The Land of Counterpane (A Singable Poem)
Posted on: March 6, 2010
Illustration for “The Land of Counterpane”
A Child’s Garden of Verses
Poems by Robert Louis Stevenson
Illustrated by Brian Wildsmith
Vocabulary word of the day:
Counterpane = bedspread
Robert Louis Stevenson, the great writer from Edinburgh, Scotland, wrote “A Child’s Garden of Verses” (first under the title “Penny Whistles“) in 1885 and it has become one of the most beloved collections of children’s poetry. It is a great joy to me that many of these poems have been set to music!
Stevenson was often sick as a child. “The Land of Counterpane” is a window into his childhood, evidence of his early use of imagination to help him through difficult days.
Ginger Sands has composed a terrific musical setting for “The Land of Counterpane,” sweet and singable, on her CD “The Gift of Make Believe.” Sand’s wonderful collection of children’s poetry set to music includes vocal and instrumental tracks for each poem. The vocals for “The Land of Counterpane” are on Track 4. The instrumental sing-along is found on Track 14.
Hear musical clips or buy the tracks at many online music sellers, including Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/The-Gift-of-Make-Believe/dp/B0019VU8QU/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=dmusic&qid=1267562676&sr=8-4
“The Land of Counterpane” is included in many anthologies of Children’s poetry, including:
Poetry for Young People, Robert Louis Stevenson
Edited by Frances Schoonmaker
Illustrated by Lucy Corvino
The Barefoot Book of Classic Poems
Compiled and Illustrated by Jackie Morris
(“The Land of Counterpane” is illustrated on p. 23)
Tomie dePaola’s Rhyme Time
Illustrated by Tomie dePaola
(“The Land of Counterpane” is illustrated on p. 26)
Illustration for “The Land of Counterpane”
The Tall Book of Make Believe
Illustrated by Garth Williams
The Land of Counterpane
by Robert Louis Stevenson
When I was sick and lay a-bed,
I had two pillows at my head,
And all my toys beside me lay,
To keep me happy all the day.
And sometimes for an hour or so
I watched my leaden soldiers go,
With different uniforms and drills,
Among the bed-clothes, through the hills;
And sometimes sent my ships in fleets
All up and down among the sheets;
Or brought my trees and houses out,
And planted cities all about.
I was the giant great and still
That sits upon the pillow-hill,
And sees before him, dale and plain,
The pleasant land of counterpane.
“Land of Counterpane”
Illustrated by Hildegard Woodward in
Childcraft, Volume 1, The Poems of Early Childhood (1954)
Edited by J. Morris Jones
Poem by Robert Louis Stevenson
Illustrated by Hildegard Woodward
4 Responses to "The Land of Counterpane (A Singable Poem)"
April 23, 2011 at 2:00 pm
Re — Land of Counterpane.
Nothing is new on the face of the earth. I saw my grown son on
his computer building a virtual city, and my mind wandered to this
poem I learnt in the 1950’s. I went to school in the Caribbean
wnere we had to LEARN poems.
We were building virtual cities before the days of personal
computers. We had our armies, built our cities, sent our ships in
fleets. So I just tell my children and grand-children
Been there, done that, witn a smile, of course. Lorna
April 25, 2011 at 1:25 am
Thanks for this fabulous note! I love the thought of the REAL virtual reality being what we create in our own minds/imaginations…which, of course, is what this poem is all about. And, the fact that we can SING these stories, poems, moments of life…all the better! Thanks for reading. Best Wishes! Emily
[…] The Tall Book of Make-Believe, illustrated by Garth Williams […]
Sing Books with Emily, the Blog 
March 8, 2010 at 11:54 pm
This is so very very touching. I didn’t know what counterpane meant until today! This makes me think too of young JFK, sick so often in his bed and reading great historical epics.