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by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894)
Translation © by Ferdinando Albeggiani
Give to me the life I love
Language: English
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]1 not, hope nor love, Nor a friend to know me; All I ask, the heaven above And the road below me.
About the headline (FAQ)
View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with The Complete Poetry of Robert Louis Stevenson: A Child's Garden of Verses, e-artnow, 2015 (via Google Books).
Note: "lave" = "that which is left"1 Dunhill: "seek"
Text Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "The vagabond", subtitle: "To an air of Schubert", appears in Songs of Travel and other verses, no. 1, first published 1896 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Donald A. Byars , "The vagabond", 1948 [ baritone and piano ], from Songs of Travel [sung text not yet checked]
- by Noble Cain (1896 - 1977), "The vagabond", published 1932 [ voice and piano ], in the collection Music of Many Lands and Peoples [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Henry) Walford Davies, Sir (1869 - 1941), "The vagabond", published 1931 [ voice and piano ], from Twenty-one songs, no. 21 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Thomas Frederick Dunhill (1877 - 1946), "The vagabond", published 1920 [ unison chorus or voice and piano ], in The Year Book Press Series of Unison and Part Songs, no. 170, London: Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew Ltd. [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Herbert Foulds (1880 - 1939), "The vagabond", op. 1 (Two songs) no. 2 (c1899) [ baritone and piano ], missing [sung text not yet checked]
- by Martin Kalmanoff (1920 - 2007), "Give me the life I loved", published 1958 [ TTBB chorus or solo voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Jessie L. Pease , "The vagabond", published 1907 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Gerald) Graham Peel (1878 - 1937), "The vagabond" [sung text not yet checked]
- by Georgina Elsie Smith , "The vagabond", 1953, from Songs of Travel, soprano or tenor and piano [sung text not yet checked]
- by Oley Speaks (1874 - 1948), "The vagabond", published 1922 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Armour Thayer (1874 - 1933), "The vagabond", <<1933 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "The vagabond", 1904, published 1905, orchestrated 1905 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Travel, no. 1 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by John Barnes Wells (1880 - 1935), "The vagabond", <<1935 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Francis Brett Young (1884 - 1954), "The vagabond", <<1913 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Il vagabondo", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , copyright © 2023, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 32
Word count: 186
Il vagabondo
Language: Italian (Italiano) after the English
Concedi a me la vita che amo e, quanto al resto, è uguale per me dall'alto cielo un allegro richiamo, sempre una strada davanti a me. Sotto le stelle, per letto, un cespuglio cibo, dal limpido fiume, pescato - E' proprio questa la vita che voglio, è sempre questa la vita che ho amato E che il momento della mia morte sia presto o tardi, poco mi costa, se camminare sarà la mia sorte e attraversare la terra vasta Ricchezze, amore, speranza non cerco Neppure pretendo un amico vicino, Soltanto voglio sopra me il cielo E una strada sul mio cammino. E se su di me l'autunno discende Là dove il mio tempo trascorro lontano muto l'uccello sul ramo che pende intirizzita dal freddo la mano, bianco di neve il campo gelato, caldo il riparo del focolare, non sarà questo che mi avrà fermato neppure l'inverno mi potrà arrestare. E che il momento della mia morte sia presto o tardi, poco mi costa, se camminare sarà la mia sorte e attraversare la terra vasta. Ricchezze, amore, speranza non chiedo Neppure pretendo un amico vicino, Voglio soltanto sopra me il cielo E una strada sul mio cammino.
Text Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2005 by Ferdinando Albeggiani, (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.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in English by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), "The vagabond", subtitle: "To an air of Schubert", appears in Songs of Travel and other verses, no. 1, first published 1896
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-29
Line count: 32
Word count: 196