Allen Ginsberg sings William Blake's "The Nurse's Song"

Allen Ginsberg sings his own melody for William Blake's "The Nurse's Song," from Blake's "Songs of Experience."

When the voices of children are heard on the green,
And laughing is heard on the hill,
My heart is at rest within my breast,
And everything else is still.
"Then come home, my children, the sun is gone down,
And the dews of night arise;
Come, come, leave off play, and let us away,
Till the morning appears in the skies."

"No, no, let us play, for it is yet day,
And we cannot go to sleep;
Besides, in the sky the little birds fly,
And the hills are all covered with sheep."
"Well, well, go and play till the light fades away,
And then go home to bed."
The little ones leaped, and shouted, and laughed,
And all the hills echoed.

More info on Allen Ginsberg: http://www.allenginsberg.org
More info on William Blake: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blake

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Ginsberg
• Blake
• Beat
• poetry

[Radlands4Life]

Thank you so much.

[basketcase5295]

@RichardOliverWY Damn you're lucky.

[RichardOliverWY]

Saw him at SMU. Sat an arm's length away. It was a long time ago.

[SusanBaumann]

Takes me back to when he played this song in the living room of his studio at The Atlantic Center for the Arts while teaching poetry there in 1984. It was magical.

[wwmadi]

@Khalsabychoice

yes

[Khalsabychoice]

is he playing a harmonium?

[RakeRocter]

wow. i was in the first row in pittsburgh (skibo) in '95 when he did this song. the chorus went on forever. everyone singing. never forgot it. so great to hear/see it again now. anyone know how i could get a full video of this?

[LivingObjectsInSpace]

beautiful beautiful!