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L'Amour est assis sur le crâne De l'Humanité, Et sur ce trône, le profane, Au rire effronté, Souffle [gaîment]1 des bulles rondes Qui montent dans l'air, Comme pour rejoindre les mondes Au fond de l'éther. Le globe [miroitant]2 et frêle Prend un grand essor, Crève et crache son âme grêle Comme un songe d'or. J'entends le crâne à chaque bulle Prier et gémir : - " Ce jeu féroce et ridicule, Quand doit-il finir ? Car ce que ta bouche cruelle Éparpille en l'air, Monstre assassin, c'est ma cervelle, Mon sang et ma chair ! "
Confirmed with Revue des Deux Mondes, seconde série de la nouvelle période, tome dixième, Les Fleurs du mal, Paris: Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, 1855, page 1093. Also confirmed with Les Fleurs du mal, Spleen et Idéal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1857, pages 212-213. Also confirmed with Les Fleurs du mal, Spleen et Idéal, Paris: Poulet-Malassis et de Broise, 1861, pages 279-280. Punctuation and capitalization follows 1855 edition. Note: this was number 89 in the 1857 edition of Les Fleurs du mal but number 117 or 142 in subsequent editions.
Note: The 1855 edition uses the subtitle "(D'après une vieille gravure.)" while the 1857, 1861, and 1868 editions of Les Fleurs du mal use the subtitle "Vieux cul-de-lampe".
1 spelling variant used in 1861 edition and by V. d'Indy: "gaiement"2 1857 edition, 1861 edition, 1868 edition, and V. d'Indy: "lumineux"
Authorship:
- by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "L'Amour et le Crâne", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 4. Fleurs du mal, no. 117, Paris, Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, first published 1855 [author's text checked 4 times against a primary source]
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Vincent d'Indy (1851 - 1931), "L'amour et le crâne", alternate title: "L'amour et le crâne", op. 20 (1884) [ high voice and piano ], Édition Loret et Freytag [sung text checked 1 time]
- by René Lenormand (1846 - 1932), "L'amour et le crâne", op. 33 no. 6 [ medium voice and piano ], from Les fleurs du mal, no. 6, Édition Maurice Senart [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CZE Czech (Čeština) (Jaroslav Goll) , "Láska a lebka"
- ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , "Love and the Skull", copyright © 2004, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Poom Andrew Pipatjarasgit [Guest Editor]
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 20
Word count: 96
Love sits on Humanity's skull. From this throne the profane one laughs, insolently and gaily blows round bubbles that soar as if to worlds hidden in the ether. The frail, luminous globe leaps ahead, breaks, and spits out its spindly soul like a golden dream. With each bubble, I hear the skull prey and whine, "When will this fierce, ridiculous game end? Killer monster, your cruel mouth is scattering my brain, my blood and my flesh in the air!"
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Faith J. Cormier, (re)printed on this website with kind permission. To reprint and distribute this author's work for concert programs, CD booklets, etc., you may ask the copyright-holder(s) directly or ask us; we are authorized to grant permission on their behalf. Please provide the translator's name when contacting us.
Contact: licenses@email.lieder.example.net
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Charles Baudelaire (1821 - 1867), "L'Amour et le Crâne", appears in Les Fleurs du mal, in 4. Fleurs du mal, no. 117, Paris, Bureau de la Revue des Deux Mondes, first published 1855
This text was added to the website: 2004-10-01
Line count: 20
Word count: 79