While writing this poem, Blake drew from the image of a mother sitting over her infant while the baby is in her crib falling sleep.
[1] He claimed that in a dream his brother Robert taught him the printing method that he used in Songs of Innocence and other illuminated works.
At the end of the poem, she states how heaven and earth are at peace and have harmony when she sees her baby smile.
There are famous artists that have claimed that they were inspired by William Blake, including Bob Dylan, John Lennon, and The Beatles, Bono and U2, Led Zeppelin, and many more.
In A Charm of Lullabies, Benjamin Britten sets "A Cradle Song" to music alongside four other poems.