shore,		C
V	Luck, my lads, be with you still			Q
V	By falling stream and standing hill,	30
V	By chiming tower and whispering tree,			Q
	Men that made a man of me.
	About your work in town and farm
	Still you'll keep my head from harm,
V	Still you'll help me, hands that gave	35
V	A grasp to friend me to the grave.

Key: V: Textual Variation. C: Commentary. Q: Question. Glossary

Top ▲ Commentary

Line	Commentary
	Date: Aug - Dec 1894 (1st draft), Aug / Sept 1895 (2nd draft)
1	Wyre: the Wyre Forest, which spans the border of Shropshire and Worcestershire
2	train: Running on the branch-line known as the Severn Valley Railway (although not that part currently preserved).
5	Clee: either Titterstone Clee or Brown Clee, both near Ludlow
28	Teme, Corve, Severn: all rivers local to the area; the Corve rises SW of Much Wenlock and flows E of Wenlock Edge to join the Teme W of Ludlow; the Teme rises south of Newtown in Powys, flows east and south-east through Shropshire and the town of Ludlow before joining the River Severn just to the south of Worcester; the Severn rises in Mid-Wales and is the principal river of Shropshire, flowing SW to join the sea in the Bristol Channel

Top ▲ Variations

Line	Text	Textual variation
7	D2	Aching <on my knee> \ on my knee / \ <like my heart> / it lay <;> <:>
8	D2	<So many>, [← <No wonder>; \ <That morning> / \ That morning / ] <when I came> \ <In Ludlow> <twenty miles> half a shire / away <,>
9	D1	Warm from many an honest fist
9	D2	<It clasped \ <locked> / ; <s> So many an honest \ fellow’s / fist
10	D1d1	Had well nigh] Had \ That nearly
10	D2	<Had> \ <That> / [← Had] nearly
10	D1d1	it] \ you /
15	D2	Today: be clean then; keep the touch
21-22	D2	And sure, the way’s not hard to find: \| I need but <keep> bear my friends in mind \ keep your friends in mind /
22+	D2	Additional line: <And> “<d> Don’t forget us, lad” said they
24	D1	When] If
25	D2	<The land> \ <country> / <where I> [ ← The <place> \ land / where I] \ shall / <remember> \ mind you / not
26	D2	Is the land] <Will be the> [ ← Is the land]
29	D2	Pen the fold <and> \ or / mind the till
30	D2	stream] \ <river> /
31	D2d1	By Teme and <Ony,> \ Ludlow, / Corve and Clee
31	D2d2	<All from Wenlock Edge to Clee> \ Under Wenlock, under Clee, /
35	D2	Still you’ll help me] <Souls> \ Hearts / to die for
36	D1	to friend] that friends

Top ▲ Questions

Line	Question
4	Why is the west described as "forsaken" ?
21	Compare the draft version of these lines: And sure, the way's not hard to find: I need but bear my friends in mind (keep your friends in mind) " Don't forget us, lad" said they Oh, I shall be stiff and cold… With the final version: And friends abroad must bear in mind Friends at home they leave behind. Oh, I shall be stiff and cold… What are the merits of each?
29	Why do you think Housman changed from the draft: Pen the fold or mind the till to the final version: Luck, my lads, be with you still What does the final version add to the overall effect of the poem?
31	Why has the poet taken out the specific place names from the draft versions: By Teme and Ony / Ludlow), Corve and Clee or All from Wenlock Edge to Clee or Under Wenlock, under Clee, and replaced them with the much more general, sound-based line: By chiming tower and whispering tree
Whole poem	This is the first of the poems that describe the differences for the Shropshire Lad between home and London. What are his feelings on departure?