The fly | Little Fly

Little Fly

Language: English

Our translations: CAT FRE RUS

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.

About the headline (FAQ)

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 [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 James R. Adler (b. 1950), "The fly", 1982 [ men's chorus and piano ], from Songs of Innocence and of Experience, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jeff Alexander (b. 1910), "The fly", published 1948 [sung text not yet checked]
by Violet Balestreri Archer (1913 - 2000), "The fly", 1958, from Two Songs for Soprano Voice and B flat Clarinet, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by Rodney Ash (b. 1931), "The fly", 1972, from Songs of Experience, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Granville Ransome Bantock, Sir (1868 - 1946), "The fly", published <<1912 [sung text not yet checked]
by Seymour Barab (1921 - 2014), "The fly", published 1979 [ soprano or tenor, recorder, and guitar ], from Bagatelles, no. 4, New York : Galaxy Music [sung text not yet checked]
by Maximilian Beckschäfer (b. 1952), "The fly", 1978 [ voice and instrumental ensemble ], from Songs after William Blake, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by William Bolcom (b. 1938), "The fly", 1956-81 [ solo voices, chorus, and orchestra ], from Songs of Experience, Volume One, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
by Hayg Boyadjian (b. 1938), "The fly", 1978 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, percussion, piano, violin, cello and bass ], from Song Cycle on Poems of William Blake, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "The fly", published 1922 [sung text not yet checked]
by (Edward) Benjamin Britten (1913 - 1976), "The fly", op. 74 no. 10, from Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, no. 10 [sung text checked 1 time]
by James Henry Baseden Butt (b. 1929), "The fly", op. 60 no. 3, published 1980, from Five William Blake Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by John Alden Carpenter (1876 - 1951), "The little fly", 1909, published 1912 [ voice and piano ], from Eight Songs, no. 7 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Barney Childs (1926 - 2000), "The fly", 1953, from Six Settings for Chorus [sung text not yet checked]
by Alice Upton Close , "The fly", published c1934 [ voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by William W. Colson (b. 1945), "The fly", 1967, first performed 1967 [ voice, piano ], from Three Blake Songs, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
by John H. Corina (1928 - 2014), "The fly", 1976, from From Songs of Innocence and Experience [sung text not yet checked]
by Elyse Donathan Curtis (b. 1929), "The fly", c1974, first performed 1974 [ medium voice, chorus, and piano ], from Nine Songs of William Blake, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Dorothy Carter Drennan (b. 1929), "The fly", 1973, first performed 1973 [ medium voice and keyboard ], from Songs of William Blake, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Vernon Duke (1903 - 1969), "The fly", published c1955 [ medium voice and piano ], from Four Songs, no. 2, NY : Broude Bros. [sung text not yet checked]
by David Andross Farquhar (1928 - 2007), "The fly", 1949 [ voice and piano ], from Blake Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Jacqueline Fontyn (b. 1930), "The fly", copyright © 1996 [ mezzo-soprano and orchestra ], from Blake's Mirror, no. 3, Molenaar Edition B.V., Wormerveer, Holland [sung text not yet checked]
by Donato D. Fornuto (b. 1931), "Little fly", published c1973 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 5, NY : Harold Branch Music Publishing Co. [sung text not yet checked]
by John Frandsen (b. 1956), "The Fly", 1991 [ voice and guitar ], from Songs of Experience, no. 3, confirmed with a CD booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
by Maurice Green , "The fly", published 1829 [sung text not yet checked]
by Ole Carsten Green (b. 1922), "The fly", op. 27a no. 10 (1973) [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
by David Haines (b. 1956), "The fly", 1972-9, rev. 1984, first performed 1979 [ high voice and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
by Alfred Matthew Hale (1875 - 1960), "The fly ", op. 16 no. 3, published 1910 [ voice and piano ], from Twelve Songs, no. 3, London : A. Lengnick [sung text not yet checked]
by Gary Michael Higginson (b. 1952), "Little fly", op. 55 no. 5 (1981-2) [ SATB chorus with divisions a cappella ], from Seven Songs of William Blake, Set II, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Arthur Hinton (1869 - 1941), "The fly", op. 19 no. 2, published 1903 [ medium voice and piano ], from Four Songs from William Blake, no. 2, London : Breitkopf & Härtel [sung text not yet checked]
by Wilfred Josephs (b. 1927), "The fly ", 1972 [ satb chorus and optional junior chorus and orchestra with optional vibraphone ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 1 [sung text not yet checked]
by David Stevenson Kechley (b. 1947), "The fly", first performed 1974 [ baritone, strings, percussion, and solo violin ], from Faint Harps and Silver Voices, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Antoinette Kirkwood (b. 1930), "The fly", op. 7 no. 1 (1959) [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Dorothy Hill Klotzman , "Little fly", published c1967 [ 2-part chorus a cappella ], from Poetical Sketches, no. 3, NY : Mercury Music Corp. [sung text not yet checked]
