A little boy lost

"Nought loves another as itself,
Nor venerates another so,
Nor is it possible to Thought
A greater than itself to know: 

"And, Father, how can I love you
Or any of my brothers more?
I love you like the little bird
That picks up crumbs around the door."

The Priest sat by and heard the child,
In trembling zeal he seiz'd his hair:
He led him by his little coat,
And all admir'd the priestly care.

And standing on the altar high,
"Lo! what a fiend is here," said he,
"One who sets reason up for judge
Of our most holy Mystery."

The weeping child could not be heard,
The weeping parents wept in vain;
They stripp'd him to his little shirt,
And bound him in an iron chain;

And burn'd him in a holy place,
Where many had been burn'd before:
The weeping parents wept in vain.
Are such things done on Albion's shore?

by William Blake (1757-1827) , "A little boy lost", from Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 22, published 1794

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-) , "A Little Boy Lost", 1956-81 [soloists, madrigal group, chorus, orchestra], from Songs of Experience, Volume Two, no. 7.
by Rutland Boughton (1878-1960) , "The little boy lost", op. 34a no. 4, published 1912, from Six Unison Songs, no. 4.
by (William) Havergal Brian (1876-1972) , "The little boy lost", 1914, published c1917. [two-part song for female voices (SA) with piano]
by Christopher Roland Brown (1943-) , "The little boy lost", 1962 [soprano, clarinet and piano], from Three Songs of Innocence, no. 2.
by (Thomas) Timothy Lenk (1952-) , "A little boy lost", c1977 [tenor, bass-baritone, flute (piccolo), clarinet, bass clarinet, and violin], from Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 8.

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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