The angels are stooping, above your bed;
They weary of trooping with the whimpering dead.
God's laughing in heaven to see you so good;
The Sailing Seven are gay with His mood.
I sigh that kiss you, for I must own
That I shall miss you when you have grown.

First published in Scots Observer, April 1890; revised 1901

Composition:

Set to music by Steven Ebel , "An angel's lullaby", 2011 [ high voice and string quartet ], from Irish Lullabies, no. 2

Text Authorship:

• by William Butler Yeats (1865 - 1939), "A cradle song", appears in The Rose, first published 1893

See other settings of this text.

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

• ITA Italian (Italiano) (Ferdinando Albeggiani) , "Una ninna nanna", copyright © 2012, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Research team for this page: Ted Perry , Malcolm Wren [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 6
Word count: 52