The Sick Rose
William Blake
O rose thou art sick. The invisible worm, That flies in the night In the howling storm: Has found out thy bed Of crimson joy: And his dark secret love Does thy life destroy.
Of note
Benjamin Britten set this poem as the "Elegy" in his Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943), written at the urging of Dennis Brain, then principal horn of the Royal Air Force's orchestra. Brain and tenor Peter Pears gave the premiere in London that October.
FREE AND OPEN: Hello Doggo’s music, recordings and artwork: CC0 1.0, credit optional. The source poem has its own rights status: Poem is public domain.
TEXT PROVENANCE · First published 1794 in Songs of Experience · Text from Wikisource’s regularized transcription of Songs of Innocence and of Experience, Copy Z (1826).
Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1826 edition)
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