by John Masefield (1878 - 1967)
Roadways
Language: English
One road leads to London,
One road leads to Wales,
My road leads me seawards
To the white dipping sails.
One road leads to the river,
And it goes singing slow;
My road leads to shipping,
Where the bronzed sailors go.
Leads me, lures me, calls me
To salt green tossing sea;
A road without earth's road-dust
Is the right road for me.
A wet road heaving, shining,
And wild with seagull's cries,
A mad salt sea-wind blowing
The salt spray in my eyes.
My road calls me, lures me
West, east, south, and north;
Most roads lead men homewards,
My road leads me forth.
To add more miles to the tally
Of grey miles left behind,
In quest of that one beauty
God put me here to find.
First published in Speaker, May 1903
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
Text Authorship:
- by John Masefield (1878 - 1967), "Roadways", appears in Ballads and Poems, first published 1910 [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 John Hopkins Densmore (1880 - 1943), "Roadways", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Donald Edeson , "Roadways", published 1933 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Harold N. Finch , "Roadways", published 1947 [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Henry Balfour Gardiner (1877 - 1950), "Roadways", 1908, published 1908 [ voice and piano ], Forsyth Bros Ltd. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vivian Hickey , "Roadways", published 1947 [ satb chorus a cappella ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Gustav Holst (1874 - 1934), "Roadways", published 1932 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Samuel R. Lewis , "Roadways", published <<1940 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Hermann Frederic Löhr (1872 - 1943), "Roadways", published 1921 [ voice and orchestra ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Michael Mulliner (1896? - 1973), "Roadways", published 1934 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Reginald Pasfield (1909 - 1994), "Roadways", published 1957 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Edith Rose (1892 - 1972), "Roadways", published <<1940 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by L. Gordon Thorp , "Roadways", published 1937 [ unison chorus and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-01-21
Line count: 24
Word count: 129