"I have no name: I am but two days old." What shall I call thee? "I happy am, Joy is my name." Sweet joy befall thee! Pretty Joy! Sweet Joy, but two days old. Sweet Joy I call thee: Thou dost smile, I sing the while, Sweet joy befall thee!
Seven songs , opus 13
by Fritz Bennicke Hart (1874 - 1949)
1. Infant Joy  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Infant Joy", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 17, first published 1789
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "Дитя-радость", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
2. A slumber song  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
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.
Text 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
3. The blossom  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Merry, merry sparrow! Under leaves so green A happy blossom Sees you, swift as arrow, Seek your cradle narrow, Near my bosom. Pretty, pretty robin! Under leaves so green A happy blossom Hears you sobbing, sobbing, Pretty, pretty robin, Near my bosom.
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The blossom", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 6, first published 1789
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4. The shepherd  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
How sweet is the Shepherd's sweet lot! From the morn to the evening he strays; He shall follow his sheep all the day, And his tongue shall be fillèd with praise. For he hears the lamb's innocent call, And he hears the ewe's tender reply; He is watchful [while]1 they are in peace, For they know when their Shepherd is nigh.
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The shepherd", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 2, first published 1789
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "El pastor", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
1 Cooke: "when"
5. Spring  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Sound the Flute! Now [it's]1 mute. Birds delight Day and Night. Nightingale In the dale, Lark in Sky, 2 Merrily, Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year. Little Boy, Full of Joy; Little Girl, Sweet and small. Cock does crow, So do you. Merry voice Infant noise Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year. Little Lamb Here I am, Come and [lick My white neck]3. Let me pull Your soft Wool. Let me kiss Your soft face. Merrily Merrily [we]4 welcome in the Year.
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Spring", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 15, first published 1789
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View original text (without footnotes)Confirmed with William Blake, Songs of Innocence, 1789.
1 MacNutt: "'tis"2 Dougherty adds: "Out of sight"
3 MacNutt: "play/ Hours away"
4 MacNutt: "to"
6. The lamb  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Gave thee life, and [bid]1 thee feed, By the stream and o'er the mead; Gave thee clothing of delight, Softest clothing woolly, bright; Gave thee such a tender voice, Making all the vales rejoice? Little Lamb, who made thee? Dost thou know who made thee? Little Lamb, I'll tell thee, Little Lamb, I'll tell thee: He is callèd by thy name, For He calls Himself a Lamb. He is meek, and He is mild: He became a little child. I a child, and thou a lamb, We are callèd by His name. Little Lamb, God bless thee! Little Lamb, God bless thee!
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The lamb", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 4, first published 1789
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "L'anyell", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Thomas F. Schubert) , "Das Lamm", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) [singable] (Bertram Kottmann) , copyright © 2015, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "Агнец", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
1 MacNutt, Somervell: "bade"
7. The lilly  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
The modest rose puts forth a thorn, The humble sheep a threatening horn, While the lily white shall in love delight, Nor a thorn nor a threat stain her beauty bright.
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The lily", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 15, first published 1794
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