When the voices of children are heard on the green And laughing is heard on the hill, My heart is at rest within my breast And everything else is still. "Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down And the dews of night arise; Come, come, leave off play, and let us away Till the morning appears in the skies." "No, no, let us play, for it is yet day And we cannot go to sleep; Besides, in the sky the little birds fly And the hills are all cover'd with sheep." "Well, well, go & play till the light fades away And then go home to bed." The little ones leaped & shouted & laugh'd And all the hills echoed.
Two Blake Songs
Song Cycle by John Charlton Crawford (b. 1931)
1. Nurse's song  [sung text not yet checked]
Language: English
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Nurse's song", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 16, first published 1789
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]2. 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.
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Spring", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 15, first published 1789
See other settings of this text.
View original text (without footnotes)1 MacNutt: "'tis"
2 Dougherty inserts "Out of sight" after this line
3 MacNutt: "play/ Hours away"
4 MacNutt: "To"
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]
Total word count: 206