Tessa's song | If you die, the birds will be silent forever

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by Jean Giraudoux (1882 - 1944)

Translation © by Garrett Medlock

La chanson de Tessa

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG

Si tu meurs, les oiseaux se tairont pour toujours.
Si tu es froid, aucun soleil ne brûlera.
Au matin la joie de l'aurore
Ne lavera plus mes yeux.
Tout autour de ta tombe
Les rosiers épanouis
Laisseront pendre et flétrir leurs fleurs.
La beauté mourra avec toi
Mon seul amour.

Si je meurs, les oiseaux ne se tairont qu'un soir,
Si je meurs, pour une autre un jour tu m'oublieras.
De nouveau la joie de vivre
Alors lavera ton regard.
Au matin tu verras
La montagne illuminée
Sur ma tombe t'offrir mille fleurs.
La beauté revivra sans moi
Mon seul amour!

Text Authorship:

by Jean Giraudoux (1882 - 1944) [author's text not yet checked 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 Maurice Jaubert (1900 - 1940), "La chanson de Tessa" [ voice and piano ] [sung text not yet checked]

Available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (Garrett Medlock) , "Tessa's song", copyright © 2019, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Researcher for this page: Garrett Medlock [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website: 2019-04-07
Line count: 18
Word count: 101

Tessa's song

Language: English after the French (Français)

If you die, the birds will be silent forever.
If you are cold, no sun will burn.
In the morning the joy of the dawn
Will no longer [bathe] my eyes.
All around your tomb
The blooming rose bushes
Will let dangle and wither their flowers.
Beauty will die with you
My only love.

If I die, the birds will be silent but for an evening.
If I die, for another one day you will forget me.
Again will the joy of living
Then [bathe] your [face].
In the morning you will see
The illuminated mountain
Upon my tomb offer you one thousand flowers.
Beauty will live again without me
My only love!

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2019 by Garrett Medlock, (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 Jean Giraudoux (1882 - 1944)
- Go to the text page.

This text was added to the website: 2019-04-07
Line count: 18
Word count: 113