by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
Pity would be no more
Language: English
Pity would be no more If we did not make somebody Poor; And Mercy no more could be If all were as happy as we. And mutual fear brings peace, Till the selfish loves increase: Then Cruelty knits a snare, And spreads his baits with care. He sits down with holy fears, And waters the grounds with tears; Then Humility takes its root Underneath his foot. Soon spreads the dismal shade Of Mystery over his head; And the Catterpiller and Fly Feed on the Mystery. And it bears the fruit of Deceit, Ruddy and sweet to eat; And the Raven his nest has made In its thickest shade. The Gods of the earth and sea Sought thro' Nature to find this Tree; But their search was all in vain: There grows one in the Human Brain.
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Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The Human Abstract", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 19, first published 1794 [author's text not yet checked against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by William Bolcom (b. 1938), "The Human Abstract", 1956-81 [ solo voices, chorus, orchestra ], from Songs of Experience, Volume Two, no. 14 [sung text checked 1 time]
- by Norman Curtis (b. 1933), "The Human Abstract", c1959 [ voice and piano ], from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, no. 31 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ole Carsten Green (b. 1922), "The Human Abstract", op. 27a no. 19 (1973) [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 19 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Thomas) Timothy Lenk (b. 1952), "The Human Abstract", c1977 [ tenor, bass-baritone, flute (piccolo), clarinet, bass clarinet, and violin ], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 12 [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Austin Sykes (1909 - 1962), "The Human Abstract" [ baritone and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 15 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Thomas) Gerard Victory (1921 - 1995), "The Human Abstract", 1977/8, first performed 1978 [ soprano, tenor, and SATB chorus a cappella ], from Seven Songs of Experience, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908 - 1988), "Pity would be no more", op. 46 no. 4 (1950) [ SSA chorus, strings, and piano ], from A Vision, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
Researcher for this page: Ahmed E. Ismail
This text was added to the website: 2005-01-17
Line count: 24
Word count: 136