And I wrote my happy songs/Every child may joy to hear.
-- The Piper (Pages 1 - 13)

Importance: These lines from the first poem of the collection are important because they work to establish the scope and the purpose of the book itself. Blake as the speaker here explicitly states that the poems found within Songs of Innocence are intended to be read by children as a source of cheer and comfort, and also as a teaching tool.

Such, such were the joys/When we all—girls and boys—/In our youth-time were seen/On the echoing green.
-- The Piper (Pages 1 - 13)

Importance: This quote from the old folk draws the line early on in the collection between the sense of innocence and revelry that divides the young from the old. As the elderly watch the children playing upon the echoing green, they cannot help but reminisce about such times when life was so simple and their innocence still remained intact...