Give me your hand, my brother, search my face;
Look in these eyes lest I should think of shame;
For we have made an end of all things base.
We are returning by the road we came.
Your lot is with the ghosts of soldiers dead,
And I am in the field where men must fight.
But in the gloom I see your laurell'd head
And through your victory I shall win the light.
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First published in
Saturday Review, February 1916, as "Brothers", subsequently revised and retitled
Authorship:
Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):
- by Edward Gregson (b. 1945), "To my brother", 1980, first performed 1980 [ soprano or tenor and piano ], from Five Songs of Innocence and Experience, no. 5 [sung text not yet checked]
- by Martin Kalmanoff (1920 - 2007), "To my brother", 1972 [ tenor, baritone, SATB chorus, and orchestra ], from Kaddish for a Warring World [sung text not yet checked]
Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- FRE French (Français) (Pierre Mathé) , "À mon frère", copyright © 2017, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [
Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2008-10-19
Line count: 8
Word count: 74
Donne-moi ta main, mon frère, cherche mon visage ;
Regarde ces yeux, de peur que je ne pense à la honte ;
Car nous avons mis fin à l'indignité de toutes choses.
Nous retournons par la route d'où nous sommes venus.
Ton lot est avec les fantômes des soldats morts,
Et je suis sur le champs où les hommes doivent combattre.
Mais dans les ténèbres je vois ta tête couronnée de lauriers
Et par ta victoire je gagnerai la lumière.