D'un pas trainant, comme affaibli,...

D'un pas trainant, comme affaibli, l'heure s'en va,
Ne laissant d'elle qu'un peu d'ombre sur le sable.
Il faut la suivre encor dans sa marche inlassable
Et ressonger en vain la halte qu'on rêva.

Fermons les yeux, ma calme soeur, et soyez forte;
J'emporte notre amour crucifiée en moi
Avec l'espoir qu'une aube neuve et votre foi
Des linges du passé susciteront la morte!

Et c'est en sanglotant pourtant qu'on se résigne.
Le Seigneur a chassé l'ouvrier de sa vigne,
Et celui-ci croise les bras, s'arrête... et fuit.
Le soir tombe, fermons les yeux, ma calme amie.
L'eau, veuve des divins cygnes, s'est endormie,
Notre âme flotte à la dérive dans la nuit.

Translation(s): ENG

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Authorship

• by Charles Guérin (1873 - 1907) [ 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 Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz (1864 - 1955), "D'un pas trainant, comme affaibli, l'heure s'en va", 1902, from Veilles de Départ, no. 5. [
   text verified 1 time
  ]

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

• ENG English (Faith J. Cormier) , title 1: "Time drags weakly on", 2004, copyright © 2004 by Faith J. Cormier, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.

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Time drags weakly on

Time drags weakly on, 
leaving behind only a tiny shadow on the sand.
We must keep following its tireless march 
and dream again in vain of the longed-for halt. 

Let's close our eyes, my calm sister, and be strong. 
I carry within me our crucified love, 
with the hope that a new dawn and your faith 
will resurrect the dead from the grave-clothes of the past. 

Yet, sobbing, we resign ourselves. 
The Lord expelled the workman from the vineyard, 
and he crossed his arms, stopped ... and fled. 
Night is falling. Let us close our eyes, my calm friend. 
The water, widow of the divine swans, sleeps. 
Our soul drifts through the night.

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Authorship

• Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2004 by Faith J. Cormier; translation by Faith J. Cormier, (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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• a text in French (Français) by Charles Guérin (1873 - 1907)
• This text was set to music by the following composer(s): Joseph Guy Marie Ropartz. Go to the text.

Text added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.