Fun Facts:
1) The lyrics of this song were taken from a poem by Robert Louis Stevenson.
2) This was the first song in Ralph Vaughan Williams' song cycle "The Songs of Travel," which consisted entirely of songs with lyrics from poems by Robert Louis Stevenson.
"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."