where does "keep the wind at your back and the sun on your face" come from??

Question

i've heard this quote a lot but dont know where its from! a song, poem??

Answer 1

This and variations appear in Irish literature:

May the road rise to meet you.
May the wind be ever at your back
May the Good Lord keep you in the hollow of His hand.
May your heart be as warm as your hearthstone.
And when you come to die
may the wail of the poor
be the only sorrow
you'll leave behind.
May God bless you always.
anonymous
``An Irish Wish''
in Ralph L. Woods _A Third Treasury of the Familiar_ (1970) p. 644

Another version--which is the version most often mentioned in
alt.quotations--runs thus:--

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind be always at your back,
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
And the rains fall soft upon your fields,
And, until we meet again
May God hold you in the palm of His hand.

Answer 2

I don't know, but no one else has answered, so I'll give my opinion.

It almost surely comes from sailors. "...the wind at your back.." would give sailors the most power from the wind. They can adjust their sails to catch the wind even if it's coming from the side, etc, but then part of the power of the wind is not pushing them the way they want to go.

The wind at their back is best.

Not sure about the sun on face. Feels good, maybe? Makes one feel alive and part of the world?

Answer 3

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
where does "keep the wind at your back and the sun on your face" come from??
i've heard this quote a lot but dont know where its from! a song, poem??

Answer 4

Wind On My Back

Answer 5

I don't know specifically, but it's usually thing slike that are a form movies.
Youre sounds like it's from a book, possible mythology.

but there is this song:
Does He Love You?
Artist(Band) : Rilo Kiley

Answer 6

It's from an Irish prayer for travlers.

Answer 7

When u toast someone.