The King's three blind daughters Sit locked in a hold. In the darkness their lamps Make a glimmer of gold. Up the stair of the turret The sisters are gone, Seven days they wait there And the lamps they burn on. "What hope?" says the first, And leans o'er the flame. "I hear our lamps burning. O yet! if he came!" "O hope!" says the second, "Was that the lamps' flare, Or a sound of low footsteps? The Prince on the stair!" But the holiest sister She turns her about: "O no hope now for ever, Our lamps are gone out!"
Pelléas et Mélisande
A play - incidental music by Gabriel Fauré (1845 - 1924)
?. Melisande's song  [sung text checked 1 time]
Language: English
Authorship:
- Singable translation by John (or Jack) William Mackail (1859 - 1945) [an adaptation]
Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Maurice Maeterlinck (1862 - 1949), no title, written 1893, appears in Quinze Chansons, no. 5
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Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Melisandes Lied", copyright © 2005, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Total word count: 101