by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
Language: English
The sun descending in the west,
The evening star does shine;
The birds are silent in their nest.
And I must seek for mine.
The moon, like a flower
In heaven's high bower,
With silent delight
Sits and smiles on the night.
Farewell, green fields and happy grove,
Where flocks have took delight:
Where lambs have nibbled, silent move
The feet of angels bright;
Unseen they pour blessing
And joy without ceasing
On each bud and blossom,
And each sleeping bosom.
They look in every thoughtless nest
Where birds are cover'd warm;
They visit caves of every beast,
To keep them all from harm:
If they see any weeping
That should have been sleeping,
They pour sleep on their head,
And sit down by their bed.
...
Composition:
- Set to music by (Thomas) Athanasios Aronis (b. 1935), "Night", stanzas 1-3, from Blake Song Cycle, no. 1
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Night", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 14, first published 1789
See other settings of this text.
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 48
Word count: 252