There Was a Cherry-Tree - Read by AS
There Was a Cherry-Tree - Read by AS

There Was a Cherry-Tree

A LibriVox volunteer, AS, reads James Whitcomb Riley’s ‘There Was a Cherry-Tree’, focusing on childhood memories, nature, and quiet gratitude. The episode offers a short, gentle moment of reflection centred on a single, vividly remembered tree.

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1:08•20 May 2012

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There Was a Cherry-Tree

James Whitcomb Riley

LibriVox volunteers bring you 18 recordings of There Was a Cherry-Tree by James Whitcomb Riley. This was the Weekly Poetry project for May 13, 2012. Riley began his career writing verses as a sign maker and submitting poetry to newspapers. Thanks in part to an endorsement from poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, he eventually earned successive jobs at Indiana newspaper publishers during the latter 1870s. Riley gradually rose in prominence during the 1880s through his poetry reading tours. He traveled a touring circuit first in the Midwest, and then nationally, holding shows and making joint appearances on stage with other famous talents. Regularly struggling with his alcohol addiction, Riley never married or had children, and was involved in a scandal in 1888 when he became too drunk to perform. He became more popular in spite of the bad press he received, and as a result extricated himself from poorly negotiated contracts that limited his earnings; he quickly became very wealthy. (Summary from Wikipedia)

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Childhood Blossoms and Blue-Jays in ‘There Was a Cherry-Tree’

Episode Overview

Presents James Whitcomb Riley’s poem ‘There Was a Cherry-Tree’ in a clear, gentle reading.
Focuses on a single cherry tree as a doorway into childhood memory and joy.
Highlights nature imagery such as “bloomy snows” and the vividly coloured blue-jay.
Shows how time changes perception, from a boy’s wonder to an adult’s gratitude.
Offers a brief, calming listening experience without added commentary.

“There was a cherry-tree. Its bloomy snows cool even now the fevered sight that knows no more its airy visions of pure joy as when you were a boy.”

What drives someone to seek a few quiet minutes away from everyday noise? This short episode offers exactly that, with a calm reading of James Whitcomb Riley’s poem *There Was a Cherry-Tree*, brought to life by AS as part of a LibriVox weekly poetry project. Across a handful of vivid stanzas, the poem circles around one simple image: “There was a cherry-tree.” From there, memory unfolds.

You’ll hear “bloomy snows” of blossom that “cool even now the fevered sight,” a blue-jay whose colour seems to shift with time, and cherries described as a “crimson fruitage, far too sweet, but for a boy to eat.” It’s a gentle reminder of how childhood can turn an ordinary tree into pure magic. The reading keeps things clean and uncluttered, letting Riley’s language do the work.

There’s a steady rhythm and a sense of quiet nostalgia as the poem moves from the boy’s-eye view of wonder to a later, more reflective voice that “gives thanks and joy” for the memory itself. You don’t get commentary or analysis, just the text performed with care, which makes it easy to sit back, close your eyes, and let the images land.

Fans of classic poetry, lovers of simple nature imagery, or anyone who enjoys very short, self-contained pieces of audio may find this especially soothing. It’s the kind of piece you could replay a few times, letting different lines sink in each time. If you had your own childhood ‘cherry-tree’—a place or moment that still feels golden—how might revisiting it in your mind help you feel a little more grounded today?