„If I may, and if I might
Lay me down, weeping.“

„As I lay me down to sleep
This I pray
That you will hold me dear“

—  Sophie B. Hawkins American musician 1967

Whaler (1994), As I Lay Me Down
Context: As I lay me down to sleep
This I pray
That you will hold me dear
Though I'm far away
I'll whisper your name into the sky
And I will wake up happy

„I am sore wounded but not slain
I will lay me down and bleed a while
And then rise up to fight again“

—  John Dryden English poet and playwright of the XVIIth century 1631 - 1700

„The power of administrative bodies to make finding of fact which may be treated as conclusive, if there is evidence both ways, is a power of enormous consequence. An unscrupulous administrator might be tempted to say "Let me find the facts for the people of my country, and I care little who lays down the general principles."“

—  Charles Evans Hughes American judge 1862 - 1948

"Important Work of Uncle Sam's Lawyers", American Bar Association Journal (April 1931), p. 238, reprinting an address to the Federal Bar Association, Washington, D.C. (February 11, 1931), where the chief justice spoke of the "extraordinary development of administrative agencies of the government and of the lawyer's part in making them work satisfactorily and also in protecting the public against bureaucratic excesses", according to the article's subtitle

„May I borrow your wheelbarrow?
— I didn't lay down my life in World War II
so that you could borrow my wheelbarrow“

—  Adrian Mitchell British writer 1932 - 2008

"Ten Ways to Avoid Lending Your Wheelbarrow to Anybody", from Adrian Mitchell's Greatest Hits (1991).

„I wanna lay you down in a bed of roses“

—  Jon Bon Jovi American singer and musician 1962

Music, Keep The Faith (1992)

„Occasionally I sense an insane wail deep down in the pit, the echo alone reaching me, striking without warning, a child weeping uninhibitedly, imprisoned forever.“

—  Ingmar Bergman Swedish filmmaker 1918 - 2007

Source: The Magic Lantern

„I am too sick to lay down
the sidewalks frighten me
the whole damned city frightens me,
what I will become
what I have become
frightens me.“

—  Charles Bukowski, book Mockingbird Wish Me Luck

Source: Mockingbird Wish Me Luck

„In his arms, my lady lay asleep, wrapped in a veil.
He woke her then and trembling and obedient
She ate that burning heart out of his hand;
Weeping I saw him then depart from me.“

—  Dante Alighieri, book Vita Nuova

ne le braccia avea
madonna involta in un drappo dormendo.
Poi la svegliava, e d'esto core ardendo
lei paventosa umilmente pascea:
appresso gir lo ne vedea piangendo.
Source: La Vita Nuova (1293), Chapter I, First Sonnet (tr. Mark Musa)

„Now I lay me down to sleep
Knowing that your lenses peep
Now I eat my daily bread
And into the tape spool I'll be fed“

—  Andy Partridge British musician 1953

"Reel By Real".
Drums and Wires (1979)

„I have laid sorrow to sleep;
Love sleeps.
She who oft made me weep
Now weeps.“

—  Arthur Symons British poet 1865 - 1945

Love and Sleep, st. 1.

„Sometime I’ll lay down my wrath,
As I lay my body down
Between the ache of breath and breath,
Golden slumber in the bone.“

—  Allen Ginsberg American poet 1926 - 1997

Source: Collected Poems 1947-1997

„His last word had been my name. He had called out to me and I had not answered.
I did not weep, and it pained me that I could not weep. But I was out of tears. And deep inside me, if I could have searched the recesses of my feeble conscience, I might have found something like: Free at last!“

—  Elie Wiesel, book Night

About the death of his father
Night (1960)

„If I had thought thou couldst have died,
I might not weep for thee;
But I forgot, when by thy side,
That thou couldst mortal be.“

—  Charles Wolfe Irish poet 1791 - 1823

To Mary.

„When my mother died I was very young,
And my father sold me while yet my tongue
Could scarcely cry 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!'weep!
So your chimneys I sweep, and in soot I sleep.“

—  William Blake, The Chimney Sweeper

The Chimney Sweeper, st. 1
1780s, Songs of Innocence (1789–1790)

„lay down. lay down like an animal and wait.“

—  Charles Bukowski American writer 1920 - 1994

Source: You Get So Alone at Times That it Just Makes Sense

„I laugh until I weep
And weep until I smile“

—  Ray Bradbury American writer 1920 - 2012

Christ, Old Student in a New School (1972)
Context: I am the dreamer and the doer
I the hearer and the knower
I the giver and the taker
I the sword and the wound of sword.
If this be true, then let sword fall free from hand.
I embrace myself.
I laugh until I weep
And weep until I smile…

„I was weeping because Richard Parker left me so unceremoniously.“

—  Yann Martel, book Life of Pi

Source: Life of Pi (2001), Chapter 94, p. 316
Context: I was weeping because Richard Parker left me so unceremoniously. What a terrible thing it is to botch the farewell. I am a person who believes in form, in the harmony of order. Where we can, we must give things meaningful shape.

„I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.“

—  Paul Simon American musician, songwriter and producer 1941

Bridge over Troubled Water
Song lyrics, Bridge over Troubled Water (1970)
Context: When you're weary
Feeling small
When tears are in your eyes
I will dry them all
I'm on your side
When times get rough
And friends just can't be found
Like a bridge over troubled water
I will lay me down.

„Suppose I lay down on the pavement and you run over me a few times with my own car… just for old times.“

—  Janet Evanovich, book One for the Money

Source: One for the Money