The Life Of The Rover lyrics
Will MillarThe old ways are changing, you cannot deny
The day of the traveller is over
There is nowhere to go and there is nowhere to buy
Goodbye to the life of the rover
Farewell to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gipsy, the travelling man
Farewell to the life of the rover
Farewell to the songs and the travelling tongue
Farewell to the horse and the bridle
The buying, the selling, the old fortune telling
The knock on the door and the hawking
You've got to move fast to keep up with the times
For these days a man cannot dander
There's a by-law to say you must be on your way
And another to say you can't wander
Farewell to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gipsy, the travelling man
Farewell to the life of the rover
The old ways are passing and soon they'll be gone
And I lost the old friends of my younger days
So I'll sing the old songs when the evenings are long
And I'll drink to the life of the rover
Farewell to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gipsy, the travelling man
Farewell to the life of the rover
Farewell to the tent and the old caravan
To the tinker, the gipsy, the travelling man
Farewell to the life of the rover
Song Details
Composer & Lyricist: Ewan MacColl
Brief: So much of Irelands Folklore involves the roving life. This song is reminiscent of those days and also the realization that those days are coming to an end as we say farewell to the life of the rover.
References:
Rover - a wanderer
Hawking - To peddle goods aggressively, esp. by calling out.
Dander - stroll
Tinker - A travelling mender of metal household utensils.
Gipsy - variant spelling of Gypsy - a member of a race of wandering people
Will Millar: Irish Canadian singer - born in Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland with the family emigrating to Canada when he was quite young. Also, a co-founding member and frontman for The Irish Rovers.
Category: Folk
Other Recording Artists: The Johnstons, Syl Heeney, Noel Mc Loughlin, Ian Millar, Patsy Watchorn...
Album: A Party with the Irish, Vol. 1 (Sept 01, 2007)
