The life of a ne'er-do is a novella by Joseph von Eichendorff . It was 1 822 / 1,823 completed and first published in 1826. The work is the highlight of musical prose and as an example of the late Romantic period . Eichendorff used here, as in many of his works, an open mold and enriches the epic text with plenty of lyrical elements on either by including numerous poems and songs in his text.