The King's Way (Elgar, set by E. Elgar) (The Lied and Art Song Texts Page: Texts and Translations to Lieder, mélodies, canzoni, and other classical vocal music)


The newest street in London town,
    The Kingsway, the Kingsway!
The newest street in London town,
Who'll pace it up and pace it down?
The brave, the strong, who strive and try,
And think and work, who fight and die
To make their England's royal way
    The King's Way, the King's Way!

The noblest street in London town,
    The Kingsway, the Kingsway!
The noblest street in London town,
The stir of life beats up and down;
In serried ranks the sabres shine,
And Art and Craft and Thought divine,
All crowd and fill the great highway,
    The Kingsway, the Kingsway!

On dreary roads in London town
The sick and poor sink sadly down in gloom:
But grace and pity meet
When King and Queen stretch hands and greet
The weary ones;
This, they say,
Our King's way, and our Queen's way.
There is a path across the deep, -
    The King's Way, the King's Way!

There's a path across the deep, -
A path the Island ships shall keep;
A way by which to those we win,
Whose hands we clasp, whose hearts are kin,
England's sons across the sea;
They too will fight to keep it free:
Let ev'ry voice in England say, -
"God keep the way by night and day,
The King of England's Way!"
    The King's Way, the King's Way!

Authorship

Caroline Alice Elgar, née Roberts (1848-1920)

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

Sir Edward Elgar (1857-1934)

Date added to the website: 2009-02-05.

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