The sun [arises]1 in the East, Cloth'd in robes of blood and gold; Swords and spears and wrath increas'd All around his bosom roll'd, Crown'd with warlike fires and raging desires.
Nine poems from the note-book (1793) of William Blake
Song Cycle by John Linton Gardner (1917 - 2011)
1. Day  [sung text not yet checked]
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Day", written c1793
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "День", copyright © 1981, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
1 Papale: "also rises"; further changes may exist not noted.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
2. I laid me down upon a bank  [sung text not yet checked]
I laid me down upon a bank, Where Love lay sleeping; I heard among the rushes dank Weeping, weeping. Then I went to the heath and the wild, To the thistles and thorns of the waste; And they told me how they were beguiled, Driven out, and compelled to the chaste. I went to the Garden of Love, And saw what I never had seen; A Chapel was built in the midst, Where I used to play on the green. And the gates of this Chapel were shut And "Thou shalt not," writ over the door; So I turned to the Garden of Love That so many sweet flowers bore. And I saw it was filled with graves, And tombstones where flowers should be; And priests in black gowns were walking their rounds, And binding with briars my joys and desires.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), written 1793, appears in Notebook
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]3. A cradle song  [sung text not yet checked]
Sleep, sleep, beauty bright, Dreaming o'er the joys of night; Sleep, sleep, in thy sleep Little sorrows sit and weep. Sweet babe, in thy face Soft desires I can trace, Secret joys and secret smiles, Little pretty infant wiles. As thy softest limbs I feel, Smiles as of the morning steal O'er thy cheek, and o'er thy breast Where thy little heart does rest. O! the cunning wiles that creep In thy little heart asleep. When thy little heart does wake Then the dreadful lightnings break, From thy cheek and from thy eye, O'er the youthful harvests nigh. Infant wiles and infant smiles Heaven and Earth of peace beguiles.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "A cradle song", written c1793, appears in Notebook, possibly intended for Songs of Innocence
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
4. The wild flower's song  [sung text not yet checked]
As I wander'd the forest, The green leaves among, I heard a wild flower Singing a song: "I slept in the dark In the silent night, I murmur'd my fears And I felt delight. "In the morning I went As rosy as morn To seek for a new Joy, But I met with scorn."
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The wild flower's song", from Life, Vol. II, first published 1863
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]5. I saw a chapel all of gold  [sung text not yet checked]
I saw a chapel all of gold That none did dare to enter in, And many weeping stood without, Weeping, mourning, worshipping. I saw a serpent rise between The white pillars of the door, And he forc'd and forc'd and forc'd, Down the golden hinges tore. And along the pavement sweet, Set with pearls and rubies bright, All his slimy length he drew Till upon the altar white Vomiting his poison out On the bread and on the wine. So I turn'd into a sty And laid me down among the swine.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "I saw a chapel", first published 1863
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]6. I asked a thief  [sung text not yet checked]
I asked a thief to steal me a peach: He turned up his eyes. I ask'd a lithe lady to lie her down: Holy and meek, she cries. As soon as I went An Angel came: He wink'd at the thief, And smil'd at the dame; And without one word [said]1 Had a peach from the tree, [And still as a maid]2 Enjoy'd the lady.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), written 1793, appears in Notebook
See other settings of this text.
View original text (without footnotes)1 Mitchell: "spoke"
2 Mitchell: "And between earnest and joke"
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
7. To Nobodaddy  [sung text not yet checked]
Love to faults is always blind, Always is to joy inclin'd, Lawless, wing'd & unconfin'd, And breaks all chains from every mind. Deceit to secresy confin'd Lawful, cautious & refin'd To every thing but interest blind, And forges fetters for the mind.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), no title, written 1793, appears in Notebook, in Gnomic Verses, no. 7
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]8. The fairy  [sung text not yet checked]
"Come hither, my sparrows, My little arrows. If a tear or a smile Will a man beguile, If an amorous delay Clouds a sunshiny day, If the step of a foot Smites the heart to its root, 'Tis the marriage-ring - Makes each fairy a king." So a Fairy sung. From the leaves I sprung; He leap'd from the spray To flee away; But in my hat caught, He soon shall be taught. Let him laugh, let him cry, He's my Butterfly; For I've pull'd out the sting Of the marriage-ring.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), written 1793, appears in Notebook
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- CHI Chinese (中文) (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
9. Infant sorrow  [sung text not yet checked]
My mother groaned, my father wept, Into the dangerous world I leapt; Helpless, naked, piping loud, Like a fiend hid in a cloud. Struggling in my father's hands, Striving against my swaddling bands, Bound and weary, I thought best To sulk upon my mother's breast.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Infant sorrow", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 20, first published 1794
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Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]