Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience

The Project Gutenberg eBook of Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience, by William Blake This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org Title: Songs of Innocence and Songs of Experience Author: William Blake Release Date: December 25, 2008 [eBook #1934] Language: English Character set encoding: UTF-8 ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND SONGS OF EXPERIENCE*** Transcribed from the 1901 R. Brimley Johnson edition by David Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org [Picture: Image of Blake’s original page of The Tyger] SONGS OF INNOCENCE AND SONGS OF EXPERIENCE BY WILLIAM BLAKE [Picture: The Astolaf Press, Guildford] LONDON: R. BRIMLEY JOHNSON. GUILDFORD: A. C. CURTIS. MDCCCCI. CONTENTS SONGS OF INNOCENCE Page Introduction 1 The Shepherd 3 The Echoing Green 4 The Lamb 6 The Little Black Boy 7 The Blossom 9 The Chimney-Sweeper 10 The Little Boy Lost 12 The Little Boy Pound 13 Laughing Song 14 A Cradle Song 15 The Divine Image 17 Holy Thursday 19 Night 20 Spring 23 Nurse’s Song 25 Infant Joy 26 A Dream 27 On Another’s Sorrow 29 SONGS OF EXPERIENCE Introduction 33 Earth’s Answer 35 The Clod and the Pebble 37 Holy Thursday 38 The Little Girl Lost 39 The Little Girl Found 42 The Chimney-Sweeper 45 Nurse’s Song 46 The Sick Rose 47 The Fly 48 The Angel 50 The Tiger 51 My Pretty Rose-Tree 53 Ah, Sunflower 54 The Lily 55 The Garden of Love 56 The Little Vagabond 57 London 58 The Human Abstract 59 Infant Sorrow 61 A Poison Tree 62 A Little Boy Lost 63 A Little Girl Lost 65 A Divine Image 67 A Cradle Song 68 The Schoolboy 69 To Tirzah 71 The Voice of the Ancient Bard 72 SONGS OF INNOCENCE INTRODUCTION 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 cheer. ‘Piper, pipe that song again.’ So I piped: he wept to hear. ‘Drop thy pipe, thy happy pipe; Sing thy songs of happy cheer!’ 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 vanished from my sight; And I plucked a hollow reed, And I made a rural pen, And I stained the water clear, And I wrote my happy songs Every child may joy to hear. THE SHEPHERD How sweet is the shepherd’s sweet lot! From the morn to the evening he strays; He shall follow his sheep all the day, And his tongue shall be fillèd 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. THE ECHOING GREEN