Dark brown is the river

Dark brown is the river,
Golden is the sand.
It flows along for ever,
With trees on either hand.

Green leaves a-floating,
Castles of the foam,
Boats of mine a-boating -
Where will all come home?

On goes the river
And out past the mill,
Away down the valley,
Away down the hill.

Away down the river,
A hundred miles or more,
Other little children
Shall bring my boats ashore.

Translation(s): ITA

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Authorship

• by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "Where go the boats?", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885 [ author's text not yet checked against a primary source]

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

• by Mark Andrews (1875 - 1939), "Where go the boats?", published 1911 [voice and piano], from Nine songs from "A Child's Garden of Verse" [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "Where go the boats?", published 1958 [2-part chorus and piano], from Four innocent airs [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Ernst Bacon (1898 - 1990), "Where go the boats?", 1917. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Marshall H. Barnes (b. 1921), "Where go the boats?", published 1970 [SA chorus and piano], from Three songs to children [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Gladys M. Cohen (1907 - 1996), as Guirne Javal, "Where go the boats", published 1956 [two-part chorus], partsong [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Thomas Crawford , "Where go the boats?", published 1915 [voice and piano], from Songs with Music from "A Child's Garden of Verses", no. 2. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Edward Falk , "Where go the boats?", published <<1940 [voice and piano], from A Child's Garden of Verses [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Carlisle Floyd (b. 1926), "Where go the boats?", published 1967 [unison chorus and piano], from Two Stevenson songs [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Adolph Martin Foerster (1854 - 1927), "Where go the boats?", op. 67 (Child Lyrics) no. 1. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Joseph Groocock , "Dark brown is the river", published 1957 [SSA chorus and piano], from A Child's Garden [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Henry Kimball Hadley (1871 - 1937), "Where go the boats?", op. 29 no. 4, published 1903 [voice and piano], from Four Stevenson Songs, no. 4. [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Marjorie Helyer , "Where go the boats?", published 1957. [unison chorus and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Ulysses Simpson Kay (1917 - 1995), "Where go the boats?", published 1966. [voice or unison chorus and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Robert Houston Macdonald , "Where go the boats?", published 1895 [unison chorus and piano], in Thirty Unison Songs [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Jan Masséus (1913 - 1999), "Where go the boats?", op. 47a no. 4 (1974), from My kingdom, no. 4. [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Anne Stratton Miller , "Boats of mine", published 1919. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Stanley Muschamp , "Where go the boats?", published <<1940. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin (1862 - 1901), "Dark brown is the river", <<1901 [voice and piano], from Three songs, no. 3. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "Where go the boats?", published 1910. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Roger Quilter (1877 - 1953), "Where go the boats?", op. 5 no. 3, published 1914, rev. 1945 [voice and piano], from Four Child Songs, no. 3, Chappell [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Marvin Radnor , "Where go the boats?", published 1923. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Teresa del Riego (c1876 - 1968), "Where go the boats?", published 1909 [voice and piano], from Children's pictures [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Beatrice Macgowan Scott , "Where go the boats?", published 1933 [unaccompanied voice], in New Universal School Music Series: Rhythm Songs [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Eleanor Smith , "Where go the boats?", published <<1940 [voice and piano], from Song Pictures [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir (1852 - 1924), "Where go the boats?", op. 30 no. 5, published 1892 [voice and piano], from A Child's Garland of Songs, no. 5. [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Eric Harding Thiman (1900 - 1975), "Where go the boats?" [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Eric Harding Thiman (1900 - 1975), "Where go the boats?", published <<1940. [voice and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Muriel Thomas , "Where go the boats?", published 1957 [unison chorus of medium voices and piano], from Four songs for children, also set in Welsh, translation by Wil Ifan [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Vally Weigl, née Pick (c1894 - 1982), "Where go the boats?" [medium voice, recorder, and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Patrick Williams (1905 - 1985), "Where go the boats?", published 1963. [unison chorus and piano] [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson (b. 1931), "Where go the boats?", published 1968 [high voice and piano], from From a child's garden, no. 3. [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Luigi Zaninelli (b. 1932), "Where go the boats?", published 1962 [SSA chorus and instrumental ensemble], from The world is so full [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Paolo Montanari) , "Dove vanno le barche?", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Dove vanno le barche?

Il fiume è marrone,
la spiaggia è d'oro.
Scorre per sempre
con degli alberi a destra e sinistra.
 
Foglie verdi galleggiano,
castelli di schiuma,
le mie barchette veleggiano.
Dove arriveranno?
 
Il fiume va
passa oltre il mulino
giù per la valle
giù per la collina
 
Giù per il fiume,
a cento miglia o più,
altri bambini
porteranno le mie barche a riva.

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Authorship

• Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2010 by Paolo Montanari, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
  
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• a text in English by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "Where go the boats?", appears in A Child's Garden of Verses, first published 1885
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Mark Andrews, Ernst Bacon, Marshall H. Barnes, Gladys M. Cohen, as Guirne Javal, Thomas Crawford, Edward Falk, Carlisle Floyd, Adolph Martin Foerster, Joseph Groocock, Henry Kimball Hadley, Marjorie Helyer, Ulysses Simpson Kay, Robert Houston Macdonald, Jan Masséus, Anne Stratton Miller, Stanley Muschamp, Ethelbert Woodbridge Nevin, Graham Peel, Roger Quilter, Marvin Radnor, Teresa del Riego, Beatrice Macgowan Scott, Eleanor Smith, Charles Villiers Stanford, Sir, Eric Harding Thiman, Muriel Thomas, Vally Weigl, née Pick, Patrick Williams, Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson, Luigi Zaninelli. Go to the text.

Text added to the website: 2010-04-05.
Last modified: 2014-06-16 10:03:38
Line count: 16
Word count: 62