William Blake is unique in writing poems with a song and painting to go with them. He sang his poems unaccompanied, and printed and published his work.

His melodies are lost, so far - though some were written down. I hope you find mine add to your experience of his poems.

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(Click on the song title to read the words while you listen.)

William Blake poems in song                                     (more to come)

Poem by William Blake

Ah! Sun-flower weary of time, 
Who countest the steps of the Sun: 
Seeking after that sweet golden clime 
Where the traveller's journey is done. 

Where the Youth pined away with desire, 
And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow: 
Arise from their graves and aspire, 
Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.

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My melody to Blake's poem
Studio 24aug2019

Ah! Sunflower --- William Blake (in song)

O Rose thou art sick.
The invisible worm,
That flies in the night
In the howling storm:

Has found out thy bed
Of crimson joy:
And his dark secret love
Does thy life destroy.

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My melody to Blake's poem
Studio 24augx2ampsc

The Sick Rose --- William Blake (in song)

Old John with white hair
Does laugh away care,
Sitting under the oak,
Among the old folk,
They laugh at our play,
And soon they all say.
Such such were the joys.
When we all --girls and boys--
In our youth-time were seen,
On the Echoing Green.

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My melody to Blake's poem (middle verse)

The Ecchoing Green - William Blake (in song)

Poem by William Blake

When the green woods laugh with the voice of joy,
And the dimpling stream runs laughing by,
When the air does laugh with our merry wit,
And the green hill laughs with the noise of it,

When the meadows laugh with lively green,
And the grasshopper laughs in this merry scene,
When Mary and Susan and Emily,
With their sweet round mouths, sing Ha, ha, he!

When the painted birds laugh in the shade,
Where our table with cherries and nuts is spread,
Come live and be merry and join with me,
To sing the sweet chorus of Ha, ha, he! 

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My melody to Blake's poem
LaughingSong Studioct26Aud5th

Laughing Song

Piping down the valleys wild 
Piping songs of pleasant glee 
On a cloud I saw a child. 
And he laughing said to me. 

Pipe a song about a Lamb; 
So I piped with merry chear, 
Piper pipe that song again— 
So I piped, he wept to hear. 

Drop thy pipe thy happy pipe 
Sing thy songs of happy chear, 
So I sung the same again 
While he wept with joy to hear 

Piper sit thee down and write 
In a book that all may read— 
So he vanish'd from my sight. 
And I pluck'd a hollow reed. 

And I made a rural pen, 
And I stain'd the water clear, 
And I wrote my happy songs 
Every child may joy to hear

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My melody to a poem by William Blake
Piper Pipe 6last

Introduction to Songs of Innocence - Piping down the valleys wild

O Rose thou art sick. 
The invisible worm, 
That flies in the night 
In the howling storm: 

Has found out thy bed 
Of crimson joy: 
And his dark secret love 
Does thy life destroy.

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My melody to a poem by William Blake
Oh Rose K

The Sick Rose

Merry, merry sparrow!
Under leaves so green
A happy blossom
Sees you, swift as arrow,
Seek your cradle narrow,
Near my bosom.

Pretty, pretty robin!
Under leaves so green
A happy blossom
Hears you sobbing, sobbing,
Pretty, pretty robin,
Near my bosom.

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My melody to poem by William Blake
Studio 27aug19firstnlast2

The Blossom

I have no name 
I am but two days old.— 
What shall I call thee? 
I happy am 
Joy is my name,— 
Sweet joy befall thee! 

Pretty joy! 
Sweet joy but two days old, 
Sweet joy I call thee; 
Thou dost smile. 
I sing the while 
Sweet joy befall thee. 

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My melody to poem by William Blake
Paired with Infant Sorrow: https://soundcloud.com/user-734457954/infant-sorrow-william-blake-in-song?si=4c4ff4bbe18e4a838fc0048be367dc40&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Infant Joy --- William Blake (in song)

Tyger Tyger, burning bright, 
In the forests of the night; 
What immortal hand or eye, 
Could frame thy fearful symmetry? 

In what distant deeps or skies. 
Burnt the fire of thine eyes? 
On what wings dare he aspire? 
What the hand, dare seize the fire? 

And what shoulder, & what art, 
Could twist the sinews of thy heart? 
And when thy heart began to beat, 
What dread hand? & what dread feet? 

What the hammer? what the chain, 
In what furnace was thy brain? 
What the anvil? what dread grasp, 
Dare its deadly terrors clasp! 

When the stars threw down their spears 
And water'd heaven with their tears: 
Did he smile his work to see? 
Did he who made the Lamb make thee? 

Tyger Tyger burning bright, 
In the forests of the night: 
What immortal hand or eye, 
Dare frame thy fearful symmetry?

