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.
Faint Harps and Silver Voices
Song Cycle by David Stevenson Kechley (b. 1947)
1. Day  [sung text not yet checked]
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Day", written c1793
See other settings of this text.
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. A poison tree  [sung text not yet checked]
I was angry with my friend: I told my wrath, my wrath did end. I was angry with my foe: I told it not, my wrath did grow. And I water'd it in fears, Night & morning with my tears; And I sunned it with smiles, And with soft deceitful wiles. And it grew both day and night, Till it bore an apple bright. And my foe beheld it shine, And he knew that it was mine. And into my garden stole When the night had veil'd the pole, In the morning glad I see My foe outstretch'd beneath the tree.
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The poison tree", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 21, first published 1794
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "Un arbre empoisonné", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Ein Giftbaum", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
3. Winter  [sung text not yet checked]
Still the faint harps and silver voices calm the weary couch; But from the caves of deepest Night, ascending in clouds of mist, The Winter spread his wide black wings across from pole to pole; Grim Frost beneath and terrible Snow, link'd in a marriage chain, Began a dismal dance. The Winds around on pointed rocks Settled like bats innumerable, ready to fly abroad.
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Winter", appears in Vala, or The Four Zoas, in Night the Fifth, II, 30-5
Go to the general single-text view
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]4. The fly  [sung text not yet checked]
Little Fly, Thy summer's play My thoughtless hand Has brush'd away. Am not I A fly like thee? Or art not thou A man like me? For I dance And drink & sing: Till some blind hand Shall brush my wing. If thought is life And strength & breath And the want Of thought is death; Then am I A happy fly, If I live, Or if I die.
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The fly", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 10, first published 1794
See other settings of this text.
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- FRE French (Français) (Guy Laffaille) , "La mouche", copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "Мотылёк", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
5. Song : Memory, hither come  [sung text not yet checked]
Memory, hither come And tune your merry notes; And while upon the wind Your music floats, I'll pore upon the stream, Where sighing lovers dream, And fish for fancies as they pass Within the watery glass. I'll drink of the clear stream, And hear the linnet's song, And there I'll lie and dream The day along; And when night comes I'll go To places fit for woe, Walking along the darkened valley, With silent melancholy.
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Memory, hither come", written 1783, appears in Poetical Sketches
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this page: Ted Perry