Songs of Innocence and of Experience
Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an illustrated collection of poems by William Blake. It appeared in two phases. A few first copies were printed and illuminated by William Blake himself in 1789; five years later he bound these poems with a set of new poems in a volume titled Songs of Innocence and of Experience Showing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul.
"Innocence" and "Experience" are definitions of consciousness that rethink Milton's existential-mythic states of "Paradise" and the "Fall." Blake's categories are modes of perception that tend to coordinate with a chronology that would become standard in Romanticism: childhood is a state of protected innocence rather than original sin, but not immune to the fallen world and its institutions. This world sometimes impinges on childhood itself, and in any event becomes known through "experience," a state of being marked by the loss of childhood vitality, by fear and inhibition, by social and political corruption, and by the manifold oppression of Church, State, and the ruling classes. The volume's "Contrary States" are sometimes signalled by patently repeated or contrasted titles: in Innocence, Infant Joy, in Experience, Infant Sorrow; in Innocence, The Lamb, in Experience, The Fly and The Tyger. The stark simplicity of poems such as The Chimney Sweeper and The Little Black Boy display Blake's acute sensibility to the realities of poverty and exploitation that accompanied the "Dark Satanic Mills" of the Industrial Revolution.
Songs of Innocence (Jasper Steverlinck album)
Songs of Innocence is the debut English-language solo album by the Belgian Flemish singer Jasper Steverlinck, frontman of Arid. It was released in 2004 by PIAS Recordings, and it topped for five weeks the Belgian Album Chart (Flanders Region), and reached No. 48 in the Wallonia Region. The album include the previous year's single "Life On Mars?", an acoustic cover of the Davie Bowie song with the Kolacny brothers pianists, which had spent seven weeks at No.1 in Belgium in 2003.
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Songs of Innocence (U2 album)
Songs of Innocence is the thirteenth studio album by Irish rock band U2. Released on 9 September 2014, it was produced by Danger Mouse, with additional production from Paul Epworth, Ryan Tedder, Declan Gaffney and Flood. The album was announced at an Apple Inc. product launch event and released the same day to all iTunes Store customers at no cost. It was exclusive to iTunes, iTunes Radio, and Beats Music until 13 October 2014, when it received a physical release on Island and Interscope Records. The digital release made the record available to over 500 million iTunes customers, for what Apple CEO Tim Cook marketed as "the largest album release of all time".
After the relatively lukewarm commercial performance of their previous record, No Line on the Horizon (2009), lead singer Bono expressed uncertainty over how the band could remain musically relevant. During the five-and-a-half-year gestation period for Songs of Innocence—the longest gap between albums of their career—the group reportedly worked on three separate projects with multiple producers, including an aborted companion to their previous record called Songs of Ascent. However, they struggled to complete an album to their satisfaction and continually delayed a release. After working with Danger Mouse for two years, the group collaborated with Flood, Epworth, and Tedder to complete the record. Thematically, it revisits the group members' youth in Ireland in the 1970s, touching on childhood memories, loves, and losses, while paying tribute to musical inspirations Ramones and the Clash. Bono described it as "the most personal album we've written".
Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Adequate Seven album)
Songs of Innocence and of Experience is the debut full length by Adequate Seven. It contains 13 tracks, two of which were originally on the Adequate 7 EP. This work features the original line up of the band: Ben Reynolds (Drums), Jamie Searle (Vocals), Jonny Prosser (Bass), Kazz Basma (Guitar), Pete Barnes (Guitars), Matt Price (Trumpet) and Tom Pinder (Trombone).
Track listing
Songs of Innocence and of Experience (Greg Brown album)
Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an album by folk singer/guitarist Greg Brown, released in 1986. Brown sets the poetry of William Blake (see Songs of Innocence and of Experience) to music.
Reception
Writing for Allmusic, music critic Tim Sheridan called the album "Some of the tunes are outstanding, such as the easy lines of "Lamb," while some poems refuse to adjust to Brown's melodic structures. However, it is an effort to be commended."
Track listing
All song by Greg Brown.
Personnel
Songs of Innocence and of Experience (disambiguation)
Songs of Innocence and of Experience is an illustrated collection of poems by William Blake in two volumes.
Songs of Innocence and of Experience and variants may also refer to:
Music
See also
Podcasts:
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by Greg Brown
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by Adequate Seven
Songs of Innocence and of Experience
by: Greg BrownDear mother, dear mother, the Church is cold;
But the Alehouse is healthy, and pleasant, and warm.
Besides, I can tell where I am used well;
Such usage in heaven will never do well.
But, if at the Church they would give us some ale,
And a pleasant fire our souls to regale,
We'd sing and we'd pray all the livelong day,
Nor ever once wish from the Church to stray.
Then the Parson might preach, and drink, and sing,
And we'd be as happy as birds in the spring;
And modest Dame Lurch, who is always at church,
Would not have bandy children, nor fasting, nor birch.
And God, like a father, rejoicing to see
His children as pleasant and happy as He,
Would have no more quarrel with the Devil or the barrel,
But kiss him, and give him both drink and apparel.