The vagabond

Give to me the life I love,
Let the lave go by me,
Give the jolly heaven above,
And the byway nigh me.
Bed in the bush with stars to see,
Bread I dip in the river -
There's the life for a man like me,
There's the life for ever.

Let the blow fall soon or late,
Let what will be o'er me;
Give the face of earth around,
And the road before me.
Wealth I seek not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me;
All I seek, the heaven above,
And the road below me.

Or let autumn fall on me
Where afield I linger,
Silencing the bird on tree,
Biting the blue finger.
White as meal the frosty field -
Warm the fireside haven -
Not to autumn will I yield,
Not to winter even!

Let the blow fall soon or late,
Let what will be o'er me;
Give the face of earth around,
And the road before me.
Wealth I ask not, hope nor love,
Nor a friend to know me;
All I ask, the heaven above,
And the road below me.

by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) , "The vagabond", from Songs of Travel and other verses, no. 1, published 1896

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

by Donald A. Byars , "The vagabond", 1948 [baritone and piano], from Songs of Travel, no. ?
by Noble Cain (1896-1977) , "The vagabond", published 1932 [voice and piano], from Music of Many Lands and Peoples
by (Henry) Walford Davies, Sir (1869-1941) , "The vagabond", published 1931. [voice and piano]
by Martin Kalmanoff (1920-) , "Give me the life I loved", published 1958. [TTBB chorus or solo voice and piano]
by Jessie L. Pease , "The vagabond", published 1907. [voice and piano]
by Georgina Elsie Smith , "The vagabond", 1953, from Songs of Travel, no. ?, soprano or tenor and piano
by Oley Speaks (1874-1948) , "The vagabond", published 1922. [voice and piano]
by William Armour Thayer (1874-1933) , "The vagabond", <<1933. [voice and piano]
by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) , "The vagabond", 1904, published 1905, orchestrated 1905 [voice and piano], from Songs of Travel, no. 1.
by John Barnes Wells (1880-1935) , "The vagabond", <<1935. [voice and piano]
by Francis Brett Young (1884-1954) , "The vagabond", <<1913. [voice and piano]

ITA Italian (Ferdinando Albeggiani)
ITA Italian (Amici Musica di Padova)

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