by William Blake (1757 - 1827)
Once a dream did weave a shade
Language: English
Once a dream did weave a shade O'er my angel-guarded bed, That an emmet lost its way Where on grass methought I lay. Troubled, wildered, and forlorn, Dark, benighted, travel-worn, Over many a tangle spray, All heart-broke, I heard her say: "Oh my children! do they cry, Do they hear their father sigh? Now they look abroad to see, Now return and weep for me." Pitying, I dropped a tear: But I saw a glow-worm near, Who replied, "What wailing wight Calls the watchman of the night? "I am set to light the ground, While the beetle goes his round: Follow now the beetle's hum; Little wanderer, hie thee home!"
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Text Authorship:
- by William Blake (1757 - 1827), "A dream", appears in Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 18, 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), "A Dream", 1956-81 [ solo voices, chorus, orchestra ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 18 [sung text not yet checked]
- by (William) Havergal Brian (1876 - 1972), "The dream", 1914?, published c1922 [ SSA trio with piano ], London : Augener [sung text not yet checked]
- by (Henry) Elliot Button (1861 - ?), "A dream", published 1892, from Songs of Innocence, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Vincent Henry Palmer Caillard, Sir (1856 - 1930), "A dream", published 1891 [ voice and piano ], from The Songs of Innocence of William Blake, no. 18, London : Novello, Ewer & Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Elyse Donathan Curtis (b. 1929), "A dream", c1974, first performed 1974 [ medium voice, chorus, and piano ], from Nine Songs of William Blake, no. 3 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ole Carsten Green (b. 1922), "A dream", op. 27b no. 17 (1973) [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 17 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joseph Holbrooke (1878 - 1958), "A dream", op. 130 no. 16 (1934), from Songs of Innocence, no. 16 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Chester Edward Ide (1878 - 1944), "A dream", c1928 [ vocal duet for treble voices a cappella ], from Songs of Innocence -- Eight Poems by William Blake, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Paul A. Irby , "A dream", published c1928 [ voice and piano ], from Three Songs of Innocence, no. 2, London, Wellington Music Publ. Co. [sung text not yet checked]
- by Daniel Kidane (b. 1986), "A Dream", first performed 2018 [ tenor and piano ], from Songs of Illumination, no. 1, confirmed with a concert programme booklet [sung text checked 1 time]
- by André Laporte (b. 1931), "A dream", 1979, published c1983 [ SSSS chorus a cappella ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 2, Kontich, Belgium : De notenboom [sung text not yet checked]
- by Joan Littlejohn (b. 1937), "A dream ", 1968 [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]
- by Donald Patriquin (b. 1938), "A dream", 1984 [ SSAA chorus, harp, and flute ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 6 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ellen Raskin (1928 - 1984), "A dream", published 1966 [ voice and piano or guitar ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 18, Garden City, NY : Doubleday [sung text not yet checked]
- by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948 - 2020), "A dream", op. 132 no. 5 (2001) [ speaker and tape ], from The Innocence of Experience, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Ronald Stevenson (b. 1928), "A dream", 1948-50, rev. 1965 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 18, another version exists for voice, flute, and string quintet (composed 1966-71) [sung text not yet checked]
- by John Austin Sykes (1909 - 1962), "A dream", 1935-6, first performed 1975 [ voice and piano ], from Songs of Innocence, no. 15 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Rudolph T. Werther (1896 - 1986), "Dream", 1960 [ voice and piano ], from Song Cycle : On Children, no. 7 [sung text not yet checked]
- by William Brocklesby Wordsworth (1908 - 1988), "A dream", op. 35 no. 3 (1948) [ high voice and piano ], from Four Blake Songs, no. 3, Edinburgh : Scotus Music Publications [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CHI Chinese (中文) [singable] (Dr Huaixing Wang) , copyright © 2024, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- RUS Russian (Русский) [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov) , "Сон", 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: 110