The Ecchoing Green by William Blake
“The Ecchoing Green” was first published in 1789 as part of William Blake’s Songs of Innocence. This happy poem depicts children playing in the green space of a town, evoking happy memories for the older people nearby. Blake illustrated his own work in a distinctive style, which you will see in the two pages below.
The Echoing Green
William Blake, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
by William Blake
The sun does arise,
And make happy the skies;
The merry bells ring
To welcome the Spring;
The skylark and thrush,
The birds of the bush,
Sing louder around
To the bells’ cheerful sound;
While our sports shall be seen
On the ecchoing Green.
Old John, with white hair,
Does laugh away care,
Sitting under the oak,
Among the old folk.
They laugh at our play,
And soon they all say,
“Such, such were the joys
When we all–girls and boys–
In our youth-time were seen
On the ecchoing Green.”
Till the little ones, weary,
No more can be merry:
The sun does descend,
And our sports have an end.
Round the laps of their mothers
Many sisters and brothers,
Like birds in their nest,
Are ready for rest,
And sport no more seen
On the darkening green.
William Blake, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
