Where to live? In what shadow

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by Jean Richepin (1849 - 1926)

Translation © by Grant Hicks

Où vivre ? Dans quelle ombre

Language: French (Français)

Our translations: ENG ENG ITA

Où vivre ? Dans quelle ombre
Étouffer mon ennui ?
Ma tristesse est plus sombre
  Que la nuit.

Où mourir ? Sous quelle onde
Noyer mon deuil amer ?
Ma peine est plus profonde
  Que la mer.

Où fuir ? De quelle sorte
Égorger mon remord ?
Ma douleur est plus forte
  Que la mort.

Available sung texts: (what is this?)

• L. Vierne

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Confirmed with Les caresses, Nouvelle Édition, Paris, G. Charpentier, [no date], page 249.

Text Authorship:

by Jean Richepin (1849 - 1926), no title, written 1877, appears in Les Caresses, in 4. Nivôse, no. 18, Paris, Éd. M. Dreyfous, first published 1882 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

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Research team for this page: Emily Ezust [Administrator] , Grant Hicks [Guest Editor]

This text was added to the website between May 1995 and September 2003.
Line count: 12
Word count: 52

Where to live? In what shadow

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Language: English after the French (Français)

Where to live? In what shadow
To smother my ennui?
My sadness is darker 
  Than night.

Where to die? Under what wave
To drown my bitter grief?
My pain is deeper 
  Than the sea.

Where to flee? In what way
To slaughter my remorse?
My sorrow is stronger 
  Than death.

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Translations of titles:
"Angoisse" = "Anguish"
"Où vivre ?" = "Where to live?"
"Où vivre ? Dans quelle ombre étonffer mon ennui?" = "Where to live? In what shadow to smother my ennui?"

Text Authorship:

Translation from French (Français) to English copyright © 2025 by Grant Hicks, (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 Jean Richepin (1849 - 1926), no title, written 1877, appears in Les Caresses, in 4. Nivôse, no. 18, Paris, Éd. M. Dreyfous, first published 1882
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This text was added to the website: 2025-10-01
Line count: 12
Word count: 52