The Roadside Fire

From Songs of Travel by Vaughan Williams

Introduction

I sang piece this for Stanford Vocal Department Juries in the Spring 2024 quarter.

“The Roadside Fire” is a song from Vaughan Williams’ Songs of Travel which sets poems by Robert Louis Stevenson to music. This song captures the spirit of adventure and the longing for a place to call home with vivid imagery of nature and the open road. The lyrics express a romantic and idealistic vision of building a life together with a loved one, creating a sense of warmth and intimacy. The roadside fire symbolizes the comfort and companionship found in the journey of life.

Video

Lyrics

Lyrics

I will make you brooches and toys for your delight Of bird-song at morning and star-shine at night. I will make a palace fit for you and me, Of green days in forests and blue days at sea.

I will make my kitchen, and you shall keep Your room, where white flows the river, and bright blows the broom, And you shall wash your linen and keep your body bright In rainfall at morning and dewfall at night.

And this shall be for music when no one else is near, The fine song for singing, the rare song to hear! That only I remember, that only you admire, Of the broad road that stretches and the roadside fire.