Talk:So, we'll go no more a roving

Removed the stub tag. The article considers textual history, personal history, various interpretations, and contemporary influence; it is robust enough. --ful.cleane (talk) 20:47, 25 November 2007 (UTC)

```` - A truly delightful poem, evocative of formerly wandering freely over moors and hills, appreciating nature with one's true love, but now too old to do that. But there's a more basic interpretation that somewhat destroys that received meaning and renders the poem much more pedestrian. One of the accepted meanings of "roving" is the sexual act, which provides a rather common but immediately-understandable explanation of the otherwise strange line: "For the sword outwears its sheath..." This poem could be portrayed as Byron trying to rid of one of his lovers, it is not know which one,Byron had many lovers Byron published the poem in 1817, in a letter. Rather damnably, there is a Scottish song titled "The Jolly Beggar," published in 1776 (in Herd's "Scots Songs" - which I have NOT been able to verify, is why I'm writing this - my only real reference is this reprint of "The Jolly Beggar" at - here is the relevant section):

There was a jolly beggar, and a begging he was bound, And he took up his quarters into a land'art town And ewe'll go no more a roving ae late into the night, And we'll gang nae mair a roving, boys, Let the moon shine ne'er sae bright. And we'll gang nae mair a roving. ... He took the lassie in his arms, and to bed he ran, O hooly, hooly wi' me, Sir, ye'll waken our goodman.

etc.

but there is also the old shanty, still popular in Scotland (last time I checked, a few years ago, when the whole hall belted it out verbatim when given the first line), called "The Maid of Amsterdam":

I put my arm around her waist, Mark well what I do say, I put my arm around her waist, So slim and trim and tightly laced, I'll go no more a-roving, with you fair maid. A-roving, a-roving, since roving's been my ruin, I'll go no more a-roving with you, fair maid.

So I mean to mention this alternate interpretation in the main article, even though it rather destroys one of my favourite poems.

The Master
An up tempo rendition of this poem/song is featured in The Master, sung by Lancaster Dodd (Hoffman). 24.138.105.38 (talk) 19:47, 9 October 2012 (UTC)

Actually Dodd sings a version of the The Maid of Amsterdam, the song that probably inspired the Byron's poem. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.140.86.40 (talk) 16:03, 19 January 2013 (UTC)