[780] 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.
-- Robert Louis Stevenson
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From "Songs of Travel and Other Verses", published in 1896.
Meant to be sung "to an air of Schubert", though I don't know which one.
Robert Louis Stevenson's verse - energetic, enthusiastic and exciting - is
in many ways reminiscent of his prose, and like his prose, it's always fun
to read. Readers looking for profound insight or gut-wrenching emotion are
likely to be disappointed; equally, though, readers looking for metrical
felicity and magical atmospherics are likely to be enchanted.
I often think of Stevenson as a mixture of Walter de la Mare and John
Masefield: the former for his command of atmosphere, and the latter for his
wanderlust. The romance of the open road plays a significant role in
Stevenson's writings, yet it's always tempered with a sense of the beauty of
stillness, of silence. And while RLS cannot (in all honesty) hold a candle
to either de la Mare or Masefield, in many respects he does not miss by
much: his poems rarely fail to capture the imagination, and, having captured
it, to take it to places it's rarely seen before.
thomas.
PS. A quick comment on form: note how the steady rhythm of the hexameter
drives this poem on, and gives it a vigour befitting its subject. Nicely
done.
[Links]
Stevenson poems on the Minstrels:
Poem #20, "Requiem"
Poem #84, "From a Railway Carriage"
Poem #290, "Bed in Summer"
Poem #450, "Auntie's Skirts"
The first of these has a biography and some critical information.
Walter de la Mare:
Poem #2, "The Listeners"
Poem #272, "Napoleon"
Poem #484, "Brueghel's Winter"
Poem #725, "Silver"
John Masefield:
Poem #27, "Sea Fever"
Poem #74, "Cargoes"
Poem #555, "Trade Winds"
Poem #695, "Beauty"
Poem #702, "Night is on the Downland"
Poem #758, "Sea-Change"
The Poet's Corner has many more poems by RLS, including the complete text of
"Songs of Travel" [1] and of "A Child's Garden of Verses" [2].
[1] http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems/rls04.html
[2] http://www.geocities.com/~spanoudi/poems/rls01.html
From: "Matthew Murray" <thefonz003@>
On your page with the lyrics to "The Vagabond" by Robert Louis
Stevenson, it says that the words should be sung "to an air of Schubert."
I'm not sure if that was the original intention, but I've sung the same
words, by the same R.L. Stevenson, to a tune by someone else...I believe his
name was Ralph Vaughn Williams, though I could be mistaken...anyway, it
starts in c minor and has a key change (to e minor, I believe) at the bridge
("or let autumn fall on me..."), and then reverts back to its original key
at the start of the last verse. Just thought you might like to know this.
By the way, I sang this song for an Ohio Solo & Ensemble contest...it's on
the Class "A" required list. Thanks for your informative page.
Matthew C. Murray
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From: Ronribman@
I never realized this was a poem. I learned it as a song when I was a
school-child (60 plus years ago). The lyrics and the melody have, off and on,
been rattling around in my head since, but until the age of the computer
(when you could put in a few lines and locate the source in a couple of
nanoseconds) I had no idea where they came from. I'm delighted to find the
source. Thanks for posting it.
Ron Ribman
From: "Johnny Cloesen" <johnny.cloesen@>
beste
enige jaren geleden kwam ik bij de wandelclub Ise Valley Vagabond een
vriendin tegen die mijn een schild gaf met de begin worden van dit
gedicht.
heb mijn altijd afgevraagd of dit iets was wat zij had opgeschreven of
wat? ben blij dat ik nu heel het gedicht ken. Het motto van de engelse
wandelclub is vrienschap, en kijk eens wat de naam Vagabond teweeg
brengt mensen van verschillende landen komen samen in een belgische cafe
en door de moderne technieken kunnen zijn met elkaar in contact komen.
ongelooflijk toch.
groetjes
vagabond for ever
johnny cloesen
From: LarryBelz@
What is the meaning of he phrase, "Biting the blue finger."?
From: FranktheSquibb@
The Vagabond - comment.
I learned this song - set to music by Ralph Vaughan Williams - at Woodhouse
Grammar School in 1955. Our music teacher was Miss Cook, and I can hear her
thumping out the 'dum-de-da-de-da' introduction to this day.
The only recording I've come across - and it's an excellent one - is one by
the Welsh baritone Bryn Terfel on the Deutsche Grammophon label (1985), ref 445
946-2.
From: Armadillo Antiques <mintaka@>
I believe "Or let autumn fall on me Where afield I linger, Silencing the
bird on tree, Biting the blue finger" means this:
I am content to be in the field in autumn even though it (autumn cold)
causes the birds to stop singing (or to fly south?) and turns my fingers
blue with cold. Richard Butler
From: Adam Holden <amackenz@>
I don't know how old this page is and these comments, but I just wanted to point out to a previous commenter that the inscription "to an air of Schubert" was written on the original poem, but the song by Ralph Vaughan Williams is part of the cycle "Songs of Travel," a set of songs from RL Stevenson's poetry cycle Songs of Travel. There are other inscriptions, or dedications perhaps, on some of the other poems in his cycle, "To an air of Diabelli" and there's one to Bach as well.
There is also another recording I've found, though haven't listened to it yet, by Thomas Allen (bari) on the EMI label. It's a compilation CD, with also the Shropshire lad by RVW and orchestral songs by Elgar and Butterworth.
--Boundary_(ID_QS6yg4KryY+TAE0gmshYpg)
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I don't know how old this page is and these
comments, but I just wanted to point out to a previous commenter that the
inscription "to an air of Schubert" was written on the original poem, but the
song by Ralph Vaughan Williams is part of the cycle "Songs of Travel," a set of
songs from RL Stevenson's poetry cycle Songs of Travel. There are other
inscriptions, or dedications perhaps, on some of the other poems in his cycle,
"To an air of Diabelli" and there's one to Bach as well. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>There is also another recording I've found, though
haven't listened to it yet, by Thomas Allen (bari) on the EMI label. It's a
compilation CD, with also the Shropshire lad by RVW and orchestral songs by
Elgar and Butterworth. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>
--Boundary_(ID_QS6yg4KryY+TAE0gmshYpg)--
From: guitarman <brown1@>
From: John.Hodgson@ Wed Sep 14 12:02:42 2005
There is also a wonderful CBC recording of the Songs of Travel, sung by
Gerald Finley.
From: <yoshida@>
I found the verse in a facsimile book <The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady> by Edith Holden. She wrote down the verse on October in 1906 in her diary, <To an air of Schubert> is missing. Her diary witnesses the popularity of this poem. I suspect if she enjoys the Williams composition.
I am a Japanese native to have some difficulty in understanding the verse. But I am relieved to know that <Biting the blue finger> is a bit obscure even to native connoisseurs.
Yoshida
From: "Pereira" <ilpereira@>
what doeswhite as meal mean
From: "Pereira" <ilpereira@>
what does white as meal mean
From: James M Grimes <jamesmgrimes@>
My own favorite rendition of this poem is sung by Bryn Terfel - the
great Welsh bass-baritone. The album is "Bryn Terfel - the
Vagabond." But I'd like to find the recording by Gerald Finley that
John Hodgson mentioned.
From: "Rachel Schaufeld" <rachel@>
I remember learning this song at primary school in 1966. Our choir took
part in an interschool concert where about 10 choirs performed in
unison. I love the bleak independence of the lyrics.
rachie