The little black boy

My mother bore me in the southern wild, 
  And I am black, but O! my soul is white!
White as an angel is the English child, 
  But I am black, as if bereaved of light. 

My mother taught me underneath a tree, 
  And, sitting down before the heat of day, 
She took me on her lap and kissèd me, 
  And, pointing to the East, began to say: 

"Look [at]2 the rising sun: there God does live, 
  And gives His light, and gives His heat away, 
And flowers and trees and beasts and men receive 
  Comfort in morning, joy in the noonday. 

"And we are put on earth a little space, 
  That we may learn to bear the beams of love; 
And these black bodies and this sunburnt face 
  [Are]1 but a cloud, and like a shady grove. 

"For when our souls have learn'd the heat to bear, 
  The cloud will vanish; we shall hear His voice, 
Saying: `Come out from the grove, my love and care,
  And round my golden tent like lambs rejoice.' " 

Thus did my mother say, and kissèd me;
  And thus I say to little English boy: 
When I from black and he from white cloud free, 
  And round the tent of God like lambs we joy, 

I'll shade him from the heat till he can bear 
  To lean in joy upon our Father's knee; 
And then I'll stand and stroke his silver hair, 
  And be like him, and he will then love me.

by William Blake (1757-1827) , "The little black boy", from Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Innocence, no. 5, published 1789

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 (1938-) , "The little black boy", 1956-81 [soloists, madrigal group, chorus, orchestra], from Songs of Innocence, no. 6.
by Henry Dixon Cowell (1897-1965) , "The little black boy", L. 783 (1947), published c1964, first performed 1954, stanzas 2-5. [high or medium voice, piano]
by John Charlton Crawford (1931-) , "The little black boy", published c1985. [SSA chorus and instrumental ensemble or keyboard]
by John Charlton Crawford (1931-) , "The little black boy", first performed 1976 [women's chorus, piano], from Three Blake Songs, no. 3.
by Richard Jackson Cumming (1928-) , "The little black boy"
by Paul Edwin Karvonen (1917-) , "The little black boy", published 1960 [soprano, string quartet, and clarinet], Ann Arbor, University Microfilms
by Huub de Lange (1955-) , "The little black boy", published 2007 [SATB chorus a cappella], from Four Blake Songs, no. 2.
by Virgil Garnett Thomson (1896-1989) , "The little black boy", published c1953 [medium voice and piano], from Five Songs from William Blake, no. 4.

Date added to the website: 2005-01-16.

Gentle Reminder

This project is not funded. If you found the information here useful, please consider making a donation. Your gift is greatly appreciated!      - Emily I also have a wishlist at Amazon.ca.

Search/Shop for

Sheet music:

  Search sheetmusicplus.com for The little black boy, Art song , Lieder, chansons, or works for solo voice
  Search musicroom.com for The little black boy, vocal/choral music

CDs:

  Search amazon.com for The little black boy, art song, Lieder, or chansons
  Search amazon.ca for The little black boy, art song, Lieder, or chansons

Books:

  The Art of the Song Recital [amazon.com]
  The Book of Lieder: The Original Texts of Over 1000 Songs [amazon.com]
  Search amazon.com for art song, Lieder, or chansons
  Search amazon.ca for art song, lieder, or chansons

Classical Vocal Repertoire