by
Thomas Moore (1779 - 1852)
The dream of those days
Language: English
Available translation(s): FRE
The dream of those days when first I sung thee is o'er,
Thy triumph hath stain'd the charm thy sorrows then wore;
And ev'n of the light which Hope once shed o'er thy chains,
Alas, not a gleam to grace thy freedom remains.
Say, is it that slavery sunk so deep in thy heart,
That still the dark brand is there, tho' chainless thou art;
And Freedom's sweet fruit, for which thy spirit long burn'd,
Now, reaching at last thy lip, to ashes hath turn'd?
Up Liberty's steep by Truth and Eloquence led,
With eyes on her temple fix'd, how proud was thy tread!
Ah, better thou ne'er had'st liv'd that summit to gain,
Or died in the porch, than thus dishonour the fane.
Authorship:
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Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "Il est passé le rêve de ces jours", copyright © 2014, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2013-07-14
Line count: 12
Word count: 124
Il est passé le rêve de ces jours
Language: French (Français)  after the English
Il est passé le rêve de ces jours où je te chantais,
Ton triomphe en a abîmé le charme puis tes chagrin l'ont déchiré ;
Et même de la lumière qu'Espoir jeta un jour sur tes chaînes,
Il ne reste hélas aucune lueur pour rendre grâce à ta liberté.
Dis, est-ce que l'esclavage est ancré si profond dans ton cœur
Qu'il y éteint les sombres flammes, alors que tu es libre ;
Et le doux fruit de la liberté, pour lequel longtemps ton esprit a brûlé,
Maintenant qu'il atteint tes lèvres, s'est-il changé en cendre ?
Conduit au faîte de la Liberté par la Vérité et l'Éloquence,
Les yeux fixés sur son temple, combien fière était ta marche !
Ah, puisses-tu n'avoir jamais vécu pour gagner ce sommet,
Ou que tu mourusses sur le porche plutôt que de déshonorer ainsi son temple.
Authorship:
- Translation from English to French (Français) copyright © 2014 by Pierre Mathé, (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.
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This text was added to the website: 2014-04-16
Line count: 12
Word count: 142