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Public-domain lyrics

The Isle of Portland

Alfred Edward Housman

“The Isle of Portland” as printed in A Shropshire Lad (1896).

Alfred Edward Housman: Collected Lyrics Text 40 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

The star-filled seas are smooth to-night

From France to England strown;

Black towers above the Portland light

The felon-quarried stone.

Verse 2

On yonder island, not to rise,

Never to stir forth free,

Far from his folk a dead lad lies

That once was friends with me.

Verse 3

Lie you easy, dream you light,

And sleep you fast for aye;

And luckier may you find the night

Than ever you found the day.

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), “The Isle of Portland”

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

View copyright evidence · Transcription terms (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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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