For works with similar titles, see A-Roving.
1986418A-Roving1892Victor James William Patrick Daley

When the sap runs up the tree,
   And the vine runs o'er the wall,
When the blossom draws the bee,
   From the forest comes a call,
Wild, and clear, and sweet, and strange,
   Many-toned and murmuring
Like the river in the range
   'Tis the joyous voice of Spring!

On the boles of gray old trees
   See the flying sunbeams play
Mystic, soundless melodies
   A fantastic march and gay;
But the young leaves hear them hark,
   How they rustle, every one!
And the sap beneath the bark
   Hearing, leaps to meet the sun.

O, the world is wondrous fair
   When the tide of life's at flood!
There is magic in the air,
   There is music in the blood;
And a glamour draws us on
   To the Distance, rainbow-spanned,
And the road we tread upon
   Is the road to Fairyland.

Lo! the elders hear the sweet
   Voice, and know the wondrous song;
And their ancient pulses beat
   To a tune forgotten long;
And they talk in whispers low,
   With a smile and with a sigh,
Of the years of long ago,
   And the roving days gone by.

This work is in the public domain in Australia because it was created in Australia and the term of copyright has expired. According to Australian Copyright Council - Duration of Copyright, the following works are public domain:

  • published non-government works whose author died before January 1, 1955,
  • anonymous or pseudonymous works and photographs published before January 1, 1955, and
  • government works published more than 50 years ago (before January 1, 1974).

This work is also in the public domain in the United States because it was first published outside the United States (and not published in the U.S. within 30 days), and it was first published before 1989 without complying with U.S. copyright formalities (renewal and/or copyright notice) and it was in the public domain in Australia on the URAA date (January 1, 1996). This is the combined effect of Australia having joined the Berne Convention in 1928, and of 17 USC 104A with its critical date of January 1, 1996.

Because the Australian copyright term in 1996 was 50 years, the critical date for copyright in the United States under the URAA is January 1, 1946.


This work may be in the public domain in countries and areas with longer native copyright terms that apply the rule of the shorter term to foreign works.

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This work was published before January 1, 1929, and is in the public domain worldwide because the author died at least 100 years ago.

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