"Sweet dreams, form a shade O'er my lovely infant's head!..." A Cradle Song is a short poem by William Blake that was originally published in 1789 within Songs on Innocence (1789), a work that was later combined with Songs of Innocence and of Experience (1794). This was due to Blake writing Songs of Innocence as a contrary to the Songs of Experience. William Blake (1757-1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognized during his lifetime, Blake's work is today considered seminal and significant in the history of both poetry and the visual arts.