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Home no more home to me, whither must I wander? Hunger my driver, I go where I must. Cold blows the winter wind over hill and heather: Thick drives the rain and my roof is in the dust. Loved of wise men was the shade of my roof-tree, The true word of welcome was spoken in the door - Dear days of old with the faces in the firelight, Kind folks of old, you come again no more. Home was home then, my dear, full of kindly faces, Home was home then, my dear, happy for the child. Fire and the windows bright glittered on the moorland; Song, tuneful song, built a palace in the wild. Now when day dawns on the brow of the moorland, Lone stands the house, and the chimney-stone is cold. Lone let it stand, now the friends are all departed, The kind hearts, the true hearts, that loved the place of old. Spring shall come, come again, calling up the moorfowl, Spring shall bring the sun and rain, bring the bees and flowers; Red shall the heather bloom over hill and valley, Soft flow the stream through the even-flowing hours. Fair the day shine as it shone on my childhood - Fair shine the day on the house with open door; Birds come and cry there and twitter in the chimney - But I go for ever and come again no more.
About the headline (FAQ)
First published in Scots Observer, January 1889Authorship:
- by Robert Louis Stevenson (1850 - 1894), no title, appears in Songs of Travel and other verses, no. 16, to the tune of Wandering Willie, first published 1896 [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 John Theodore Livingston Raynor (1909 - 1970), "Home no more home to me", op. 210 (1948) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872 - 1958), "Whither must I wander?", 1901, published 1902, rev. 1912?, orchestrated 1962, from Songs of Travel, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "On haig d’anar?", copyright © 2016, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (David Paley) , "Wohin muss ich wandern?", copyright © 2010, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Dove mi tocca andare?", copyright © 2008, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- LIT Lithuanian (Lietuvių kalba) (Giedrius Prunskus) , "Kur turiu keliauti?", 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: 24
Word count: 237
Senza più casa, dove mi tocca andare? Un desiderio ardente mi guida, andrò dove devo. Freddo soffia il vento invernale sull'erica delle colline: fitta batte la pioggia e la mia casa giace nella polvere. Amata da brava gente era l'ombra della mia veranda, Sulla porta li accoglieva un benvenuto sincero -- Cari giorni di un tempo passati davanti al focolare, bella gente di un tempo, non tornerete più. La casa era una vera casa a quel tempo, piena di visi gentili, una vera casa, lieta per il bambino. Col focolare e le finestre accese che illuminavano la brughiera; Canti, soavi canti, ne facevano un palazzo nella natura selvaggia. Ora quando si affaccia il giorno ai bordi della brughiera, deserta sta la casa, e freddo è il camino. Che siano deserti: gli amici sono tutti partiti, i cuori gentili e sinceri, che amarono quei posti di un tempo. Tornerà la primavera, ancora una volta, a richiamare la pernice, e porterà sole e pioggia, e api e fiori; rossa si farà l'erica su valli e colline, leggera fluirà la corrente nelle ore che scorrono eguali. Bello risplende il giorno come al tempo della mia infanzia -- Bello il giorno risplende davanti alla casa dalle porte spalancate; Vengono uccelli e gridano e cinguettano sul camino -- Ma io me ne vado per sempre e non farò più ritorno.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to Italian (Italiano) copyright © 2008 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), no title, appears in Songs of Travel and other verses, no. 16, to the tune of Wandering Willie, first published 1896
This text was added to the website: 2008-10-23
Line count: 24
Word count: 222