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Can I See Another's Woe

Representative Text

1 Can I see another’s woe,
and not be in sorrow too?
Can I see another’s grief,
and not seek for kind relief?

2 Can I see a falling tear,
and not feel my sorrow’s share?
Can a father see his child weep,
nor be with sorrow filled?

3 Can a mother sit and hear
infant groan, an infant fear?
No, no, never can it be!
Never, never can it be!

Source: Singing the Living Tradition #127

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Author: William Blake

Blake, William, poet and painter, born 1757, and died 1827. Published Songs of Innocence in 1789, in which appeared a poem in 9 stanzas of 4 lines beginning. "Can I see another's woe" (Sympathy), and headed "On Another's Sorrow." (See also The Poems of William Blake, &c, Lond., W. Pickering, 1874, p. 105.) This poem is repeated in Martineau's Hymns, &c, 1873, and others. --John Julian, Dictionary of Hymnology, Appendix, Part II (1907)… Go to person page >

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Text Information

First Line: Can I see another's woe
Title: Can I See Another's Woe
Author: William Blake
Meter: 7.7.7.7
Language: English
Copyright: Public Domain
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Timeline

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Instances in all hymnals

Instances (1 - 3 of 3)

A New Hymnal for Colleges and Schools #477

A New Hymnal for Colleges and Schools #477

Common Praise #544

Common Praise #544
Text

Singing the Living Tradition #127

Singing the Living Tradition #127
Include 10 pre-1979 instances
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