by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
The little boy lost in the lonely fen
Language: English
The little boy lost in the lonely fen, Led by the wand'ring light, Began to cry; but God, ever nigh, Appear'd like his father, in white. He kissed the child, and by the hand led, And to his mother brought, Who in sorrow pale, thro' the lonely dale, Her little boy weeping sought.
About the headline (FAQ)
Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "The little boy found", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 9, first published 1789 [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), "The little boy found", 1956-81 [ solo voices, chorus, orchestra ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 21 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rutland Boughton (1878 - 1960), "The little boy found", op. 34a no. 5 (1912), published 1912 [ unison chorus and piano ], from Songs of Childhood, or Six Unison Songs, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "The little boy found", 1914, published c1917 [ duet for soprano and alto with piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vincent Henry Palmer Caillard, Sir (1856 - 1930), "The little boy found", published 1891 [ voice and piano ], from The Songs of Innocence of William Blake, no. 9, London : Novello, Ewer & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Norman Curtis (b. 1933), "The little boy found", c1959 [ voice and piano ], from William Blake's Songs of Innocence and of Experience, no. 10 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ole Carsten Green (b. 1922), "The little boy found", op. 27b no. 9 (1973) [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 9 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Julius Allan Greenway Harrison (1885 - 1963), "The little boy found", 1908, published c1909 [ SSC chorus a cappella ], London : J. Williams [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Richard) Kenneth Haxton (b. 1919), "Little boy found", 1962, first performed 1969 [ high voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Thomas) Timothy Lenk (b. 1952), "The little boy found", c1977 [ tenor, bass-baritone, flute (piccolo), clarinet, bass clarinet, and violin ], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Douglas McGilvra (b. 1945), "The little boy found", 1976-7, first performed 1978 [ soprano, three flutes, 2 pianos, and celesta ], from Blake Texts, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ellen Raskin (1928 - 1984), "The little boy found", published 1966 [ voice and piano or guitar ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 9, Garden City, NY : Doubleday [sung text not yet checked]
- by Russell Smith (b. 1927), "The little boy found", 1949 [ medium voice and piano ], from Six Songs of Innocence, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ronald Stevenson (b. 1928), "The little boy found", 1948-50, rev. 1965 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 9, another version exists for voice, flute, and string quintet (composed 1966-71) [sung text not yet checked]
- by Anthony Strilko (b. 1931), "The little boy found", 1960? [ high voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 8 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908 - 1988), "Little boy found ", op. 56 no. 4 (1953), published 1960 [ SATB chorus and piano ], from Childhood Visions, no. 4, London : A. Lengnick (Belwin-Mills) [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908 - 1988), "In futurity... The little boy lost in the lonely fen", op. 46 no. 5 (1950) [ SSA chorus, strings, and piano ], from A Vision, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
The text above (or a part of it) is used in the following settings:
- by Solomon Pimsleur (1900 - 1962), "Little boy lost, found", op. 11 no. 5 (1922), rev. 1930, from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 5
- by Ken Neufeld , "The little boy lost - The little boy found", published c1979 [ SATB chorus a cappella ], from Three Songs of Innocence, no. 2, Fort Lauderdale, FL : Aberdeen Music (Plymouth Music Co.)
- by John Austin Sykes (1909 - 1962), "The little boy lost and found", 1935-6, first performed 1975 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 7
- by Rudolph T. Werther (1896 - 1986), "Little boy lost and found", 1960 [ voice and piano ], from Song Cycle : On Children, no. 4
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 8
Word count: 53