'Dido's Lament' is a recitative followed by an aria by the English composer Henry Purcell. The piece is the dramatic climax of his opera Dido and Aeneas based on the Aeneis by Vergilius. The recitative is also known as 'Thy hand, Belinda' and the aria as 'When I'm laid in earth'. It is sung by Dido (Queen of Carthage) at the very end of the opera just before she will die grief.