by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
Thou hearest the nightingale begin the...
Language: English
Thou hearest the nightingale begin the song of spring; The lark, sitting upon his earthy bed, just as the morn Appears, listens silent; then, springing from the waving corn-field, loud He leads the choir of day: trill -- trill -- trill -- trill -- Mounting upon the wings of light into the great expanse, Re-echoing against the lovely blue and shining heavenly shell. His little throat labours with inspiration; every feather On throat, and breast, and wing, vibrate with the effluence divine. All nature listens to him silent; and the awful Sun Stands still upon the mountains, looking on this little bird With eyes of soft humility, and wonder, love, and awe. Then loud, from their green covert, all the birds begin their song, -- The thrush, the linnet and the goldfinch, robin and the wren, Awake the Sun from his sweet reverie upon the mountains; The nightingale again essays his song, and through the day And through the night warbles luxuriant; every bird of song Attending his loud harmony with admiration and love.
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), no title, appears in Milton, a Poem in Two Books [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 John Buckley (b. 1951), "Birdsong", 1973, first performed 1974 [soprano, flute, and piano], from The Seasonable Month, no. 1. [text not verified]
- by (Herbert) Alan Tregaskis (b. 1918), "A spring rhapsody", 1962-? [medium voice and piano or orchestra], from Five Blake Songs, no. 1. [text not verified]
- by Grace Mary Williams (1906 - 1977), "The song of spring", published 1963, first performed 1960 [soprano, SSA chorus, and piano or chamber orchestra], from All Seasons Shall Be Sweet, no. 2, Cardiff : University of Wales Press [text not verified]
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2009-11-01
Line count: 17
Word count: 169