Tes grands yeux doux semblent des îles

Tes grands yeux doux semblent des îles 
Qui nagent dans un lac d'azur :
[Sous la paix]1 de tes yeux tranquilles,
Fais-moi tranquille et fais-moi pur.

Ton corps a l'adorable enfance 
Des clairs paradis de jadis :
Enveloppe-moi de silence,
[De ton corps blanc comme les lys]2.

[Je souffre, j'étouffe, je pleure :
Ô mon amour, fais de tes bras,
Pour que je m'y perde et j'y meure,
Un tombeau que tu m'ouvriras !]3

Translation(s): ENG

List of language codes

About the headline (FAQ)

¹ Chausson: "Aux fraîcheurs"
² Chausson: "Du silence argenté des lys"
³ Chausson:

Alangui par les yeux tranquilles
Des étoiles caressant l'air,
J'ai tant rêvé la paix des îles,
Sous un soir frissonant et clair !

Je souffre, j'étouffe, je pleure;
Fais de ton corps, fais de tes bras
Afin que je m'y perde et meure
Un tombeau que tu m'ouvriras.

Authorship

• by Henri Cazalis (1840 - 1909), as Jean Lahor, "Sérénade mélancolique", appears in L'Illusion, in 1. Chants de l'Amour et de la Mort [ author's text checked 1 time]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive)

• by René-Emmanuel Baton (1879 - 1940), as Rhené-Baton, "Sérénade mélancolique", op. 16 no. 4 (1911), published 1912 [high voice and piano], from Cinq mélodies sur des poèmes de Jean Lahor, no. 4, Paris, Éd. Durand [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Charles Bordes (1863 - 1909), "Sérénade mélancolique", op. 8 no. 2, first performed 1890 [high voice and piano], from Trois mélodies sur des poèmes de Jean Lahor, no. 2, Éd. Le Bailly, O. Bornemann [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]
• by Ernest Amédée Chausson (1855 - 1899), "Sérénade", op. 13 (Quatre mélodies) no. 2 (1887). [high voice and piano] [ sung text checked 1 time]
• by Alfred André Simon Kullmann (1875 - 1963), "Sérénade mélancolique", <<1917 [high voice and piano], from Sept mélodies - 1ère série, no. 5, Paris, Éd. L. Grus & Cie [ sung text not yet checked against a primary source]

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

• ENG English (Paul Hindemith) , copyright © 2009, (re)printed on this website with kind permission

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

Last modified: 2017-07-30 11:35:24

Line count: 12
Word count: 74

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