"Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree" is a mysterious murder ballad from A. E. Housman's famous 1896 collection A Shropshire Lad. The poem's speaker has just killed his brother and is on the way out of town (perhaps to go on the lam, perhaps to kill himself, too). But before he goes, he stops to wish his friend Terence a sad farewell and laments the countryside pleasures he'll no longer get to enjoy. Murder, in this poem, ends the murderer's life just as surely as it ends the victim's: there's no way for the speaker to go on living his former life after his fratricide.
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The Full Text of “Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree”
1"Farewell to barn and stack and tree,
2Farewell to Severn shore.
3Terence, look your last at me,
4For I come home no more.
5"The sun burns on the half-mown hill,
6By now the blood is dried;
7And Maurice amongst the hay lies still
8And my knife is in his side.
9"My mother thinks us long away;
10'Tis time the field were mown.
11She had two sons at rising day,
12To-night she’ll be alone.
13"And here’s a bloody hand to shake,
14And oh, man, here’s good-bye;
15We’ll sweat no more on scythe and rake,
16My bloody hands and I.
17"I wish you strength to bring you pride,
18And a love to keep you clean,
19And I wish you luck, come Lammastide,
20At racing on the green.
21"Long for me the rick will wait,
22And long will wait the fold,
23And long will stand the empty plate,
24And dinner will be cold."
The Full Text of “Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree”
1"Farewell to barn and stack and tree,
2Farewell to Severn shore.
3Terence, look your last at me,
4For I come home no more.
5"The sun burns on the half-mown hill,
6By now the blood is dried;
7And Maurice amongst the hay lies still
8And my knife is in his side.
9"My mother thinks us long away;
10'Tis time the field were mown.
11She had two sons at rising day,
12To-night she’ll be alone.
13"And here’s a bloody hand to shake,
14And oh, man, here’s good-bye;
15We’ll sweat no more on scythe and rake,
16My bloody hands and I.
17"I wish you strength to bring you pride,
18And a love to keep you clean,
19And I wish you luck, come Lammastide,
20At racing on the green.
21"Long for me the rick will wait,
22And long will wait the fold,
23And long will stand the empty plate,
24And dinner will be cold."
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“Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree” Summary
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“Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree” Themes
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Murder, Guilt, and Consequences
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Line-by-Line Explanation & Analysis of “Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree”
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Lines 1-4
"Farewell to barn and stack and tree,
Farewell to Severn shore.
Terence, look your last at me,
For I come home no more. -
Lines 5-8
"The sun burns on the half-mown hill,
By now the blood is dried;
And Maurice amongst the hay lies still
And my knife is in his side. -
Lines 9-12
"My mother thinks us long away;
'Tis time the field were mown.
She had two sons at rising day,
To-night she’ll be alone. -
Lines 13-20
"And here’s a bloody hand to shake,
And oh, man, here’s good-bye;
We’ll sweat no more on scythe and rake,
My bloody hands and I.
"I wish you strength to bring you pride,
And a love to keep you clean,
And I wish you luck, come Lammastide,
At racing on the green. -
Lines 21-24
"Long for me the rick will wait,
And long will wait the fold,
And long will stand the empty plate,
And dinner will be cold."
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“Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree” Symbols
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Bloody Hands
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“Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree” Poetic Devices & Figurative Language
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Repetition
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Allusion
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Imagery
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Assonance
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“Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree” Vocabulary
Select any word below to get its definition in the context of the poem. The words are listed in the order in which they appear in the poem.
- Stack
- Severn
- 'Tis
- Scythe
- Lammastide
- Rick
- Fold
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- See where this vocabulary word appears in the poem.
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Form, Meter, & Rhyme Scheme of “Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree”
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Form
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Meter
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Rhyme Scheme
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“Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree” Speaker
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“Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree” Setting
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Literary and Historical Context of “Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree”
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More “Farewell to Barn and Stack and Tree” Resources
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External Resources
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More about Housman — Read this brief biography from the Poetry Foundation to learn more about Housman's life and work.
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A Shropshire Lad — Look through the notable collection this poem comes from.
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Portraits of Housman — See some images of Housman via London's National Portrait Gallery.
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Housman's Legacy — Read an article discussing Housman's literary reputation.
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LitCharts on Other Poems by A. E. Housman
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