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My melody to poem by William Blake
Studio 28oct V1Aud

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"Without contraries is no progression," wrote Blake, and his Songs of Innocence and Experience present some of these contraries. In the case of the 'Tyger' from 'Experience', his opposite was the 'Lamb' of 'Innocence':
https://soundcloud.com/user-734457954/the-lamb

The Tyger --- William Blake (in song)

Little Lamb who made thee 
         Dost thou know who made thee 
Gave thee life & bid thee feed. 
By the stream & o'er the mead; 
Gave thee clothing of delight, 
Softest clothing wooly bright; 
Gave thee such a tender voice, 
Making all the vales rejoice! 
         Little Lamb who made thee 
         Dost thou know who made thee 

         Little Lamb I'll tell thee, 
         Little Lamb I'll tell thee!
He is called by thy name, 
For he calls himself a Lamb: 
He is meek & he is mild, 
He became a little child: 
I a child & thou a lamb, 
We are called by his name. 
         Little Lamb God bless thee. 
         Little Lamb God bless thee.

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My melody to poem by William Blake
6 Edlast
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"Without contraries is no progression," wrote Blake, and his Songs of Innocence and Experience present some of these contraries. In the case of the 'Lamb' of 'Innocence', his opposite was the 'Tyger' from 'Experience' :
https://soundcloud.com/user-734457954/the-tyger

The Lamb --- William Blake (in song)

A little black thing among the snow, 
Crying "weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe! 
"Where are thy father and mother? say?" 
"They are both gone up to the church to pray. 

Because I was happy upon the heath, 
And smil'd among the winter's snow, 
They clothed me in the clothes of death, 
And taught me to sing the notes of woe. 

And because I am happy and dance and sing, 
They think they have done me no injury, 
And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King, 
Who make up a heaven of our misery." 

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My melody to poem by William Blake
Compare with Blake's 'Songs of Innocence' chimney sweeper:
https://soundcloud.com/user-734457954/the-chimney-sweeper-songs-of-innocence 

Ex 5

Recorded on a bench in a Beckenham church graveyard

The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Experience)

When my mother died I was very young, 
And my father sold me while yet my tongue 
Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!" 
So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep. 

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head 
That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said, 
"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare, 
You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair." 

And so he was quiet, & that very night, 
As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight! 
That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack, 
Were all of them locked up in coffins of black; 

And by came an Angel who had a bright key, 
And he opened the coffins & set them all free; 
Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run, 
And wash in a river and shine in the Sun. 

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind, 
They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind. 
And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy, 
He'd have God for his father & never want joy. 

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark 
And got with our bags & our brushes to work. 
Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm; 
So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

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My melody to poem by William Blake
Compare with Blake's 'Songs of Experience' Chimney Sweeper:
https://soundcloud.com/user-734457954/the-chimney-sweeper-songs-of-experience 

2nd version of 4

The Chimney Sweeper (Songs of Innocence)

Father, father, where are you going
       O do not walk so fast.
Speak father, speak to your little boy
       Or else I shall be lost,

The night was dark no father was there
       The child was wet with dew.
The mire was deep, & the child did weep
       And away the vapour flew.

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My melody to poem by William Blake
Fri Pksc

The Little Boy Lost --- William Blake (in song)

The little boy lost in the lonely fen,
Led by the wand'ring light,
Began to cry, but God ever nigh,
Appeard like his father in white.

He kissed the child & by the hand led
And to his mother brought,
Who in sorrow pale, thro' the lonely dale
Her little boy weeping sought

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My melody to poem by William Blake
2 Studioct26sc

The Little Boy Found --- William Blake in song

In futurity
I prophesy
That the earth from sleep
(Grave the sentence deep)

Shall arise, and seek
For her Maker meek;
And the desert wild
Become a garden mild.
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In the southern clime,
Where the summer’s prime
Never fades away,
Lovely Lyca lay.

Seven summers old
Lovely Lyca told.
She had wandered long,
Hearing wild birds’ song.

‘Sweet sleep, come to me,
Underneath this tree;
Do father, mother, weep?
Where can Lyca sleep?

‘Lost in desert wild
Is your little child.
How can Lyca sleep
If her mother weep?

‘If her heart does ache,
Then let Lyca wake;
If my mother sleep,
Lyca shall not weep.

‘Frowning, frowning night,
O’er this desert bright
Let thy moon arise,
While I close my eyes.’

Sleeping Lyca lay,
While the beasts of prey,
Come from caverns deep,
Viewed the maid asleep.

The kingly lion stood,
And the virgin viewed:
Then he gambolled round
O’er the hallowed ground.

