The clod and the pebble

"Love seeketh not itself to please,
Nor for itself hath any care,
But for another gives its ease,
And builds a Heaven in Hell's despair."

So sung a little Clod of Clay,
Trodden with the cattle's feet,
But a Pebble of the brook
Warbled out these metres meet:

"Love seeketh only Self to please,
To bind another to its delight,
Joys in another's loss of ease,
And builds a Hell in Heaven's despite."

by William Blake (1757-1827) , "The clod and the pebble", from Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 3, 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 Rodney Ash (1931-) , "The clod and the pebble", 1972, from Songs of Experience, no. 2.
by William Bolcom (1938-) , "The clod and the pebble", 1956-81 [soloists, madrigal group, chorus, orchestra], from Songs of Experience, Volume One, no. 11.
by James Austin Collignon (1926-) , "The clod and the pebble", 1977 [voice, piano], from My Rhine Journey
by Claude Gregory (1905-) , "The clod and the pebble", c1946, unpublished
by David Haines (1956-) , "The clod and the pebble", 1972-9, rev. 1984, first performed 1979 [high voice and piano], from Songs of Experience, no. 2.
by Daniel Jenkyn Jones (1912-) , "The clod and the pebble", 1977, first performed 1977 [SATB chorus and orchestra], from Hear the Voice of the Ancient Bard, no. 3.
by Michael Richard Miller (1932-) , "The clod and the pebble", 1965, first performed 1966 [SATB a cappella], from Blake on Love, no. 3.
by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "The clod and the pebble", op. 132 no. 7 (2001) [speaker and tape], from The Innocence of Experience, no. 7.

RUS Russian [singable] (Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov)

Added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Komok i kamen'

“Ljubov' zhivjot ne dlja sebja,
Ona pomoch' drugomu rada,
I vsjo otdav jemu ljubja,
Postrojit Raj v temnice Ada,” –

Tak pel iz pod korov'ikh nog
Razdavlennyj Komochek zybkij,
No Kamen', prygnuv v ruchejok,
Tak otvechal jemu s ulybkoj:

“Ljubov' lish' dlja sebja zhivjot,
Zabot i goresti ne znaja,
Chuzhoje schast'je razob'jot
I Ad postrojit v kushchakh Raja.”

Show Cyrillic (Покажите текст в кириллице)
Note on Transliteration

Singable translation by Dmitri Nikolaevich Smirnov (1948-) , "Komok i kamen'", copyright ©, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

a text in English by William Blake (1757-1827) , "The clod and the pebble", from Songs of Innocence and Experience, in Songs of Experience, no. 3, published 1794

Date added to the website: 2008-01-17.