by
Pierre-Félix Louis (1870 - 1925), as Pierre Louÿs
L'eau pure du bassin
Language: French (Français)
Our translations: ENG GER
"Eau pure du bassin, miroir immobile,
dis-moi ma beauté. - [Ô]1 Bilitis, ou qui que tu sois,
Téthys peut-être ou Amphitritê,
tu es belle, sache-le.
"Ton visage se penche sous ta chevelure épaisse,
gonflée de fleurs et de parfums.
Tes paupières molles s'ouvrent à peine
et tes flancs sont las des mouvements de l'amour.
"Ton corps fatigué du poids de tes seins
porte les marques fines de l'ongle
et les taches bleues du baiser.
Tes bras sont rougis par l'étreinte.
Chaque ligne de ta peau fut aimée.
-- Eau claire du bassin, ta fraîcheur repose.
Reçois-moi, qui suis lasse en effet.
Emporte le fard de mes joues, et la sueur de mon ventre
et le souvenir de la nuit."
Available sung texts: (what is this?)
• C. Debussy View original text (without footnotes)
1 omitted by Debussy.
Text Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- ENG English (Marvin J. Ward) , "The pure water of the basin", copyright © 2003, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- GER German (Deutsch) (Bertram Kottmann) , "Klares Wasser im Bassin", copyright © 2013, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this page: Marvin J. Ward
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 17
Word count: 118
The pure water of the basin
Language: English after the French (Français)
"Pure water of the basin, motionless mirror,
tell me my beauty." "Bilitis, or whoever you are,
Thetys perhaps or Amphitrite,
you are beautiful, know it.
Your face is tilted beneath your thick hair,
swollen with flowers and perfume.
Your soft eyelids are scarcely open
and your flanks are weary from the movements of love.
Your body tired from the weight of your breasts bears
the fine marks of the fingernail
and the blue stains of the kiss.
Your arms are red from the embrace.
Every line of your skin was loved."
"Clear water of the basin, your coolness gives rest.
Receive me who am indeed weary.
Take away the color from my cheeks, and the sweat from
my belly and the memory of the night."
Text Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2003 by Marvin J. Ward, (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:
This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 17
Word count: 125