The Land of Lost Content (John Ireland)

The Land of Lost Content is a song cycle for voice and piano composed in 1920–21 by John Ireland (1879–1962). It consists of settings of six poems by A. E. Housman from his 1896 collection A Shropshire Lad.

A typical performance takes about 11 minutes. The songs are, with Roman numerals from A Shropshire Lad, and first lines where Housman did not title his poem:


 * 1) XXIX "The Lent Lily"
 * 2) XV "Ladslove" ("Look not in my eyes")
 * 3) XVII "Goal and Wicket" ("Twice a week the winter thorough")
 * 4) XXXIII "The Vain Desire" ("If truth in hearts that perish")
 * 5) XXII "The Encounter" ("The street sounds to the soldiers' tread")
 * 6) LVII "Epilogue" ("You smile upon your friend today")

The title of the cycle is taken from Housman's poem "Into my heart an air that kills", XL in A Shropshire Lad: