by Arthur Symons (1865 - 1945)
Wanderer's song
Language: English
I have had enough of women, and enough of love, But the land waits, and the sea waits, and day and night is enough; Give me a long white road, nd the grey wide path of the sea, And the wind's will and the bird's will, and the heart-ache still in me. Why should I seek out sorrow, and give gold for strife? I have loved much and wept much, but tears and love are not life: The grass calls to my heart, and the foam to my blood cries up, And the sun shines and the road shines, and the wine's in the cup. I have had enough of wisdom, and enough of mirth, For the way's one and the end's one, and it's soon to the ends of the earth; And it's then goodnight and to bed, and if heels or heart ache, Well, it's sound sleep and long sleep, and sleep too deep to wake.
Text Authorship:
- by Arthur Symons (1865 - 1945), "Wanderer's song", appears in Images of Good and Evil, first published 1899 [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 Frederick Delius (1862 - 1934), "Wanderer's song", published 1910. [TTBB chorus a cappella] [text not verified]
- by Ernest Bristow Farrar (1885 - 1918), "Wanderer's song", op. 10 no. 1 [voice and piano], from Vagabond Songs, no. 1. [text verified 1 time]
- by Andrew MacCunn , "Wanderer's song", published 1908. [voice and piano] [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 158