by Meyer Kupferman (b. 1926), "The fly ", published 1973 [ voice and clarinet ], from Three Songs of Blake, no. 2, Hastings-on-Hudson, NY : General Music Publ. Co. [sung text not yet checked]
by Huub de Lange (b. 1955), "The fly", published 2007 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Four Blake Songs, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Henry George Ley (1887 - 1962), "The fly ", op. 8 no. 2, published c1915 [ voice and piano ], Oxford : S. Scott (later Oxford University Press) [sung text not yet checked]
by Ruth Margaret Lomon (b. 1930), "The fly", 1962, published c1980, first performed 1963 [ contralto and viola ], from Five songs after poems by William Blake, no. 2, Washington, DC : Arsis Press [sung text not yet checked]
by Michael Richard Miller (b. 1932), "The fly", 1965, first performed 1966 [ SSA chorus and piano ], from Blake's Garden, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
by Oskar Morawetz (b. 1917), "The fly", 1947, first performed 1947 [ medium voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by Frederick A. Mueller (b. 1921), "The fly", published 1963, from Five Songs on Blake Texts [sung text not yet checked]
by Horace Ian Parrott (b. 1916), "The fly", 1977, published 1988, first performed 1983 [ high voice and piano ], from Three Thoughtful Songs, no. 1, London : Barry Brunton [sung text not yet checked]
by Mark Raphael (b. 1900), "The fly", 1955, published c1961 [ medium voice and piano ], from Two Songs, London : Elkin & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
by Louisa Raymond , "The fly", published 1961 [ soprano and orchestra ], from A Group of Songs for Seana, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
by George Rochberg (1918 - 2005), "The fly", 1957, published 1963, rev. 1962, first performed 1961 [ soprano, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, celesta, harp, violin, viola, and cello ], from Blake Songs, no. 3, NY : Leeds Music Corp. (MCA) [sung text not yet checked]
by Sarah L. Rodgers (b. 1953), "The fly", first performed 1984 [ mezzo-soprano and piano ], from Six Songs of Experience, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Michael Edward Rose (b. 1934), "The fly", published c1970 [ tenor, SATB chorus, string orchestra, piano duet, and percussion ], from cantata Summer Music, Borough Green, England : Novello [sung text not yet checked]
by Gerard Schürmann (b. 1928), "The fly", 1956 [sung text not yet checked]
by Leif Segerstam (b. 1944), "The fly", 1970-1 [ soprano and orchestra ], from Six Songs of Experience, no. 2 [sung text not yet checked]
by Elie Siegmeister (1909 - 1991), "The fly", 1966, published 1979 [ alto or bass voice, viola, and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 3, NY : C. Fischer [sung text not yet checked]
by Irene Silbert , "The fly ", c1972 [sung text not yet checked]
by Netty Simons (b. 1913), "The fly", 1975, published c1977 [ voice and viola ], from Songs for Wendy, no. 1, Bryn Mawr, PA : Marion Music (Presser) [sung text not yet checked]
by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "The fly", op. 132 no. 9 (2001) [ speaker and tape ], from The Innocence of Experience, no. 9 [sung text checked 1 time]
by Øistein Sommerfeldt (1919 - 1994), "The fly", op. 53 no. 1 (1979), published c1982 [ high voice, guitar, flute (or recorder), and piano ], from From William Blake's Poetry, no. 1, Oslo : Norsk Musikforlag [sung text not yet checked]
by Christopher Steel (b. 1939), "Little fly", op. 9 no. 1, published c1967 [ unison chorus and piano ], from Three Songs of William Blake, no. 1, London : Novello [sung text not yet checked]
by John Austin Sykes (1909 - 1962), "The fly", c1931, first performed 1975 [ baritone and piano ], from Songs of Experience, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
by Anthony J. Taffs (1916 - 2005), "The fly", 1960, from Five Songs of William Blake [sung text not yet checked]
by David Evan Thomas (b. 1958), "The fly", 2004 [ medium voice, piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
by (Thomas) Gerard Victory (1921 - 1995), "The fly", 1977/8, first performed 1978 [ soprano, tenor, and SATB chorus a cappella ], from Seven Songs of Experience, no. 4 [sung text not yet checked]
by Carl Paul Vollrath (b. 1931), "The fly", 1963, from Five Short Songs by William Blake [sung text not yet checked]
by Philip George Wilkinson (b. 1929), "The fly", published 1955 [ unison chorus a cappella ], London : Novello [sung text not yet checked]
by Malcolm Benjamin Graham Christopher Williamson (1931 - 2003), "The fly", 1957 [sung text not yet checked]
by Philip Gordon Winsor (b. 1938), "The fly", 1961 [ baritone, flute, bass clarinet, violin, and violoncello ] [sung text not yet checked]
by William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908 - 1988), "The fly ", op. 35 no. 1 (1948) [ high voice and piano ], from Four Blake Songs, no. 1, Edinburgh : Scotus Music Publications [sung text not yet checked]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in German (Deutsch), a translation by Georg von der Vring (1889 - 1968) ; composed by Karl Habenicht.
- Go to the text. [Note: the text is not in the database yet.]

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

RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "Мотылёк", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 69