Ralph Vaughan Williams: The Vagabond (Neil Balfour & Jenny Martins)

Neil Balfour and Jenny Martins performing The Vagabond (from Songs of Travel) by Ralph Vaughan Williams. Recorded in the Britten Studio at Snape Maltings.

Neil was a Britten Pears Young Artist 2020 - 2021. This song was rehearsed in a masterclass with Malcolm Martineau and Simon Keenleyside before being recorded by Britten Pears Arts.

LYRICS

Give to me the life I love,
Let the lave go by me,
Give the jolly heaven above
And the byway night 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.



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