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A Bacharach il y avait une sorcière blonde Qui laissait mourir d'amour tous les hommes à la ronde Devant son tribunal l'évêque la fit citer D'avance il l'absolvit à cause de sa beauté Ô belle Loreley aux yeux pleins de pierreries De quel magicien tiens-tu ta sorcellerie Je suis lasse de vivre et mes yeux sont maudits Ceux qui m'ont regardée évêque en ont péri Mes yeux ce sont des flammes et non des pierreries Jetez jetez aux flammes cette sorcellerie Je flambe dans ces flammes Ô belle Loreley Qu'un autre te condamne tu m'as ensorcelé Évêque vous riez Priez plutôt pour moi la Vierge Faites-moi donc mourir et que Dieu vous protège Mon amant est parti pour un pays lointain Faites-moi donc mourir puisque je n'aime rien Mon coeur me fait si mal il faut bien que je meure Si je me regardais il faudrait que j'en meure Mon coeur me fait si mal depuis qu'il n'est plus là Mon coeur me fit si mal du jour où il s'en alla L'évêque fit venir trois chevaliers avec leurs lances Menez jusqu'au couvent cette femme en démence Va-t'en Lore en folie va Lore aux yeux tremblants Tu seras une nonne vêtue de noir et blanc Puis ils s'en allèrent sur la route tous les quatre La Loreley les implorait et ses yeux brillaient comme des astres Chevaliers laissez-moi monter sur ce rocher si haut Pour voir une fois encore mon beau château Pour me mirer une fois encore dans le fleuve Puis j'irai au couvent des vierges et des veuves Là-haut le vent tordait ses cheveux déroulés Les chevaliers criaient Loreley Loreley Tout là-bas sur le Rhin s'en vient une nacelle Et mon amant s'y tient il m'a vue il m'appelle Mon coeur devient si doux c'est mon amant qui vient Elle se penche alors et tombe dans le Rhin Pour avoir vu dans l'eau la belle Loreley Ses yeux couleur du Rhin ses cheveux de soleil
About the headline (FAQ)
Authorship:
- by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire, "La Loreley", appears in Alcools, first published 1913 [author's text checked 1 time 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 Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich (1906 - 1975), "Loreley", op. 135 no. 3, from Symphony no. 14, no. 3, also set in Russian (Русский) [sung text not yet checked]
Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:
- Also set in Russian (Русский), a translation by Mikhail Pavlovich Kudinov (1922 - 1994) , copyright © ; composed by Dmitri Dmitriyevich Shostakovich.
Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):
- CAT Catalan (Català) (Salvador Pila) , "Lorelei", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
- ENG English (Salvador Pila) , "The suicide", copyright © 2011, (re)printed on this website with kind permission
Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]
This text was added to the website: 2003-10-18
Line count: 38
Word count: 327
In Bacharach lived a witch with fair hair who let all the men around die of love. The bishop summoned her to his court and acquitted her on account of her beauty. Oh lovely Loreley, your eyes are made of precious stones, which magician gave you the power of sorcery? I am weary of life and my eyes are accursed; oh bishop, those who have looked at me have perished. My eyes are not precious stones but flames, throw this sorcery to the fire. That fire is consuming me, oh lovely Loreley, somebody else has to condemn you, for you have enchanted me. Bishop you laugh. Pray rather to the Virgin for me, let me die and may God protect you. My lover has left for a distant land, let me die for there is nothing I love. My heart is so heavy that I must necessarily die, I would die if I would dare look at myself. My heart is so heavy since he is no longer there, my heart has been so heavy since the day he left. The bishop summoned three knights armed with lances: take this demented woman to the convent. Go away Lore in madness, away Lore with tremulous eyes, you shall become a nun dressed in black and white. So the four left down the road, the Loreley implored them and her eyes glowed bright like stars. Knights, please let me climb onto that rock so high for I may see my beautiful castle one last time. To see once more my reflection in the river and then I shall go to the convent of virgins and widows. Up there, the wind blew her untied hair, the knights cried: Loreley, Loreley. Down there, on the Rhine, comes a boat and, on board, there is my lover, he has seen me and calls. My heart becomes so tender, it is my lover returning. She leans over and falls into the Rhine. To see her in the water, the beautiful Loreley, her Rhine-coloured eyes, her sun-like hair.
Authorship:
- Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2011 by Salvador Pila, (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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Based on:
- a text in French (Français) by Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki (1880 - 1918), as Guillaume Apollinaire, "La Loreley", appears in Alcools, first published 1913
This text was added to the website: 2011-05-22
Line count: 38
Word count: 341