Earth rais'd up her head
From the darkness dread and drear.
Her light fled,
Stony dread!
And her locks cover'd with grey despair.

"Prison'd on wat'ry shore,
Starry Jealousy does keep my den:
Cold and hoar,
Weeping o'er,
I hear the Father of the Ancient Men.

"Selfish Father of Men!
Cruel, jealous, selfish Fear!
Can delight,
Chain'd in night,
The virgins of youth and morning bear?

"Does spring hide its joy
When buds and blossoms grow?
Does the sower
Sow by night,
Or the ploughman in darkness plough?

"Break this heavy chain
That does freeze my bones around.
Selfish! vain!
Eternal bane!
That free Love with bondage bound."

Text Authorship:

• by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "Earth's answer", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 2, first published 1794 [author's text checked 1 time 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), "Earth's answer", 1956-81 [ solo voices, chorus, orchestra ], from Songs of Experience, Volume One, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Hayg Boyadjian (b. 1938), "Earth's answer", 1978 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello and bass ], from Song Cycle on Poems of William Blake, no. 6 [sung text checked 1 time]
• by Norman Curtis (b. 1933), "Earth's answer", c1959 [ voice and piano ], from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, no. 17 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Ole Carsten Green (b. 1922), "Earth's answer", op. 27a no. 2 (1973) [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by John H. Harbison (b. 1938), "Earth's answer", 1971, published c1975, first performed 1973 [ four soli, SATB chorus, string quartet, and percussion ], from Five Songs of Experience, no. 2, New York, Associated Music Publishers [sung text not yet checked]
• by (Herbert) Kelsey Jones (b. 1922), "Earth's answer", 1958, first performed 1958 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Songs of Experience, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Otto Luening (1900 - 1996), "Earth's answer", 1928, published 1957 [ bass-baritone and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 2, New York, High Gate Press (Galaxy) [sung text not yet checked]
• by Sarah L. Rodgers (b. 1953), "Earth's answer", first performed 1984 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Six Songs of Experience, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by Elie Siegmeister (1909 - 1991), "Earth's answer", 1966, published 1979 [ alto or bass voice, viola, and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 2, NY : C. Fischer [sung text not yet checked]
• by Leo Smith (1881 - 1952), "Earth's answer", 1941 [ medium voice and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
• by John Austin Sykes (1909 - 1962), "Earth's answer", c1931, first performed 1975 [ high baritone and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]

The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:

• by Gary Michael Higginson (b. 1952), "The voice of wisdom and Earth's answer", op. 55 no. 1 (1981-2) [ SATB chorus with divisions a cappella ], from Seven Songs of William Blake, Set II, no. 1
  • View the full text. [sung text not yet checked]
    
• by Sven-David Sandström (b. 1942), "Spring -- Introduction -- Earth's answer", 1978, published c1983, first performed 1983 [ double mixed chorus a cappella ], note : texts are intermixed ; Stockholm : Nordika Musikförlaget
  • View the full text. [sung text not yet checked]
    

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

• Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Anonymous/Unidentified Artist ; composed by Dieter Rehfeld.
  • Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]
    

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 25
Word count: 108