The Little Fly

"The Little Fly" sets a text of William Blake from his 1794 work Songs of Experience. The song was written in 1909 and published in 1912.

Date: 1912Composer: John Alden CarpenterText: William Blake

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Text

The Little Fly
by William Blake

Little Fly,
Thy summer’s play
My thoughtless hand
Has brush’d away.

Am not I
A fly like thee?
Or art not thou
A man like me?

For I dance
And drink & sing:
Till some blind hand
Shall brush my wing.

If thought is life
And strength & breath
And the want
Of thought is death;

Then am I
A happy fly,
If I live,
Or if I die.

Sheet Music

Songs of John Alden Carpenter (Medium Voice)

Composer(s): John Alden Carpenter

Voice Type: Medium

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"The Little Fly"

Composer(s): John Alden Carpenter

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