Alfred Edward Housman: Collected Lyrics
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Public-domain lyrics

It nods and curtseys and recovers

Alfred Edward Housman

“It nods and curtseys and recovers” as printed in A Shropshire Lad (1896).

Alfred Edward Housman: Collected Lyrics Text 19 1896 · historical text
Public domainSong lyricsVictorian song
Complete public-domain lyrics

This text comes from A Shropshire Lad, a historical songbook transcribed on Wikisource and reproduced from the pinned revision linked below.

Verse 1

It nods and curtseys and recovers

When the wind blows above,

The nettle on the graves of lovers

That hanged themselves for love.

Verse 2

The nettle nods, the wind blows over,

The man, he does not move,

The lover of the grave, the lover

That hanged himself for love.

Credits

Written by Alfred Edward Housman

Words by Alfred Edward Housman. Historical text published in A Shropshire Lad (1896); public domain. No claim to a modern recording or arrangement.

Source & text edition

A Shropshire Lad (1896), “It nods and curtseys and recovers”

A. E. Housman (1859-1936) died more than 89 years ago; his works entered the public domain in life-plus-70 jurisdictions in 2007, and the 1896 first edition is in the public domain in the United States. Entries credited to other hands are held unless their author died more than 70 years ago.

How to read this historical text and its source

Read the source on Wikisource

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Retrieved 2026-10-27. Line spacing and section labels are adapted for reading. The displayed text follows the linked edition. Editorial notes and abstract artwork are by 52lyrics.
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