Leopards, tigers, play
Round her as she lay;
While the lion old
Bowed his mane of gold,

And her bosom lick,
And upon her neck,
From his eyes of flame,
Ruby tears there came;

While the lioness
Loosed her slender dress,
And naked they conveyed
To caves the sleeping maid.

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My melody to poem by William Blake
3 2nd[noInF]
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The Little Girl Found
https://soundcloud.com/user-734457954/the-little-girl-found

The Little Girl Lost --- (William Blake in song)

All the night in woe
Lyca’s parents go
Over valleys deep,
While the deserts weep.

Tired and woe-begone,
Hoarse with making moan,
Arm in arm, seven days
They traced the desert ways.

Seven nights they sleep
Among shadows deep,
And dream they see their child
Starved in desert wild.

Pale through pathless ways
The fancied image strays,
Famished, weeping, weak,
With hollow piteous shriek.

Rising from unrest,
The trembling woman pressed
With feet of weary woe;
She could no further go.

In his arms he bore
Her, armed with sorrow sore;
Till before their way
A couching lion lay.

Turning back was vain:
Soon his heavy mane
Bore them to the ground,
Then he stalked around,

Smelling to his prey;
But their fears allay
When he licks their hands,
And silent by them stands.

They look upon his eyes,
Filled with deep surprise;
And wondering behold
A spirit armed in gold.

On his head a crown,
On his shoulders down
Flowed his golden hair.
Gone was all their care.

‘Follow me,’ he said;
‘Weep not for the maid;
In my palace deep,
Lyca lies asleep.’

Then they followèd
Where the vision led,
And saw their sleeping child
Among tigers wild.

To this day they dwell
In a lonely dell,
Nor fear the wolvish howl
Nor the lion’s growl.

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My melody to poem by William Blake
Apologies - I sing 'hear' instead of 'fear' by mistake in the last verse and go flat on some key words. This melody unfolded in the first singing, and I have not been able to repeat or improve it.
3ed
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The Little Girl Lost
https://soundcloud.com/user-734457954/the-little-girl-lost

The Little Girl Found --- William Blake (in song)

Hear the voice of the Bard! 
Who Present, Past, & Future sees 
Whose ears have heard, 
The Holy Word, 
That walk'd among the ancient trees. 

Calling the lapsed Soul 
And weeping in the evening dew: 
That might controll, 
The starry pole; 
And fallen fallen light renew! 

O Earth O Earth return! 
Arise from out the dewy grass; 
Night is worn, 
And the morn 
Rises from the slumberous mass. 

Turn away no more: 
Why wilt thou turn away 
The starry floor 
The watry shore 
Is giv'n thee till the break of day. 

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My melody to a poem by William Blake

[Fri 3edsc]

Introduction to Songs of Experience - Hear The Voice Of The Bard (in song)

Sound the Flute!
Now it's mute.
Birds delight
Day and Night.
Nightingale
In the dale
Lark in Sky
Merrily
Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year

Little Boy
Full of joy.
Little Girl
Sweet and small,
Cock does crow
So do you.
Merry voice
Infant noise
Merrily Merrily to welcome in the Year

Little Lamb
Here I am,
Come and lick
My white neck.
Let me pull
Your soft Wool.
Let me kiss
Your soft face.
Merrily Merrily we welcome in the Year.

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My melody to Blake's poem
Full Home2 7n9sc

Spring --- William Blake (in song)

When the voices of children are heard on the green,
And laughing is heard on the hill,
My heart is at rest within my breast,
And everything else is still.

‘Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down,
And the dews of night arise;
Come, come leave off play, and let us away
Till the morning appears in the skies.’

‘No, no, let us play, for it is yet day,
And we cannot go to sleep;
Besides, in the sky the little birds fly,
And the hills are all cover'd with sheep.’

‘Well, well, go and play till the light fades away,
And then go home to bed.’
The little ones leapèd, and shoutèd, and laugh'd
And all the hills echoèd.

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My melody to William Blke's poem
 5Audsc

Nurse's Song --- William Blake (in song)

How sweet is the Shepherds sweet lot,
From the morn to the evening he strays:
He shall follow his sheep all the day
And his tongue shall be filled with praise.

For he hears the lambs innocent call,
And he hears the ewes tender reply,
He is watchful while they are in peace,
For they know when their Shepherd is nigh.

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My melody to Blake's poem
2 x1ed2

The Shepherd --- William Blake (in song)

For the best experience, 
-  Click on the song's picture for words and notes.
-  in Album/Playlist/Spotlight, first click on the big picture to the left, then on the new page click the track title. Really, it's worth the effort :) 

With Blake you will see his painting too. Each picture is in dialogue with the words (not just illustrating them).

Bards have combined music & poetry from earliest times. Many poets continue the connection, not least William Blake. But often their melodies are lost or neglected.

William Blake poems in song (more to come)

Ian